This spring, a 6th Vanderbilt team will participate in the National Science Foundation (NSF) Innovation Corps program. Team INCA (Isotopomer Network Compartmental Analysis), comprised of lead inventor Jamey Young, PhD, recently promoted to associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, and entrepreneurial leads Lara Jazmin and Taylor Murphy, will join the Reston, Virginia cohort and spend six months learning how to translate academic research into a successful product or business. Team INCA will explore commercial possibility of Young's software that enables Metabolic Flux Analysis (MFA). Metabolic flux analysis (MFA) allows for the determination of biochemical reaction rates inside of living cells, which are otherwise impossible to measure directly. Similar to how Google Maps reports traffic flows within highway networks, MFA can identify cellular pathway bottlenecks (roadblocks) and wasteful metabolic processes (detours) within biochemical networks. This information can be used to engineer improved production systems (e.g., host organisms and/or cultivation platforms) for use in industrial bioprocesses or agriculture.
To learn more about INCA or the MFA Suite, visit VU e-innovations.