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News and Events > News Release
Contact: Lindsay Polak
Technology Transfer Office
University of Colorado
(303) 735-5518
lindsay.polak@cu.edu
CU Announces Annual Technology Transfer Award Winners
Photos available via w3w3.com.
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.
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. |
