CU Announces Annual Technology Transfer Award Winners

DENVER (Jan. 9, 2009) –  The University of Colorado Technology Transfer Office benefits both the University and the people of Colorado—for example, in the last 15 years, 83 companies have been formed based on CU technology, and of  those, 67 have operations in Colorado, five have become publicly traded companies, and 10 have been acquired by public companies. On Monday, Jan. 12 the University of Colorado Technology Transfer Office will present its annual awards to researchers working in areas ranging from cancer treatments to vascular imaging to fuel cells, and to companies and business advisors supporting innovation. Following a panel discussion among several leaders in the Colorado entrepreneurial community, awards will be given to:

Distinguished Interdepartmental Inventors – Dr. Theodore W. Randolph(Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at CU-Boulder and Co-Director of the Center for Pharmaceutical Biotechnology) AND Dr. John F. Carpenter(Professor of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology at UC Denver and Co-Director of the Center for Pharmaceutical Biotechnology). Research collaboration generating improved techniques for stabilizing vaccines during freeze-drying and storage, of particular significance in third-world countries lacking medical storage facilities.

Inventor of the Year, CU-Boulder – Dr. Richard D. Noble (Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering). Research interests include the use of ionic liquids and zeolite membranes for gas separations, and the development of liquid crystal membranes for nano-filtration and fuel cell applications. INTERVIEW

Inventors of the Year, UC Denver – Dr. John D. Carroll (Professor of Medicine, Division of Cardiology) AND Dr. Shiuh-Yung (James) Chen (Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Cardiology). Research collaboration focused on improving diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in cardiac catheterization labs by developing advanced vascular imaging techniques.

New Inventors of the Year (UC Denver) – Dr. Heide L. Ford (Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Joint Appointment in Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics,) AND Dr. Rui Zhao (Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics). Research examining how genes involved in normal development may later be “hijacked” in tumor formation, leading to novel methods of detecting and treating tumors.

New Inventor of the Year, CU-Boulder – Dr. Hang (Hubert) Yin (Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry). Research group utilizes cutting-edge techniques to identify potential drugs to prevent and treat opoid drug dependence, as well as some cancers and cardiovascular diseases.

New Inventor of the Year, Colorado Springs – Dr. Sara Honn Qualls (Professor and Chair of Psychology). Research interests focus on family development in later life and clinical interventions; development of neurological wellness and assessment tools for elderly care management.

Business Advisor of the Year – Boulder Innovation Center, Executive Director Tim Bour. Honored for their knowledge, experience, and cooperation in launching University technology into successful businesses.

Physical Sciences/Engineering/IT Company of the Year – KM Labs, Inc is a leading manufacturer of ultra-short pulse lasers for the research market and their team includes several of the world’s most renowned experts in laser technology included the founders, Margaret Murnane and Henry Kapteyn, both of whom are Professors and physicists at CU-Boulder. CU is also home to the highly-advanced Kapteyn/Murnane lab at JILA, one of the nation’s leading scientific institutes supporting research programs focused on the design of precision optics and atom lasers.

Bioscience Company of the Year. Taligen Therapeutics, Inc., headquartered in Cambridge, MA with research operations in Aurora, CO, is focused on the discovery and development of novel protein therapeutics that modulate the alternative pathway of the complement system to treat a wide range of inflammatory conditions and diseases. The company's lead therapeutic candidates are monoclonal antibodies and recombinant fusion proteins that target key factors in the alternative pathway, which Taligen's founders, including UC Denver Professor V. Michael Holers, M.D., have validated as an important amplification loop in the inflammation process.

Lifetime Inductee into the Pinnacles of Inventorship -- Dr. V. Michael Holers (Smyth Professor of Medicine and Head of Rheumatology, UC Denver). Dr. Holers is one of the world’s leading experts in complement biology.  His research focus is on the roles of complement receptors and membrane regulatory proteins in the immune response and has developed human and mouse models in which to study these processes with an emphasis on rheumatoid arthritis. Among his many accomplishments, Dr. Holers co-founded Taligen Therapeutics, Inc. and serves as their Chief Scientific Officer. 

About the Technology Transfer Office
The CU Technology Transfer Office pursues, protects, packages, and licenses to business the intellectual property generated from research at CU. The TTO provides assistance to faculty, staff, and students, as well as to businesses looking to license or invest in CU technology. For more information about technology transfer at CU, visit www.cu.edu/techtransfer.

About the University of Colorado
The University of Colorado is a three-campus system with four locations: the University of Colorado at Boulder, the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and the University of Colorado Denver’s downtown Denver campus and Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora. Nearly 54,000 undergraduate and graduate students are pursuing academic opportunities on CU campuses. CU is a premier teaching and research university, and is ranked sixth among public institutions in federal research expenditures by the National Science Foundation. Academic prestige is marked by the university’s four Nobel laureates, seven MacArthur “genius” Fellows, 18 alumni astronauts and 19 Rhodes Scholars. For more information about all of the CU campuses, go to www.cu.edu.

433_ Innovation, Economic Development and the University
Higher education plays an important role in economic development and retaining global competitiveness of the United States. "My focus is on innovation and how to guide a campus of our size towards a culture of innovation explains," Dr. Jeremy Haefner, Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation, Dean, Graduate School Dean, College of Engineering and Applied Science, Director CITTI, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. UCCS is an important part of the CU Tech Transfer Organization effort and plays heavily on its Innovation focus. Dr. Haefner is very encouraged about the UCCS 'Mind Studio' (making prototypes, their 'emerging venture micro funds' their focus on 'security' as well as the partnerships and other areas they are developing. There is a great deal more...listen now...

Related Links: UCCS || CU TTO Channel || CU Tech Transfer Office || Tech Transfer Awards || Awards Banquet Photos || Keywords: Jeremy Haefner, CUTTO, UCCS, CITTI, Innovation, Tech Transfer > Bytes: 29056839 - 2/4/08 Return to TOC

624_ “Colorado Rising” Live Weekly TV show
Every Monday From 2:00 - 3:00pm
(Watch-Live-On-Your-Computer)

It’s all over the news. Everyone knows the bleak economic forecasts. We’re not naïve. Colorado Rising is here. A new media interactive TV show, we’re focused on our strengths and what we can all do together to demonstrate success.LIVE Broadcast.... w3w3® Live Webcast Click here to watch and listen online. If you have Skype you can call or video in...

Colorado Rising 2/23/09 Video Archive:
2:00 pm Kelly Burton (Investor Avenue)
2:15 pm David Allen (CU Tech Transfer Office)
2:30 pm Graham Russell (Sustainable Opportunity Summit)
2:45 pm David Cohen (TechStars)
Related Links: Broadband Video || Colorado Rising || Economy Builders || Blog || Sign Up Free Skype || Keywords: David Allen, CU Tech Transfer Office, Jock Mirow, Broadband Video, Colorado Rising, Web TV,Entrepreneurs, Economy Builders, Interactive Business TV Show Channels, CO.Rising > Channel:ColoradoRising 2/23/09

Table of Contents (TOC)
David Allen, CU Associate Vice President for Technology Transfer.
Dr. Stein Sture, Vice Chancellor for Research and Dean of the Graduate School, Boulder
Dr. Richard Traystman, Vice Chancellor for Research, Professor in Pharmacology, UCDHSC
HB1001 Economic Development Stimulated
More Interviews from 2008

University of Colorado's Office of Technology Transfer Mission Statement
The mission of the CU Technology Transfer Office is to aggressively pursue, protect, package, and license to business the intellectual property generated from the research enterprise and to serve faculty, staff, and students seeking to create such intellectual property.
(303) 735-3711 - Email: techtransfer@cu.edu - http://www.cu.edu/techtransfer

626_ Tech Transfer is going well at the University of Colorado
Dr. Richard Noble was awarded, Inventor of the Year, CU Boulder. He said, "The statement for the award actually involved three separate activities that we’ve done and are moving towards commercialization. With Carl Koval in Chemistry, we’ve developed an electro/chemical pump, this is a pump that has no moving parts, and it can be used to very carefully meter fluids and it’s been licensed to a company in Arkansas that’s looking at it for biological applications, related to giving people very specific doses of drugs as well as analytical chemical testing." Dr. Noble described other projects, "Something very different, we’re working with Shell on zyolite membranes to remove carbon dioxide from natural gas. About 1/3 of all natural gas fields are contaminated with carbon dioxide that you have to remove for a couple of reasons. The 3rd technology we’re working on is called ionic liquid (a salt that happens to be liquid at room temperature). He said, "The Tech Transfer Office here has done some very unique and smart things to help. They’ve started a seed grant program. If they identify a technology they feel needs a little additional work, they provide some seed grants. Our electro chemical pump received one of these seed grants and got the additional data that allowed us to license it."
Related Links: CU Tech Transfer Office || CU TTO Channel || Chemical and Biological Engineering || CU TTO Award Photos || Keywords: Dr. Richard Noble, University of Colorado, Inventor of the Year CU-Boulder, Carl Koval, Kristi Anseth, Chemical and Biological Engineering > Channel: CUTTO Bytes=9414847 - 2/23/09 LISTEN

407_ The University of Colorado Research Community
CU Associate Vice President for Technology Transfer David Allen explains to Larry Nelson how the CU Research Community works with leaders at all three CU Universities. This is part of a three-part series and will include interviews with Dr. Stein Sture, Vice Chancellor for Research and Dean of the Graduate School, CU-Boulder, Dr. Richard Traystman, Vice Chancellor for Research, UCDHSC, and Dr. Jeremy Haefner, Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation and Dean of the Graduate School (and Dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences). David points out these research teams are one of the primary reasons why the University of Colorado has such high national rankings even though their budget doesn't touch the universities on the east and west coast. The synergy between the CU Research Community and the CU Technology Transfer Office has a tremendous 'economic development' for the state of Colorado. Listen to how it's done.
Related Links:  CU TTO Channel || CU TTO Winners || CU Tech Transfer Office || Award Photos || Keywords:David Allen, Technology Transfer, CU, University of Colorado, Research Community, Economic Development, Colorado> Bytes: 12419555 > 11/12/07> Return to TOC