INNOVATIONS

The newsletter for Technology Venture Development at the University of Utah

EDITION | WINTER 2013

Alzheimers app under development Mobile medical testing wins at OQ U a startup powerhouse Crowdfunding at the U USTAR faculty spotlight

STARTUP FEATURE

Alzheimers Phone app

Researchers launch company and Get $125,000 STTR to provide personal care via mobile devices
The lack of Alzheimers care is on the verge of becoming an epidemic. The age-related disease that hinders memory, thinking and behavior already affects one in eight people over 65, or an estimated 5.4 million people, in the United States. These num-

Norman Foster (left) and Troy Andersen are two of the U researchers behind Proactive Memory Services.

bers are expected to grow rapidly with the silver tsunami the aging baby boomer generation and there is already a shortage of caregivers. There will be an app for that, says a team of researchers at the University of Utah.
See ALZHEIMERS inside w

STUDENT INNOVATION

NATIONAL SURVEY

mobile testing wINS OPPORTUNITY QUEST

sTUDENT ENTREPRENEUR TEAM OF BROTHERS SECURES $5k FOR PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT
Christopher and Andrew Pagels, team iTest, recently won $5,000 and the grand prize at the U branch of Opportunity Quest, a statewide business plan executive summary competition. In second was Fetch with a bicycle delivery service, and in third was AdvanceCath with a urinary catheter concept designed to reduce urinary tract infections. The Pagels product, iTest, functions through the headphone port found in most smartphones. Similar to the concept behind the Square, a mobile credit-card reader, the device interfaces with a smartphone application and gives highly accurate and fast blood-reading results back to the user.

U a startup powerhouse
University of Utah second in U.S. for creating spinoff companies
The University of Utah for the last six years. The U also performed well above average on other measures related to technology commercialization, the process of moving faculty inventions from campus labs into the marketplace. Other
See SURVEY inside w

Christopher and Andrew Pagels are behind iTest.

The iTest is meant for preliminary screenings to minimize blood-born pathogen testing costs, a significant expense for Americans. The team plans to use their winnings to develop a new prototype.
Learn more at www.ues.utah.edu.

once again ranked among the top institutions in the country for startup formation, coming in second in the latest survey by the Association of University Technology Managers. The U has been the first or second institution for startups in this survey

www.techventures.utah.edu

FUNDING

U embraces crowdfunding
Partnership with Rockethub seeks donors for faculty inventions and research
The University of Utah wants to be on the cutting edge of the crowdfunding trend and started an effort to bring this new funding source to the world of academic research and technology commercialization. The University of Utahs Technology Commercialization Office (TCO) began the effort recently by launching four campaigns on a new website portal designed to attract donations for new university technologies. TCO created the portal called University Tech Vault through an exclusive partnership with RocketHub, one of the leading crowdfunding platforms. We believe crowdfunding has huge potential to help aggregate a few resources from many people to help us move technologies from faculty labs into the world where they will have a real impact, says Bryan Ritchie, the director of TCO. People who support crowdfunding can donate large or small amounts of money, and it can add up if the campaign reaches enough people.
Read more at http://bit.ly/ZYfWFE.

EVENTS & DEADLINES

February
15 TCO Engine funding deadline. www.tco. utah.edu/tco/engine-funding.php 19-20 Translational Medicine Symposium. Call Tech Ventures at 801-587-3836 25 NIST SBIR deadline. www.nist.gov/tpo/sbir 28-March 1 TCO Engine committee meeting. www.tco.utah.edu/ tco/engine-funding.php 27 NOAA SBIR deadline. http://1.usa.gov/VlCqOW

March
1 Education NIDRR SBIR deadline. http://1. usa.gov/WWPxR1 1-April 5 Lassonde New Venture applications accepted. www. lassonde.utah.edu/lnvdapply.php 4 DOT SBIR deadline. www.volpe.dot.gov/sbir 12-15 Commercialization Interchange. www. tco.utah.edu/roundtable 14 Intellectual Property Forum. http://cmi. uofuhealthsciences.org

Roll Control is one of the crowdfunding campaigns launched at the U.

ALZHEIMERs
from cover
Through the Us Center for Alzheimers Care, Imaging and Research (CACIR) and a related startup company called Proactive Memory Services, the team is developing a tab-

let computer and smartphone application that will help Alzheimers patients and their families manage the disease. The application is still in its infancy, but the team just received a $125,000 Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant from the Na-

tional Institutes of Health and is eligible for an additional $1 million from the federal government if they meet their goals under the initial STTR funding. The app will be like having an expert at your elbow throughout the

process, says Norman Foster, director of CACIR and a professor in the Department of Neurology. What we hope to accomplish is reaching patients even before they seek medical advice.
Read more at http://bit.ly/10joAPr.

April SURVEY
from cover
measures include patents filed and issued, invention disclosures, and technology licenses or options executed. We are lucky to have faculty and students who are so creative and willing to do the extra work to turn an invention into a viable product or company, says Tom Parks, the Us vice president for research and interim vice president for technology venture development. The U started 18 new companies during fiscal year 2011 the data reported in the 2012 annual survey while MIT had the most startups of any institution at 25. This ranking excludes startup figures for the 10-campus University of California system, the nine-campus University of Texas system and the two campuses of the University of Illinois. Those institutions did not break down their startups by university, but the average per university is well below that of the U and MIT.
Read more at http://bit.ly/Zmsgtz. 5 NIH SBIR/STTR deadline. http://1.usa.gov/ bPRDIO 9 Utah Entrepreneur Challenge awards. www.ues.utah.edu/uec/ 12 TCO Engine funding deadline. www.tco. utah.edu/tco/engine-funding.php 12 Bench to Bedside awards. http://cmi. uofuhealthsciences.org or www.

viewpoint
from back
they will carry with them through their education and lives. They learn what

it takes to invent a new product, to start a company, to pitch a new idea, to change perceptions. They learn how to work with groups young and

old in creative and productive ways. They learn how to turn failure into success. Student innovation helps make the U a special

place, and we invite you to get involved.

Learn more by visiting www.techventures.utah. edu or calling Tech Ventures at 801-587-3836.

techventures.utah.edu/b2b/ 25-26 TCO Engine committee meeting. www.tco.utah.edu/tco/enginefunding.php

INNOVATIONS
USTAR SPOTLIGHT

Achieving True Innovation

Misras Pursuits Include Nanosensors, Energy and Manufacturing
Manoranjan Mano Misra is one of the most recent U professors hired with support from USTAR, the Utah Science Technology and Research initiative. The metallurgical and chemical engineer came from the University of Nevada, Reno, and boasts a lifetime of accomplishments more than 250 publications, two books, 12 patents but he came to the U to pursue what he calls true innovation. Innovation isnt something that comes from publishing papers, Misra says. Its what comes when science translates to commercialization and makes a real imland security and environment, in addition to renewable energy and materials. His current commercial pursuits focus on nanotube sensors, advanced manufacturing, clean energy and biodiesel production. Misra hopes within five years some of these efforts will start generating fully-developed

Vaporsens is developing detection devices for sniffing explosives and narcotics.

GRANTS

Vaporsens Lands $150K

Vaporsens, a U startup based on work by materials science engineering professor Ling Zang, recently received a $150,000 SBIR grant to develop a sensitive sensor technology to detect peroxide-based bombs. The company currently has five employees working toward a new prototype.
Read more at www.vaporsens.com.

Manoranjan Misra is a USTAR faculty member with a focus on commercialization.

pact on peoples lives. And Misra is well on his way to achieving this goal. Misras research has focused on sensors for health care, home-

products that can be sold. Examples of potential products include sensors for tuberculosis, methods for producing biodiesel from coffee grounds and new methods of producing new and strong materials.
Read more at http://bit.ly/14sqexp

IN SHORT
Blackrock building new headquarters in Research park
Startups Blackrock Microsystems and Blackrock NeuroMed are moving into a new $11 million facility at 630 Komas Way in the Us Research Park. It will help them fulfill worldwide demand for the advanced neuroscience technology they produce. Read more at http://
bit.ly/SsEmOJ.

researchers Find New genetic markers for autism

U researchers from the Department of Human Genetics recently published a paper identifying 24 new copy number variants (CNVs) missing or duplicated stretches of DNA with a strong link to autism. Related U startup Lineagen is using the new CNVs in a genetic test for autism. Read more at http://bit.
ly/13DVckH.

efficiency category at the national CleanTech Open.

It was also selected as a finalist in the inaugural Utah Governors Excellence in Energy Awards. Read more at www. navillum.com.

Prestwich publishes in science translational medicine

Glenn Prestwich, a presidential professor of medicinal chemistry and founder of the Entrepreneurial Faculty Scholars at the U, recently published two articles in Science Translational Medicine. One discussed
how faculty mentor student entrepreneurs. The other highlighted the challenges of commercializing biomaterials. Read more at www. sciencetranslationalmedicine.org.

The studies proved that INOTECs method, which involves electrifying microbes, could succeed where other technologies have failed. INOTEC is now working toward its first fullscale treatment plant. Read more at www.inotec.us.

Wastewater Compliance Systems wins national award

Wastewater Compliance Systems received the Innovative Technology of the Year award from the Water Environment Federation recently. The company sells the Poo-Gloo, a low-cost water treatment device.
It now has eight full-scale installations in the U.S., including a recent one in New Mexico, and it has seven active pilot studies around the country. Read more at www.wastewater-compliance-systems.com.

Center for medical innovation hosts IP Forum, launches website

The Us new Center for Medical Innovation (CMI) will host an Intellectual Property Forum on March 14 at 4-6 p.m. in the Neurosciences Building (first floor auditorium). Topics include strategy, tools, America Invents Act and attorneys. CMI also launched a website,
serving students, faculty and partners. Go to http://cmi. uofuhealthsciences.org.

NanoMedic secures $188K SBIR Grant

Founded in 2008 by researchers from the Us Department of Radiology, Nanomedic recently received a $188,000 SBIR grant to develop
pharmaceutical agents for diagnosing and treating age-related diseases.

Navillum honored in national and state competitions

Navillum Nanotechnologies, a startup developing new methods for producing nanocrystals, was a runner-up in the energy

inotec completes two pilot studies in canada

INOTEC, a watertreatment startup, recently completed two pilot studies in Canada.

INNOVATIONS
The newsletter for Technology Venture Development at the University of Utah
Technology Venture Development University of Utah 105 Fort Douglas Blvd., Bldg. 604 Salt Lake City, UT 84113

VIEWPOINT

student innovation sets the u apart

When you think about innovation at the U, you might immediately think of faculty research and commercialization. That is critical and impressive, but its only one piece of the picture. Thousands of students from middle schoolers to post-docs also play a central role through many unique programs, competitions and opportunities. These students are creating real value while also having an amazing learning experience. Student innovation opportunities can be found in all corners of campus. Engineering students apply their professional skills through capstone courses. Art students create ground-breaking video games through the Entertainment Arts and Engineering program. Medical students invent devices and compete in Bench to Bedside. Business students prepare business plans to win part of $100,000 in prizes in the Utah Entrepreneur Series. Aspiring scientists build robots and create innovative projects in Utah FIRST LEGO League. And these are only a few of the ways students get involved with innovation at the U. A great example is the Lassonde New Venture Development Center, which pairs faculty inventors with graduate students who write business plans for them. The Lassonde New Venture program taught me to look at a problem or situation from a different perspective than I do in my current degree program, says Brandon Welch, a Ph.D. student in biomedical informatics. I am able to see the world from another perspective, which allows me to understand the problem or situation and its solution to a greater extent than without this additional training. Another example is Innovation Scholar, an undergraduate recognition program for student innovators. I would be lying if I said that this experience didnt change my life, says Brandon Bacon, a double major in chemistry and business. The Innovation Scholar experience is like a springboard into the world of opportunities here at the U. I have learned that I enjoy innovating, never settling for the status quo and always looking for ways to be better and make things better. What all of these opportunities have in common is how students make real contributions while also having rich, meaningful experiences that
See VIEWPOINT inside w

Ryan OCallaghan and his team won $5,000 in techTITANS to develop a catheter.

Technology Venture Development www.techventures.utah.edu 801-587-3836

Technology Commercialization Office www.tco.utah.edu 801-581-7792

Pierre Lassonde Entrepreneur Center www.lassonde.utah.edu 801-585-3844