We are proud to announce the four winners of the Technology Maturation Awards (TMAs) for the academic year 2024. The awards highlight and support commercial potential demonstration projects for unlicensed technologies with intellectual property managed by the Technology Commercialization Office. These projects involved proof-of-concept, prototyping, technology development and/or scale-up work.
Each of the four winning projects of the TMAs received a funding of $50,000 for a period of 12 months. This funding will facilitate the development of their proposed technologies bringing them closer to commercialization and increasing their attractiveness to potential business partners.
- Dr. Vsevolod Polotsky: Combating Opioid-Induced Respiratory Depression (OIRD) Using Setmelanotide
-
Dr. Polotsky and his team developed a new approach using Setmelanotide to avoid the complications induced by µ-opioid receptor (MOR) antagonists such as Naloxone and Nalmefene, which are actively used to reverse OIRD. Setmelanotide is a Melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4R) agonist and has shown an increased respiratory rate and decreased rate of sleep apneas in studies done on rodents. This approach targets first responder and emergency healthcare worker end-users to counter OIRD while preserving analgesia.
- Dr. Richard Millar: System for Fleet Coordination and Control of Manned and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
-
Dr. Millar’s project proposes a system that optimizes flight routes and allows Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) to interact with themselves. RPAS are the best-known alternatives for overcoming the limitations of land-based delivery systems given the increased demand of product delivery and road networks. This system has significant commercial potential as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can be deployed to analyze forest topography and could aid in product delivery in complex terrain while being flexible and economical.
- Dr. Michael Keidar: Plasma Jet Device for Decontamination
-
Dr. Keidar and his team proposed a plasma medicine technology that addressed the challenges of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. The device uses Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) to target and eliminate the antibiotic-resistant bacteria on the skin by generating free radicals that target the DNA and cell membrane of the bacteria. CAP disrupts bacterial cell membrane, DNA, proteins and metabolic pathways ultimately leading to bacterial inactivation, eliminating bacterial infections without harming surrounding healthy cells. During the project, Dr. Keidar and his team will test and refine the prototypes and perform in-vivo studies to confirm efficacy of decontamination and elimination of bacterial infections.
- Dr. Sabyasachi Sen: Stem cells with transiently reduced p53 to treat diabetes associated kidney disease and peripheral vascular disease
-
Dr. Sen’s research provides a novel approach for treating Diabetes associated kidney disease (DKD) and Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD) using Endothelial Progenitor Cells (EPCs) with silenced p53 gene. In-vivo experiments with diabetic mice demonstrated effectiveness of EPCs with transiently reduced p53 gene. This first of its kind approach delays the need for kidney transplant surgery and allows use of patients’ own cells for treatment of Diabetes Mellitus, providing this technology potential for significant impact in the field of medicine.
