Both will serve as entrepreneurs in residence, or EIRs, through the . In this role, they will work with inventors to connect UofL technologies to industry and startups.

Dawson has extensive experience in healthcare and biotech, both as an executive and entrepreneur. He founded Renew Recovery, a drug addiction treatment facility offering structured intensive outpatient treatment for those suffering from substance abuse disorders. The company was acquired by Brightview Health in 2020.

“UofL has a long history of developing and launching health-related technologies and companies,” Dawson said.��“I’m looking forward to helping further that momentum and innovations that can improve the way we prevent, diagnose and treat disease.”

Bailey is a UofL alum who cut his teeth as a tech and manufacturing founder, launching companies like Revio, a powersports electronics, and Lucid Customs, a producer of induction heating equipment. Lucid was acquired by Dynavap, LLC in 2020.��

“As a proud Cardinal, I’m excited to work with researchers and the Office of Research and Innovation to get this cutting-edge tech to market,” he said.

Dawson and Bailey join a class of EIRs that currently includes seasoned founders Alice Shade (healthcare), Tendai Charasika (software) and Josh Nickols (biotech). Nickols joined as part of the first round of EIRs , followed by Shade��in 2020 and Charasika in 2021.

The EIR program is led by the Office of Research and Innovation’s UofL New Ventures team, which focuses on launching startups around research-born tech. The EIR program is in partnership with Amplify, an organization working to grow Louisville’s entrepreneurship ecosystem, with funding from the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development.

“We’re very excited to have Bill and Chris join us as EIRs, and to benefit from their knowledge and experience as founders,” said Will Metcalf, a UofL associate vice president for research and innovation. “This is such a strong team with broad expertise, and I can’t wait to work with them to further UofL-born innovations and startups.”

The Louisville Entrepreneurship Summit, presented by the , brought together more than 300 innovators, entrepreneurs, investors and supporters from throughout the region for a fireside chat, startup expo, networking and signing of Case’s new book, “.”��

“Entrepreneurship and innovation is so core to what we do and who we are as a university, whether that’s by educating the next generation of founders, developing research-backed products or launching new companies,” said Kevin Gardner, UofL’s executive vice president for research and innovation, who leads the organizing office and gave opening remarks. “We’re proud to work with Case and our community partners to support startups here and beyond.”

In addition to Case, speakers included Elliott Parker, CEO of Indianapolis venture firm, High Alpha Innovation; Jonathan Webb, founder of Kentucky-born agtech startup, AppHarvest; and Monique Quarterman, executive director of KY Innovation. Selected entrepreneurs also participated in a roundtable and had the chance to pitch their ideas to Case’s venture capital firm, Revolution LLC, which invests in early-stage companies located outside of major startup hubs, like New York City or San Francisco.

This event, held at the university’s newly renovated Angel’s Envy Bourbon Club, marked Case’s third visit to UofL and the region; in 2016, he toured UofL engineering facilities and FirstBuild makerspace, and in 2018, he heard pitches from Louisville startups that resulted in a $100,000 investment in a company born from UofL research. Case said Louisville’s entrepreneurial ecosystem has huge potential.

“Louisville has so many of the right elements in place for a robust startup ecosystem, including a great research university,” Case said. “I’m excited by what I’ve seen here, and look forward to following the city’s startups and future success stories.”

At UofL, the Office of Research and Innovation has launched a number of key supports driving regional entrepreneurship. That includes , a new team led by Will Metcalf, associate vice president for research development and strategic partnerships, dedicated to launching and growing innovative new companies to move research-backed technologies to market.

“We’ve had a lot of success and built momentum with these efforts to spur entrepreneurship and innovation on our campus and beyond,” said Metcalf, who emceed the Louisville Entrepreneurship Summit. “Our work at UofL, and this event, are meant to accelerate that momentum throughout our regional ecosystem, creating meaningful impact through translational research, innovation, entrepreneurship and economic development.”

Metcalf said those seeking to become more engaged can contact the UofL New Ventures team directly or to learn more about resources for entrepreneurs, such as the eight-week product innovation bootcamp (enrolling now for the spring 2023 session).����

The Louisville Entrepreneurship Summit was powered by Donna and Charles Denny, the Dan Jones Family,��Frost Brown Todd,��AppHarvest, AMPED, PNC, Blue Sky Ventures and��UofL.

That funding, an increase of more than $30 million over the previous record set a year earlier, supported work to address some of the biggest global problems of our time, including climate change and battling the COVID-19 pandemic.

“UofL is truly a research powerhouse, continuously blazing new trails and seeking answers to important questions,” said UofL President Neeli Bendapudi. “This record-breaking year for funding is proof of that fact, but it also shows our research and scholarship are a great investment — that UofL is a great place to invest.”

The value of that investment is especially apparent in the university’s work to combat COVID-19. In the past year, researchers investigated innovative new treatments, led widespread community testing and developed new methods that could revolutionize how we track and contain future disease outbreaks.

“The research we do here at UofL has real impact — it can improve the way we live and work, spur economic development, and in some cases, it literally saves lives,”��said Kevin Gardner, UofL’s executive vice president for research and innovation. “This funding makes that important work possible.”

The 2021 fiscal year was also far-and-away the university’s best year on record for commercialization income. UofL earned $26.7 million from license royalties and other related income from university research-born intellectual property, nearly triple the previous record set just a year before, and was awarded 80 new patents.

The increased income was propelled by strong deals and development funding, including the license of UofL-born drugs to fight cancer and other conditions. UofL also received grants to develop new technologies, including those addressing societal problems caused by COVID-19.

The past fiscal year also saw the launch of two new startups based on university-born technology. One, iTolerance Inc., signed an exclusive license for a UofL therapy that helps people with Type 1 diabetes stay off immunosuppressants, and is now developing it for clinical use.

To support the launch of more startups based on university technology, UofL recently launched UofL New Ventures, within the . UofL New Ventures is dedicated to broad entrepreneurial support, from forging connections with experienced and potential company founders to helping the resulting startups attract funding and market share.

“It’s important for people to know that our research doesn’t end with a paper or manuscript,” Gardner said. “It ends in getting our research out into the world in the form of innovative new companies, partnerships and technologies. Our goal is innovation with impact.”