“Innovation is absolutely critical to UofL’s mission,” said UofL President Neeli Bendapudi. “It’s what drives us and inspires us. Our three most important goals as a university are to be a great place to learn, to work and to invest, and the work of these innovators contributes to all three.”Ěý

The second annual event, hosted virtually this year by the and its technology transfer arm, the honored UofL innovators who had recently been awarded a patent or whose technology had been licensed to a company for commercialization in fiscal year 2020, which ended June 30, 2020.Ěý

Two large awards were also presented: Paula Bates was given the Innovator of the Year Award, and Theo Edmonds, Brad Shuck and Laura Weingartner all accepted Trailblazer awards on behalf of their teams. Each was delivered a red-and-black glass flame — the symbol for the event.

“Our office, and UofL as a whole, are committed to taking the brilliant, groundbreaking research happening on our campus out of the lab, out of the classroom, and translating it into inventions and products that improve the way we work and live,” said Executive Vice President for Research and Innovation, Kevin Gardner. “And, this past year, our researchers worked tirelessly to develop innovations that in a very real way, may save lives — all while dealing with the added challenges of COVID-19.”Ěý

Innovator of the Year, Bates, is a serial inventor and , known for a long track record of developing strong partnerships with industry to commercialize her technologies. In 2020, she partnered with other UofL innovators to develop a potential breakthrough in our fight against COVID-19 that is believed to block the virus from infecting human cells. The technologyĚý to a now publicly-traded biomedical company, which is working with UofL to further develop it for market.

As for the Trailblazers, who are awarded for work in new areas of innovation for UofL, Edmonds accepted the award for the Cultural Wellbeing Index, a tool that helps companies improve corporate culture and organizational wellbeing. To commercialize the technology, Edmonds launched , UofL’s .

Shuck accepted for the Employee Engagement Scale, a software that helps companies measure workforce engagement. The technology’s non-exclusive license to startup Unitonomy marks the — followed by the second and third, also secured by Shuck, when the technology was licensed to two other companies in the same year.

Lastly, Weingartner accepted the award for “,” a first-of-its-kind manual aimed at better-training future medical professionals on caring for LGBTQ and other non-normative patients. The manual is meant to provide resources and guidance so that medical schools, residencies and continuing medical education programs across the country are able to implement training and provide better resources for more equitable care.

All told, fiscal year 2020 was the at UofL, with a total income of $9.4 million driven by a strong year for startups and deals. It also was UofL’s best year on-record for competitive research funding, with total new awards of $170 million.

“This was a great year for innovation and research — also our best year on record,” said Allen Morris, executive director of the Commercialization EPI-Center. “Our innovators all share in that success, and I look forward to continuing that work together in 2021.”

The effort, (KCV), is a collaboration between UofL, the University of Kentucky and Kentucky Science and Technology Corp. (KSTC). Together, they will provide expertise, training and other support to help Kentucky colleges and universities get their inventions off campus and into the hands of entrepreneurs and industry.

“The University of Louisville has long been a leader in driving innovative, research-backed technologies to the marketplace,” said UofL President Neeli Bendapudi. “Through this new venture, we can extend our vast proven experience, knowledge and success to institutions around the Commonwealth, working with them to accelerate economic development and the commercialization of technologies that could save lives and improve the way we live and work.”

In getting university-born technologies to market, KCV’s goal is to boost Kentucky’s position as a technology hub, spurring economic development and new tech-backed startups. Connecting all the state’s schools also is expected to strengthen the state’s position to compete for grants and other federal funding that support innovative companies.

“We all want to grow Kentucky’s tech sector and create the high-paying, knowledge-based jobs that follow,” Beshear said. “A big part of doing so is turning Kentucky’s own academic research and development capabilities into commercially viable products and startups. By partnering to create Kentucky Commercialization Ventures, we will provide the infrastructure to commercialize our own best ideas, build the commonwealth’s tech industry and distinguish Kentucky as a national model in innovation.”

Under recently signed contracts, Kentucky will pay $200,000 to each of UofL’s and UK’s research foundations over the next two fiscal years, and $755,000 to KSTC this fiscal year.

At UofL, KCV will be led by the Office of Research and Innovation’s , which works with startups and industry to commercialize university-owned technologies. Kevin Gardner, UofL’s executive vice president for research and innovation, said KCV is an opportunity to expand on other UofL efforts in this area, such as its suite of innovation grant and training programs that support technology and product development.

“This builds on UofL’s existing work to boost entrepreneurship and get cutting-edge, university-born technologies to market,” Gardner said. “With KCV, we can leverage those past successes and earned expertise to help other Kentucky colleges and universities do the same, driving economic development across the Commonwealth.”

The EPI-Center will have an in-house KCV commercialization manager, Megan Aanstoos, who will work directly with inventors and institutions across the state to develop innovative ideas and inventions into marketable products with established business models. UofL also will have a faculty or administration champion who will work directly with the faculty, staff and students at large.

“We are very excited to work with our sister institutions to drive commercialization in Kentucky,” said EPI-Center executive director Allen Morris.

He and 167 other inventors from institutions around the world will be formally recognized as 2019 NAI Fellows at a ceremony in Phoenix, Arizona, in April 2020, according to a .

“It is a great honor for me to be one of the NAI fellows,” said El-Baz, a UofL J.B. Speed School of Engineering alum and chair of bioengineering.

At UofL, El-Baz works at the intersection of computer science and medicine. Many of his inventions use artificial intelligence to analyze medical images, allowing them to very accurately diagnose everything from Ěýto to .

El-Baz is the sixth UofL inventor to be inducted into the NAI, following Suzanne Ildstad and Kevin Walsh (2014); William Pierce (2015); Paula Bates (2016); and most recently, Robert S. Keynton (2017).

“We’re very proud of Ayman, and all past UofL inductees, for this huge accomplishment and all the hard work behind it,” said Allen Morris, executive director of the . His office works with UofL researchers, like , to commercialize their inventions.Ěý

“This kind of honor shows our university’s commitment to and leadership in research, invention and technology commercialization,” he said. “These inventions have the power to change and improve the way we work and live.”

Aside from the EPI-Center, El-Baz has also worked with other UofL programs for technology development and commercialization. He was the first researcher to hit a “trifecta” with UofL’s suite ofĚý, having earned entry into the UofL Coulter Translational Partnership, NSF I-Corps and NSF AWARE:ACCESS programs.

“These crucial support mechanisms have enabled me to develop and translate technologies from ideation to commercialization quickly,” El-Baz said.

To date, El-Baz holds eight patents, five copyrights and has had 11 technologies optioned and two have been licensed to companies for further development and commercialization. Some technologies have also resulted in startup ventures like Autism Diagnostics Technologies Inc., which El-Baz co-founded, creating jobs and economic development.Ěý

NAI fellows hold a collective 41,500 issued U.S. patents, resulting in 11,000 licensed technologies and companies, generating more than 36 million jobs and $1.6 trillion in revenue, according to the release.

“I am so impressed by the caliber of this year’s class of NAI Fellows, all of whom are highly-regarded in their respective fields,” NAI President Paul R. Sanberg said in the release. “The breadth and scope of their discovery is truly staggering. I’m excited not only see their work continue, but also to see their knowledge influence a new era of science, technology, and innovation worldwide.”

“Innovation is absolutely critical to the University of Louisville’s mission,” said UofL President, Neeli Bendapudi. “It’s what drives us, inspires us, and it’s a big part of what makes us a great place to learn, work and invest — our three most important goals as a university.”Ěý

The event, hosted by the and the honored UofL innovators who had recently been awarded a patent or whose technology had been licensed to a company for commercialization.Ěý

“Our researchers and innovators do tremendous work with the power to change and improve lives,” said Allen Morris, executive director of the Commercialization EPI-Center, formerly the Office of Technology Transfer. “That’s what this event is about — celebrating them, and the work they do.”

Two large awards were also presented: Susan Ildstad was given the Innovator of the Year Award and John O. Trent was given the Career Impact Award. Each took home a red-and-black glass flame — the symbol for the event.Ěý

Ildstad’s company, Talaris, recently to develop a therapy invented at UofL that could improve the lives of kidney transplant recipients. The technology, which just entered its phase three clinical trials, could allow living donor kidney transplant recipients to stay off immunosuppression drugs, which they would otherwise need for the rest of their lives.

Likewise, Trent has a long a history of collaborating on technologies, particularly in . Some of his notable inventions include AS1411, novel PFK inhibitors for fighting the spread of cancer and his natural product hand cream for DNA repair, now licensed to and in clinical development by Repairogen.Ěý

Robert S. Keynton, interim executive vice president for Research and Innovation, said this year has been a at UofL. In 2019, he said, UofL saw more research disclosures of new innovations, more commercialization deals and more innovation income.

Keynton also noted several success stories that had gained attention over the past year: One team, he said, developed a new method of , extending its shelf life for the battlefield, rural areas and even space travel. Another team developed a way to , which could have huge impacts for our environment. And yet another is helping people .

“The work you do is significant,” he said. “The work you do is important. The work you do has impact. And I’m proud to be part of it, both as the Interim EVPRI and as an inventor myself.”

Check out some of our innovators:Ěý