Translating research into startups |
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This summer, VCU Innovation Gateway was given the responsibility of supporting new university-created startups. It’s an important pathway of technology commercialization and one that requires numerous networks to thrive.
Relative to many universities, VCU has a strong research basis. But how do we turn research and inventions into successful startups?
To start, we’ve conducted interviews with several of the top university venture programs to benchmark best practices. We’ve hired a director of new ventures, who you will meet in this newsletter. We’ve identified numerous opportunities within VCU that have promising potential to become fast-growing ventures. Several of these companies are on a fast-track to a startup launch.
Partnerships are very critical for finding talent, capital, and infrastructure. That’s why we’ve joined forces with Activation Capital in Richmond and Virginia Bio, which cater specifically to the needs of life-sciences companies that represent the bulk of VCU IP. Virginia and Richmond have a wealth of resources for startups — it’s just a matter of finding them and linking the pieces. (If you would like to partner with VCU startups, email me).
The foundation is in place. Last year VCU broke a record in sponsored research funding at $363 million, marking a 25% increase over the previous three years. Our goal now is to increase the number of quality startups created each year, at an increasing rate, and help VCU become recognized not only for its research and innovation, but also as a startup engine.
Our ultimate measure of success? To turn VCU research into companies that will optimize people’s health, support sustainable energy and environments, create a more just and equitable society, and enrich the human experience. We hope you enjoy the stories of some of these inventors.
Ivelina Metcheva, Ph.D., MBA
Senior Executive Director
VCU Innovation Gateway
Bringing ideas to life
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Search the VCU Technology Marketplace
You can browse through VCU inventions and technologies, available for license or partnership, on our Technology Marketplace.
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Featured Story: Finding a Safe and Effective Human Vaccine for Lyme Disease |
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One of VCU’s most successful and revenue-generating inventors is on track to develop a vaccine against Lyme disease in humans, plus a new diagnostic test. |
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Video: VR games to ID 'callous-unemotional youth' |
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A unique collaboration between VCUArts and the School of Medicine is developing a virtual-reality game and data-tracking program that focuses on the roles of fear and fearlessness among youth with callous-unemotional traits. Such traits make them more likely to engage in chronic criminal behavior and develop mental health problems into adulthood. View the video and read more about it.
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VCU innovation and research leader honored
by National Academy of Inventors
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P. Srirama Rao, Ph.D., the university’s vice president for research and innovation, was inducted as a senior member of the National Academy of Inventors this fall. Read more.
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Building a better face mask
VCU researchers are developing a material designed to capture — and kill — microbes, including the COVID-19 viruses. Wei-Ning Wang, Ph.D. is working with a mask design that uses chemical reactions and electrical charges to kill microbes, including the coronavirus particle. “The problem with almost all commercially available masks is that they are passive devices. They capture airborne pathogens, but they don’t kill them,” says Wang, an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering in the VCU College of Engineering.
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Patent-Pending Progress for Proxy-Flosser
This fall, we reported on VCU School of Dentistry student Christina Gordon, who invented a flossing device for orthodontic patients who wear braces. Now, the Proxy-Flosser device has received patent-pending status, and a new animation shows — for the first time — the device and how it works.
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VCU Nursing Dean revolutionizes academic scheduling |
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The crash cart. Color-coded IV lines. Neonatal phototherapy. Some of the most influential medical inventions of the last century were created by nurses. Because of their unique and irreplaceable position within the medical system, nurses often identify needs and create solutions where no one else can. VCU School of Nursing Dean and Professor Jean Giddens, Ph.D., RN, FAAN has developed coursFacts, a solution to the complex logistics of course scheduling. Read more or contact coursFacts software licensing associate Brent Fagg.
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DNA can't tell you where a sample came from on the body, and can't tell you when the stain was deposited. Christopher Ehrhardt, Ph.D. and his team are trying to answer some of the most pressing and challenging questions facing forensic laboratories today. Watch more.
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Partnership forged to combat chronic inflammation and brain injury |
An assistant professor in the VCU Department of Surgery is working with an emerging Florida-based biotechnology company to use its drug to test therapies for a number of conditions linked to chronic inflammation. The research spans issues that affect many patients such as acute and chronic problems associated with traumatic brain injuries. The researcher, Kirsty Dixon, Ph.D., is also looking at a lesser-known brain disorder commonly found among Gulf War veterans, known as Gulf War Illness. |
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