OVPR Office Spotlight:

K-State Innovation Partners

For K-State Innovation Partners, 2023 has been another year full of collaboration with the K-State community, researchers and faculty and a successful year of protecting and commercializing intellectual property.

This year Innovation Partners led Kansas State University’s submission that resulted in receiving the 2023 Innovation and Economic Prosperity Award by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities in the "Place" category. The “Place” award identifies excellence in community outreach, public service and extension that contribute to greater community development and stewardship. 

K-State was also recognized as one of the Top 5 patent earners in the state of Kansas with 10 patents issued in 2022. In addition, the National Academy of Inventors ranked K-State in the Top 100 universities that were granted utility patents in 2022. This list was designed to highlight American innovation and the institutions that played a lead role in pushing forward the innovation ecosystem. K-State Innovation Partners supports the university and its researchers in protecting and deploying innovations and inventions for the benefit of the creators, K-State, the state of Kansas and the public.

As we say goodbye to 2023 and acknowledge all our accomplishments, now is a great time to report any new inventions, innovations or new research findings to our team before the year ends! Commercialization of intellectual property developed by K-State accelerates the delivery of research results to the public. It’s the goal of K-State Innovation Partners to help develop and protect your discoveries to return the greatest advantage. We strive to make it easy for innovators to participate in this process. Explore our website to learn about the disclosure and commercialization process and submit your next innovation.

Effective January 1, 2024, there is a new schedule of charges, or SOC, for the Electronics Design Lab. The updated schedule of charges is posted on the EDL website. Additionally, there is a new standard practice moving forward as it relates to sponsored program records within the Cayuse system and the SOC billing process. Effective January 1, 2024, EDL personnel should no longer be named on the research team. EDL will only bill for their services based on the approved SOC and therefore will be included in the Cayuse budget form section. This change will require a transition period as there are several proposals/awards with EDL staff listed as personnel. It will not be a requirement to modify existing projects. Below is the updated SOC. 

The National Science Foundation’s EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Track 4: EPSCoR Research Fellows provides awards to build research capacity at institutions and transform the career trajectories of investigators — both at the assistant and associate levels) by further developing their individual research potential through collaborations (often 3 summer months in two successive years — with investigators from the nation's premier private, governmental, or academic research centers.  Through these visits, fellowship awardees will be able to learn new techniques, develop new collaborations or advance existing partnerships, benefit from access to unique equipment and facilities, and/or shift their research toward potentially transformative new directions.

This is a limited submission program and K-State is allowed only four submissions. Thus, if you are interested in submitting to this program you must notify the Office of Research Development, or ORD, by 5 p.m., Jan. 16 via ordlimitedsubs@k-state.edu. Your notification should include a 2- to 3-sentence description of your project plus the names of your anticipated host and host institution. If ORD receives more than four notifications, an internal competition will be needed with preproposals due by 5 p.m. on Feb. 7. While specific instructions will be given to the notifiers for the preproposal, they will closely follow the instructions from last year which can be found at EPSCoR Track 4 Guidelines. The Track 4 proposal itself is due to NSF by 5 p.m. on April 9.

Research Weekly will not be published during the weeks of Dec. 18, 25 and Jan. 1 for the holiday break. The next issue will be on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024.

BioMADE is pleased to issue Project Call 4.0, Accelerating Biomanufacturing Innovation: Advancing Solutions for Greener Chemistry, Low-Resource Environments, and Process Intensification. White Paper submissions for projects that contribute to building a sustainable, domestic, end-to-end bioindustrial manufacturing ecosystem are now being accepted. 

Project Call 4.0 will follow a unique format, focusing on a set of cross-disciplinary solutions that advances biomanufacturing innovation. The focus areas are topic-specific and should advance bioindustrial manufacturing to support diverse applications, including alternative proteins, cultivated meat, feedstocks, additives, specialty chemicals, ingredients, and other product categories. The focus areas are: 

• Accelerate the transition to greener chemistry 
• Develop biomanufacturing solutions for low-resource environments 
• Process integration and process intensification  

Successful proposals will describe in detail how the project aligns with the focus area(s). Projects must also align to a minimum of one BioMADE program area: Technology and Innovation, Education and Workforce Development, and/or Safety, Security, Sustainability, and Social Responsibility. However, incorporating more than one program area into a project is highly encouraged and will be scored more favorably during the review process.  

Technology and Innovation

Projects that have a Technology and Innovation component should address at least one of the project call focus areas within Biomanufacturing Readiness Levels 4-7, as well as align with BioMADE’s Technical Roadmap. The Technical Roadmap is a strategic plan organized around a set of technical landmarks that, when reached, will strengthen the foundation of bioindustrial manufacturing in the United States. The Roadmap includes an in-depth explanation of BioMADE’s Technical Modules, a set of Representative Production Scenarios for biomanufacturing, and a prioritized list of technical needs by Innovation Area and Production Scenario.  

The Technical Roadmap is available to BioMADE members as a member benefit.

Education and Workforce Development

Successful Education & Workforce Development submissions will include innovative strategies to meet and exceed the challenge of preparing the future bioindustrial manufacturing workforce. All proposed work must demonstrate substantive industry investment in the proposed activities and clear pathways resulting in career employment. Proposals must align with BioMADE’s Education and Workforce Development Blueprint, Building National Capacity for Bioindustrial Manufacturing. The Blueprint serves as a strategic driver for sustainable, national, systems-level change for workforce development. 

The Education & Workforce Development Blueprint is available to BioMADE members as a member benefit.

Safety, Security, Sustainability, and Social Responsibility

Safety, Security, Sustainability, and Social Responsibility, or 4S, projects should address how the effort upholds related ethical principles and demonstrates how they advance one or more of these 4S components (see Appendix B in the full Project Call). This may include work or research which promotes the protection of workers, consumers, the public or environments from harm, manages potential threats of misuse, contributes to the long-term viability of our economy or environment, or improves societal welfare by creating positive outcomes for stakeholders, communities, or the public. 

More Information and Questions

Find answers to frequently asked questions about project funding here. For questions about the submission process or to set up an optional meeting with a Program Manager to discuss your idea, reach out to proposals@biomade.org. 

Read all Project Call details.

The National Institutes of Health Clinical and Translational Science Institute at the University of Kansas Medical Center, Frontiers Informatics is seeking presenters at their next professional development opportunity from 4-6 p.m., on Thursday, Dec. 14. This opportunity provides professional development, networking, and the chance to display the success of your projects to others in the research community. If you would like to give a presentation, please sign up here or if you would like to join this exciting opportunity to connect with each other and our Frontiers Informatics colleagues, please register for the zoom webinar.

All are invited to attend a professional development opportunity and it is not limited to informatics research. All are invited to join this listening session where we will give exciting presentations and discuss how Informatics has contributed to the success of research projects.

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy will be holding a briefing for the artificial intelligence research community to provide an overview of the Biden administration's newly released executive order on AI and its potential to support and accelerate AI research while ensuring the safety and trustworthiness of AI systems. In addition to a short summary of the EO's actions, there will be time set aside for interactive question and answer with the research community.

Learn more and register to attend.

The IRES Program Team is hosting a series of Virtual Office Hours aimed at giving potential PIs an opportunity to ask questions.  Office Hours will be held on most Monday afternoons at noon starting November 27 and ending on January 29, during which any questions about the program can be asked and discussed.  

Please feel free to attend the session which best fits your schedule.

Learn more and attend a session.

Join this Partnerships for Innovation, or PFI, Q&A webinar to learn about the PFI program. During the webinar, you will have the opportunity to ask questions about the PFI program and what to expect for the submission deadline.

Register to attend.

ExpandAI Office hours are provided for your convenience. NSF Program Directors representing different categories of MSIs will be available on the days and times listed to answer your questions about the program. Feel free to join/leave at any point during the meeting.

Learn more and join a meeting.

3 - 4:00 p.m.

December 20, 2023

Zoom

The Build and Broaden Program supports cutting-edge research, training opportunities and new research infrastructure in the social, behavioral and economic sciences at minority-serving institutions, including historically Black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions and tribal colleges and universities.

Program Director Enrique S. Pumar will discuss the following topics:

• Overview of NSF Directorates and social, behavioral and economic sciences programs.
• Introduction to Build and Broaden.
• The funding life cycle.
• Best practices to submit successful projects.
• Proposal review and evaluation criteria.

Register to attend.

Join us on Thursday, December 21st, 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. for the next IOS Virtual Office Hour where we will provide insights on navigating the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) many funding opportunities and online resources. We will also provide an overview of the merit review process and discuss strategies that both new and established PIs can implement to help improve their NSF grant proposals. The virtual office hour will end with a Q&A session.

Register to attend.

Saturday January 13, 2024

Sunday January 14, 2024

Hilton Garden Inn, Manhattan, Kansas

The K-INBRE annual symposium is back once again, and we are excited to bring together students, faculty and staff from our 10 universities in Kansas and Oklahoma.

Register to attend by December 1.

Submit abstracts by December 1.

Symposium Schedule

Please contact Heiata Chapman or Clare Frantz with any questions.

NSF advances technologies to improve quality of life for persons with disabilities

The U.S. National Science Foundation is investing in research solutions to address challenges faced by persons with disabilities, including the development of assistive and rehabilitative technologies to enhance their quality of life and provide greater opportunities for gainful employment. With a $30 million investment, NSF has selected six multidisciplinary research teams to advance from Phase 1 to Phase 2 of the NSF Convergence Accelerator's Track H: Enhancing Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities. NSF

NIH clinical trial of tuberculous meningitis drug regimen begins

A trial of a new drug regimen to treat tuberculous meningitis (TBM) has started enrolling adults and adolescents in several countries where tuberculosis (TB) is prevalent. The Improved Management with Antimicrobial Agents Isoniazid Rifampicin Linezolid for TBM (IMAGINE-TBM) trial will compare a six-month regimen of four drugs with the nine-month, standard-of-care regimen for TBM. The study aims to generate evidence that could improve treatment for people with TBM. NIH

Melbourne-made COVID-19 vaccines show robust boosting potential

Two Melbourne-made COVID-19 vaccines have shown strong potential to be an improved approach for boosting immunity to SARS-CoV-2 variants according to interim results of a Phase 1 clinical trial. EurekAlert!

New AI-powered algorithm could better assess people’s risk of common heart condition

A new artificial intelligence (AI) model designed by Scripps Research scientists could help clinicians better screen patients for atrial fibrillation (or AFib)—an irregular, fast heartbeat that is associated with stroke and heart failure. The model picks up on tiny variations in a person’s normal heartbeat that signify AFib risk, which standard screening tests cannot detect. EurekAlert!

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researchweekly@k-state.edu

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