This past Monday was national Technology Transfer Professionals Day. In honor of our own TCS professionals we wanted to highlight their achievements this past fiscal year.

Earlier this summer TCS brokered an agreement with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Services to preserve an extensive collection of algae. The Licensing group also celebrated 91 invention disclosures, over $1 million dollars in revenue, and supported eight startup companies by providing access to UConn developed technologies.

Last winter TCS patented a sensor that can image microbial growth quickly and with high sensitivity to help health care practitioners decide the best course of treatment for patients. The Licensing group also launched a new online portal for invention disclosures and open innovation. The portals makes it easier and more efficient for inventors to submit their invention disclosure and identify research collaboration opportunities within the industry.

“We are proud to be a resource for faculty and student inventors and we are thankful for the support of the UConn community which allows us to broaden our reach in the Technology Transfer space,” Amit Kumar, Senior Director of Licensing.

The TCS group is pleased to announce that UConn has been awarded a patent for “Instruments for Measurement of Multiple Material Properties.”

U.S. Patent No. 11,474,060, which issued on October 18, 2022 is the work of inventors Michael T. Pettes, Hyun-Young Kim and Sajad Yazdani.

We welcome them to our growing community of inventors!

The patent may be found at this link to the patent office.

The TCS group is pleased to announce that UConn has been awarded a patent for “Mesoporous Tungsten Oxide Composition.”

U.S. Patent No. 11,492,265, which issued on November 8, 2022 is the work of inventors Steven Suib, Tharindu Kapuge and Wimalika Thalgaspitiya.

We welcome them to our growing community of inventors!

The patent may be found at this link to the patent office.

It’s been a busy Fall for TCS! Check out what we’ve been up to in our Fall 2022 Newsletter.

The TCS Licensing group launched two new webinar series this Fall.  The first, the Industry Partnership Series, explores open innovation opportunities that exist in the industry. The companies presenting will discuss their areas of interest and how they work with universities to further innovation. The second, the Innovation Series, focuses on different aspects of intellectual property protection. The installments focus on patent prosecution, inventorship in academia, patentable subject matter, preparing effective invention disclosures, and software that impacts the research community.

“Our hope for these series is to educate faculty on how to prepare an invention disclosure, to review patent prosecution, and explore partnership and innovation opportunities with industry to further research in the lab.” – Amit Kumar, Senior Director of Licensing. 

Learn more about these webinars and register for upcoming topics on our event webpage.

Check out what TCS has been up lately to in our Summer Newsletter:

https://mailchi.mp/uconn.edu/novel-technology-provides-new-path-to-prevent-neuronal-death

After two years of attending virtually, it was exciting to represent UConn at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) International Convention in San Diego this past June. BIO is the world’s largest advocacy association representing member companies, state biotechnology groups, academic and research institutions, and related organizations across the United States and in 30+ countries. UConn had over 100 assets showcased this year, and I had the opportunity to meet with industry liaisons to discuss possible partnerships.

One of the biggest takeaways from the event is the pharmaceutical industry’s increasing interest in working with universities early in the research process. I met with several industry liaisons who will be working directly with TCS in the near future. They will be scouting our technologies and potentially moving UConn technologies from the bench to market. TCS is excited to the explore potential partnerships made possible through the conference and put UConn research on the road to meeting needs and changing the biotech world.

Author: Ana Lena Fidantsef, Industry Liaison

Dr. Ana Fidantsef, of the TCS Licensing team, collaborated with CSL in promoting the 2022 Research Acceleration Initiative across UConn and identifying faculties whose research aligned with CSL. CSL Ltd is a leading global biotech company operating in over 35 countries, with headquarters in Australia. CSL develops and delivers innovative biotherapies to help people living with life-threatening medical conditions. CSL’s Research Acceleration Initiative aims to fast-track discovery of innovative biotherapies through partnerships between CSL and global research organizations. These partnerships provide funding and access to industry experts for scientists working on novel therapeutic strategies. Successful applicants will receive up to $200k p.a. for up to 2 years (max $400k funding).

The 2022 Research Acceleration Initiative was launched in December, 2021 with a focus on innovative research projects that address unmet medical needs and that are aligned with CSL’s Therapeutic Areas and scientific Platform.  A total of 6 applications were submitted by UConn’s faculty through TCS by the close of deadline.

Other opportunities like this can be found on TCS’s Innovation Funding Opportunities webpage.

Author: Dr. Amit Kumar, Senior Director of Licensing

TCS welcomes Michael A. Invernale as the new Senior Licensing Manager for Physical Sciences.  He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Boston College, where he worked on nanoparticles for aqueous soluble semiconductor nanocrystals. Michael also holds a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Connecticut, spanning the Chemistry Department and the Institute of Materials Science; his dissertation focused on organic conducting polymers with a variety of properties, including color-changing functionality. Michael was also a postdoctoral associate in the Langer Lab at MIT, where his studies centered around novel sensing platforms using microneedle arrays and conducting polymers for diabetes therapeutics.

While at MIT, a UConn start-up company, Alphachromics, which was co-founded by Michael and his PhD advisor, Gregory A. Sotzing, gained traction and attracted him back to Storrs. Throughout his graduate and entrepreneurial work, Michael engaged with Tech Transfer, intellectual property, and marketing of nascent technologies.

Now back at UConn, Michael is excited to be a part of UConn’s research world once again: “I am very eager to engage with faculty and to make a meaningful contribution to the successes of the many incredible technological innovations generated at the University on a daily basis. There is no dearth of talented individuals here who give us the opportunity to learn about their amazing new scientific achievements and to find ways to bring them into the broader marketplace. This office plays a unique role in the life cycle of technology, and it is a vibrant place to work for any curious and creative individual.”

Author: Michael Invernale, Senior Licensing Manager for Physical Sciences