Covid Therapy, VR for Paraplegics, Advanced Magnets

Bringing ideas to life

September 2021 | Issue 1

A new hub for VCU innovation news

Dear friends and colleagues:

Virginia Commonwealth University is an important part of innovation and entrepreneurship in central Virginia. And while our research and start-ups may begin here in Richmond, our people and technologies are delivering impact worldwide.

You are receiving this inaugural Launchpad newsletter from VCU Innovation Gateway because we have identified you as someone who we believe may have interest in the work taking place here. You will meet a number of diverse researchers, across varied fields, who are contributing knowledge and creating new products that hold promise for millions of people.

VCU has a long-standing mission as a public research university to serve the public good by fostering translational research and start-up activity. At VCU Innovation Gateway, we are responsible for protecting and licensing university-created intellectual property, supporting VCU-created ventures, and partnering with industry leaders and regional economic development teams. Our efforts are directly aligned to the One VCU Strategic Research Priorities Plan in promoting a broader understanding of new knowledge that comes from STEM, the arts, humanities and social work. We aim to bring a national prominence, world-class recognition, and value to VCU and its inventors.

You can browse many of these technologies, available for license or partnership, on our Technology Marketplace.

We hope you enjoy the newsletter and meeting the great talents and technologies at VCU. If you would ever like to discuss an opportunity, don’t hesitate to reach out to me.

Ivelina Metcheva, Ph.D., MBA

Senior Executive Director

VCU Innovation Gateway

Bringing ideas to life ^(TM)

Featured Story: VCU research joins the COVID fight

'A Peptide Decoy': COVID therapy begins with VCU-founded tech

Disarming the virus that causes COVID-19 until it’s no worse than a common cold is a powerful strategy researchers are using to attack this deadly virus. With the help of a publicly traded biopharma company, one VCU College of Engineering researcher is using decoys — peptide decoys — to do just that.

Video: Virtual Reality Gives Movement to Paraplegics

VCU researcher Zina Trost walks you through her Department of Defense-funded, international clinical trial examining the impact of immersive virtual reality (VR) walking intervention on chronic neuropathic pain among paraplegic individuals with spinal cord injury.

A signing ceremony fit for a king

VCU Innovation Gateway's Magdalena Morgan (top, center) and Ivelina Metcheva (bottom, center) attend a virtual signing ceremony with His Excellency, Prof. Abdulrahman Obaid Al-Youbi, President of King Abdulaziz University (KAU) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The agreement allows VCU the right to manage technology developed as part of a joint partnership with the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, VCU, and KAU.

Have or know of a VCU invention worth funding?

Applications are open for the Fall 2021 Commercialization Fund, a resource dedicated to the advancement of VCU inventions. Offered in the spring and fall, the goal is to help bring projects to a more mature stage of development in order to improve their chances of being licensed and brought to market. Applications close October 1, 2021 at 12 p.m. Learn more and download the application.

VR keeps people with Parkinson's moving

A team at VCU’s Motor Control Lab is developing immersive games to help those with trunk control impairments and Parkinson's disease to get moving. The research and product also holds the promise of forming a true company someday.

Read Article

Video: Magnets as a Solution for Stopping Global Warming?

Could solid-state refrigeration, powered by advanced magnetic technology, pave the way for a world without harmful CFCs? VCU College of Engineering assistant professor and researcher Radhika Barua, Ph.D. believes so.

Bracing for success

With support from our Commercialization Fund, a VCU School of Dentistry student is working to bring to market her invention: a flossing device for orthodontic patients who wear braces. Meet the student founder and see the other projects that received funding.

As Seen On the Innovation Gateway Technology Marketplace

Non-Volatile Magnetic RAM

A more efficient method for achieving magnetization reversal via an intermediate skyrmion state. This technology can be implemented in the development of high density memory applications. Read more.

Activated Carbons for Clean Energy Applications

Novel CO2 capture materials using benzimidazole as an inexpensive and commercially available single-source for carbon and nitrogen. See the science.

High Quality Perovskite Films

Researchers have found a successful method of using low annealing temperatures, lower than 40 degrees Celsius, to create high quality perovskite films. This technology will provide a new avenue for cost-effective renewable energy. Check it out.

High Efficiency, Ultra Bright UV LEDs

UV LEDs have seen tremendous growth in the past decade. Application areas include sterilization of biological environments for research, counterfeit detection, industrial resin curing, coatings, inks, and water purification. Unfortunately, traditional methods are expensive and inefficient. See this advanced production method.

Explore the Tech Marketplace