Tapping into the voice of industry | |
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Sometimes, the best venue to commercialize university IP is to spin-off a startup. New venture creation has been a primary focus for VCU TechTransfer and Ventures this year, and that means growing our in-house roster of entrepreneurs.
VCU’s Entrepreneur-in-Residence program has brought the “voice of industry” into our academic and health system communities. It is led by two primary EIRs — successful executives who have experienced both highs and lows that come with building companies, and can offer their insights and experiences to university researchers.
As an example, in May, the two EIRs met with a College of Engineering researcher. The pair offered the inventor some honest guidance that caused him to pivot and focus on a new application for his technology. The consensus was that the previous target market was too competitive and costly to enter. Despite a difficult conversation, the researcher appreciated the input and is emboldened in his new direction.
In June, VCU was awarded a grant from the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corp. (VIPC) to fund our EIR program. Our primary EIRs include Gerard Eldering, who is also CEO of Perfusion Medical, a startup developing IP licensed from Martin Mangino, Ph.D., a surgery professor at the VCU School of Medicine (here’s more on Perfusion). We also added Richard Pellegrino, a skilled R&D executive with a background in medical devices and operations. And a partnership with BioHealth Innovation, based in the Capital region, gives us access to a number of industry experts with particular expertise in biotech and healthcare, core VCU tech-transfer markets.
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By bringing skilled industry experts to inventors early in the invention cycle, we enhance the chances of delivering VCU discoveries to the commercial market. The end result: greater prominence for VCU, economic development for Central Virginia, and technologies that improve and enhance human lives while addressing society’s grand challenges.
Enjoy this issue of Launchpad.
Ivelina Metcheva, Ph.D., MBA
Assistant Vice President for Innovation
VCU TechTransfer and Ventures
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More than ever, VCU startups are turning ideas into businesses | Since July 2022, VCU TechTransfer and Ventures has licensed laboratory discoveries and other inventions developed by faculty and trainees to 12 startup companies. Pictured here is Rebecca Martin, Ph.D., a longtime VCU researcher-turned-entrepreneur with Pleros Therapeutics. See her work and more in this article on VCU News. | |
Healing with a headset: Virtual Reality shows promise in treating substance use disorders | Developed by a VCU and Central Virginia VA Health System psychologist and a prominent Richmond-based visual effects artist, an immersive virtual-reality application is guiding military vets with substance use disorders and mental health conditions on a path to recovery. The team hopes to bring the platform to patients nationwide soon. Here's more. | | |
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22 VCU researchers inducted into National Academy of Inventors
“It speaks volumes of what the institution is doing to have so many people inducted into NAI membership. Over the last few years, VCU has proven to be a research powerhouse. The unstoppable knowledge creation and the transformative innovation being carried out here is felt locally, nationally and globally.”
- P. Srirama Rao, Ph.D., vice president for research and innovation
Pictured: Elizabeth Dougherty, eastern regional outreach director for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, spoke to VCU researchers earlier this year at the NAI induction ceremony. Read more.
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Leader of VCU Aerosol Research Group inducted as
National Academy of Inventors Fellow
| Michael Hindle, Ph.D., whose work is developing formulations and devices to deliver aerosol drugs to challenging patient populations such as premature babies, was inducted last month as a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. NAI Fellows are researchers who demonstrate a spirit of innovation in creating outstanding inventions that make a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development and the welfare of society. Election as a NAI Fellow is the highest professional distinction awarded to academic inventors who are highly regarded in their respective fields. Read more about Hindle's honor. | |
Cybersecurity Center leader named NAI Senior Member
The VCU College of Engineering's Milos Manic, Ph.D., was one of three Virginia inventors named an NAI Senior Member.
His work has led to inventions using AI for cybersecurity, energy efficiency and hard drive disk arrays, among other projects.
Meet Milos
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$1.52 million grant seeks solution to benefit chemo, dialysis patients | |
A four-year grant to a team led by Xuewei Wang, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry at the VCU College of Humanities and Sciences, will go toward developing a solution to help prevent infection and complications for patients receiving chemotherapy, dialysis and other treatments through their veins. | |
Venture Victories: News from VCU's Startup Front | |
More VCU inventors than ever are taking the leap to become entrepreneurs using technology created in their labs. Venture Victories, a new monthly roundup from VCU TechTransfer and Ventures, brings you regular updates on startup activity from within the university and health system. See the latest new venture news. | |
Self-taught artist and VCU TechTransfer licensing manager Brent Fagg updates artwork at research lab for at-risk youth | |
Over several years, Brent Fagg, a licensing manager with VCU, has collaborated with researcher Nicholas Thomson, Ph.D. to bring a windowless room at VCU West Hospital to life with colorful, pop-cultural murals. The latest addition is a brooding Batman-and-Joker showdown over Gotham City. See the work and how it came to be. | |
More stories of translational innovation... | |
Massey Cancer Center achieves comprehensive status from National Cancer Institute | The designation places Massey among an elite group of cancer centers. Massey is led by Robert A. Winn, M.D., the first African American to lead a cancer center to comprehensive status. Under Winn’s leadership, Massey has championed a community-centered approach, recognizing community members as equal experts and strategic partners in its research efforts. Read the article by Annie Harris. | |  |
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Developing better tools to diagnose liver disease with $2.87 million federal grant
| About 10 million Americans suffer from metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, a build-up of fat in the liver that damages cells and causes inflammation. Researchers at VCU's new Stravitz-Sanyal Institute for Liver Disease and Metabolic Health hope a new five-year study will help them develop better diagnostic tools for patients with the aggressive liver disease, a leading cause for liver transplantation. Here's the article from A.J. Hostetler. | | |
Fentanyl kills more adults than car accidents, suicides, guns or falls. Yan Zhang, Ph.D., a professor of medicinal chemistry at the VCU School of Pharmacy and member of the VCU Institute for Drug and Alcohol Studies, has federal grants advancing his team's research into the development of specific opioid receptor antagonists that would reverse the toxicity of the drug. His awards underscore VCU’s status as a leading research institution for opioid use disorder. Last year, VCU was awarded $16.5 million in National Institute on Drug Abuse funding, placing it 18th nationally. Get the details from Holly Prestidge. | | | | |
