Latest News
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BTI releases 2023 Annual Report
October, 2023. Brown Technology Innovations’ 2023 Annual Report includes stories about faculty inventors, startup company Walah Scientific (William Fairbrother), and new initiatives for FY24.
Slater Technology Fund invests in Brown startup XM Therapeutics
October, 2023. Jeff Morgan’s XM Therapeutics has received a new round of funding led by Slater Technology Fund. XM Therapeutics will use this new round of funding to focus on pre-clinical studies and cell-based assays for specific diseases.
Anita Shukla named Top 10 Emerging Leaders
October, 2023. The National Academy of Medicine named Anita Shukla (SoE) as 2023 Emerging Leaders in Health and Medicine Scholars. Shukla's research focuses on designing responsive and targeted biomaterials for drug delivery and regenerative medicine.
Are you curious about start-ups?
October, 2023. Join us for Faculty Entrepreneur Connect to meet entrepreneurially-minded faculty. Our next session features Ted Howell, RI’s legal entrepreneurship guru, speaking on business formation basics. 10/20 @ 10am at the Nelson Center. Register.
Innovation at Brown Showcase awards
October, 2023. BTI held its inaugural event on October 5! This year’s award recipients: Startup of the Year award to Walah Scientific Founder, Will Fairbrother; Inventor of the Year to Wafik El-Deiry; and Innovation of the Year to Kareen Coulombe.
Generative AI in research: great potential along with IP issues
September, 2023. Researchers contemplating using generative AI tools should be cognizant of intellectual property (IP) issues related to its use. Visit our Initial Guidance for Researchers: Generative AI in Research site or contact [email protected].
Three new NIH National Institute on Aging (NIA) funding opportunities
September, 2023. The NIA has three funding opportunities to support entrepreneurial education and early-career scientists: Mentored Entrepreneurial Career Development Award, Entrepreneurship Enhancement Award, and Entrepreneurial Small Business Transition Awards. Learn more about these awards.
Registration open! Innovation@Brown Showcase on October 5, 2023
August, 2023. The Innovation@Brown Showcase will highlight Brown/Rhode Island startup activity, celebrate groundbreaking inventions, and offer networking opportunities with like-minded investors, academic researchers, and entrepreneurs. Learn more and join us!
Calling faculty interested in startups!
August, 2023. The MIT Faculty Founder Initiative program provides hands-on opportunities to learn from industry leaders about their experiences, ranging from licensing technology to creating early startup companies. Brown faculty members can apply to the program by 8/18/23. Please let [email protected] know if you apply.
Sony Corporation's 2023 Research Award Program
August, 2023. The Sony Focused Research Award provides an opportunity for university faculty, research institutes, and Sony to conduct collaborative, focused research. Applications are accepted until 9/15/23. Learn more and apply. Please contact your Tech Innovations director with any questions.
AtomICs wins 2023 Heartland Challenge Award
August, 2023. Brown startup AtomICs secured the 2023 Heartland Challenge and Delta Solar Innovation Awards at the Heartland Challenge venture capital competition. AtomICs won more than $50,000 for their patented data storage and retrieval processes.
Brown Technology Innovations sees rise in invention disclosures
August, 2023. Tech Innovations has received more invention disclosures in FY23 than at this point last year. BioMed, School of Engineering, and Computer Science lead the way with Brown having a total of 94 invention disclosures for the fiscal year.
BTI welcomes Rebecca Rossi!
May, 2023. Rebecca joins the Brown Technology Innovations (BTI) team as the new Patent and Agreement Data Coordinator.
Save the date: Innovation@Brown Showcase on October 5, 2023
May, 2023. The Innovation@Brown Showcase will highlight start-ups in the Brown/RI technology ecosystem. The event is an opportunity for investors, academic researchers, and entrepreneurs to network and learn about groundbreaking inventions.
Have an invention? Tell BTI!
May, 2023. BTI has updated their invention disclosure form. When a report is received, BTI works with faculty to evaluate the novelty, patentability and commercial utility of inventions and if filed, will help to negotiate licensing deals. Learn more here.
BTI now accepting Brown Innovations Fellows for 2023
May, 2023. Interested in learning about patenting and technology commercialization? Apply for the Brown Innovation Fellows Program! Graduate students, postdocs, and medical students can apply to the paid internship. Applications due 5/26. Apply here.
Graduate Entrepreneur Connect networking event on 5/19/23
May, 2023. At the BTI-hosted Graduate Entrepreneur Connect, attendees will meet other graduate student and postdoctoral entrepreneurs, Brown Innovation Fellows, and members of BTI and the Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship. Learn more here.
El-Deiry to serve on American Cancer Society Scientific Advisory Council
May, 2023. Dr. Wafik El-Deiry will serve as a new member of BrightEdge’s Scientific Advisory Council. BrightEdge, the innovation arm of the ACS, specializes in investments in early-stage companies developing cutting-edge, cancer-focused technologies.
Humphrey Maris receives inaugural Career and Innovation Impact Award
May, 2023. Humphrey J. Maris, professor emeritus of physics and professor of physics received BTI’s Career and Innovation Impact Award on 4/24 for his groundbreaking work in ultrafast ultrasonics and semiconductor metrology and technology. Read more here.
Faculty: Are you curious about how to create a start-up?
May, 2023. Join us for Faculty Entrepreneur Connect, a new group for faculty inventors to meet and network with other entrepreneurially-minded faculty. Our first meeting is at the Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship, 6/2/23 at 10am. Learn more here.
Karniadakis noted as ML expert to follow in 2023
April, 2023. Mathematics and engineering professor George Karniadakis was noted as a machine learning expert to follow by Digilab Academy based on his groundbreaking work in Physics-Informed Neural Networks (PINNs). Read about his work in ML and AI here.
Brown startup Pedialydx’s technology completes clinical study
April, 2023. Pedialydx’s technology was utilized in a recent study that analyzed premature infants’ cries for acoustic features that may predict future behavioral and developmental deficits. Preliminary results suggest its potential as a noninvasive diagnostic.
Padture elected to MRS 2023 Fellows Class
April, 2023. Professor Nitin Padture was elected to the Materials Research Society (MRS) 2023 Fellows Class for his research in advanced composites, high-temperature coatings, and emerging photovoltaics. Padture has been awarded eight patents in his career.
Brown scientists to present at world’s largest cancer research meeting
April, 2023. Brown faculty, students, post-docs, and staff will attend the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) meeting in Orlando, FL this month. Investigators from the Legorreta Cancer Center will present work across many areas of cancer research.
BTI hosts FM Global roundtable
March, 2023. Researchers from the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society (IBES) and the School of Engineering met with senior leaders from FM Global to discuss climate change and risk management in relation to the insurance industry, with a focus on climate science, technology, policy, and solutions.
NEMIC launches virtual classroom
March, 2023. Want to embark on a Medical Device or Digital Health entrepreneurship journey? Our partners at NEMIC just launched the NEMIC Virtual Classroom. Learn where you want, when you want!
The Engine, Spring 2023 Blueprint program
March, 2023. The Engine is seeking applications from aspiring entrepreneurial scientists and engineers for their Spring 2023 Blueprint program. The program website contains additional information and a section to apply by Friday, March 17.
PedialyDX receives multiple accolades
February, 2023. PedialyDX, recently secured a $1.8M SBIR Phase 2 grant from NICHD, and an Exclusive License Agreement with Brown, that will allow them to conduct a 7-site study to conduct further research on their NOWS recognition device.
Brown Innovation Fellow Josephine Kalshoven is published
February, 2023. Brown Innovation Fellow Josephine Kalshoven’s story “Connected Player” has been published in Nature Futures, the publication’s award-winning science fiction section.
Machine learning technology to prevent pipeline leaks
January, 2023. Dr. Srivastava and colleagues are developing a new machine learning technology that utilizes convolutional neural networks (CNN) to analyze ultrasound wave patterns in metal pipelines to locate cracks and prevent catastrophic events like gas explosions.
Dr. Laiwalla to participate in Equalize Program
January, 2023. Dr. Laiwalla has been accepted to the 2023 MedTech cohort of the 6-month Equalize Program, pairing women academic researchers with mentors in entrepreneurship across therapeutics, medical technologies, physical sciences, and digital tools sectors.
New patent awarded to Brown in Engineering
January, 2023. A patent was recently awarded to Dr. Sherief Reda’s lab in the School of Engineering for new technology in deep neural networks (11,521,047).
BTI staff featured in Tech Transfer Central article
January, 2023. Neil Veloso and Brian Demers were featured in the January 2023 University-Industry Engagement Advisor discussing technology scouting, startups, and industry-academic partnerships and commercialization timelines.
A new method found to deliver medication to malignant brain tumors
December, 2022. Researchers in Sean Lawler’s lab demonstrated a new approach in mice for delivering medication using a modified peptide to cross the blood-brain barrier. This method can directly treat tumors that cause aggressive, lethal brain cancer. Read more.
Dr. Tejal Desai featured in Fall issue of AWIS magazine
December, 2022. Tejal Desai ‘94 recently sat down with the Association for Women in Science for the fall issue of AWIS Magazine. This interview comes on the cusp of her return to Brown as the next dean of Brown’s School of Engineering.
Brown ranked 19th in PitchBook’s 2022 startup rankings
December, 2022. PitchBook released its rankings for the top 100 colleges producing the most entrepreneurs who have founded venture capital-backed companies. Brown came in 19th with a total of 511 founders, 476 companies, and a sum total of $34.9B raised.
The Engine to host the 2nd annual cohort of Whiteboard in January 2023
December, 2022. The Engine, a venture firm from MIT, will host the 2nd cohort of the Whiteboard program, designed to help faculty navigate the transition of their technology from academic labs into tech startups. The workshop will be held on Jan. 20, 2023. Register.
Brown startup AtomICs takes top honor in Get Started RI
December, 2022. AtomICs, which created a molecule-based data storage system, won the annual Cox Business Get Started RI competition. As winners of the “Shark Tank” style pitch event, the startup was awarded $50,000 and technical assistance from Cox Business.
Patents awarded to Brown in Engineering, Computer Science, and Chemistry
December, 2022. Patents were recently awarded to Brown for research from the labs of Kenneth Breuer, Engineering (11,467,058); Roberto Tamassia, Computer Science (11,468,009); Shouheng Sun, Chemistry (11,472,923); and David Borton, Engineering (11,464,964).
Ph.D Candidate Cel Welch Makes Forbes' 30 Under 30 - Science List
December, 2022. Forbes Magazine unveiled its 30 under 30 Class of 2023 list recognizing young leaders working to solve the world’s biggest problems. Biomedical engineering Ph.D. Candidate Cel Welch made Forbes’ Science List for work on novel cellular diagnostics.
Apply Now for the 2023 NEMIC Accelerator
December, 2022. NEMIC is now taking applications for the 2023 Med Tech + Digital Health Accelerator Program. This 6-month intensive business program is designed to educate entrepreneurs on how to navigate the startup to commercialization process. Apply.
Brown, Wexford Science & Technology Bring Wet Lab Space to Providence
November, 2022. Wexford Science & Technology plans to transform 62,000 sq. feet of its Point 225 Providence building into wet lab research space. Brown plans to lease half of this space, while the remainder will be available for life sciences companies.
RI Broke Ground on New State Lab Facility
November, 2022. On Oct. 24, Rhode Island broke ground for the construction of a seven-story building in Providence to house new RIDOH State Health Laboratories. Space will also be available for Brown’s life sciences labs and interested biotechnology companies.
Now accepting applications: Brown Biomedical Innovations to Impact (BBII)
November, 2022. BBII is an accelerator fund supporting biomedical technologies with high impact potential to become attractive to industry partners and investors. Pre-proposals accepted now through Dec. 16. Learn about BBII or contact Karen Bulock for details.
Bolden Therapeutics Receives $406,466 SBIR Grant From The National Institute On Aging
October, 2022. Bolden Therapeutics, a startup founded by Professor Justin Fallon and former student Johnny Page, received an SBIR grant from the NIA to fund the development of antisense oligonucleotides for the potential treatment of CNS illnesses. Read more.
Brown’s Welch and Tripathi are Finalists in the IET’s Global Innovation Awards
October, 2022. Biomedical engineering Ph.D. candidate Cel Welch and Professor Anubhav Tripathi are in the top five global finalists in the Institute of Engineering and Technology’s Solution in Digital Health and Social Care category for their TissueSHOCK technology.
BTI Report Highlights a Strong Year for Brown Startups and Faculty Inventions
September, 2022. The Brown Technology Innovations office has released the 2022 Annual Report. Recent highlights include an increase in issued patents, licensing agreements, and biomedical business ventures driven by continued support and initiatives from the BBII, and Entrepreneur Connect programs.
Brown Biotech Startup Sublicensee Ocean Biomedical Acquired for $345M
September, 2022. In a potential jumpstart for the biotech markets, Ocean Biomedical, a Brown startup Sublicensee specializing in cancer therapeutics, entered a $345M merger deal with Aesther Healthcare Acquisition Corp. Read more.
Brown Doctoral Student to Design a More Inclusive Pulse Oximeter
September, 2022. Pulse oximeters fail to accurately measure blood oxygen levels in patients of color. To combat this issue, Brown doctoral student Rutendo Jakachira of the Toussaint Lab is developing a pulse oximeter that works on all patients, regardless of melanin levels.
BTI launches Innovations Fellowship Program
September, 2022. Brown Technology Innovations (BTI) has launched the Brown Innovation Fellows program for graduate students, medical students, and postdocs interested in applying their scientific and technical expertise to projects in technology evaluation, market research, and intellectual property. The four inaugural interns include Josephine Kalshoven, Liam Connolly, Xiaozhou Fan, and Alex Wong.
BTI hires new Science Communications Intern
September, 2022. The Brown Technology Innovations (BTI) office has hired Julia Hecking as the new Science Communications Intern. Julia is a current Master’s student in Brown’s Biotechnology program.
3 New Sponsored Research Agreements at Brown
August, 2022. Brown Technology Innovations facilitated two collaboration agreements with a semiconductor contract manufacturing and design company to support research by Daniel Mittleman (Engineering) with $330,000 using Terahertz for imaging and circuit diagnostics.
Dr. Edith Mathiowitz’s lab (Pathology & Laboratory Medicine) continues a longstanding partnership with a biotechnology company to provide research related to sustained-release microspheres for immune therapy.
New Patent for Gabriel Taubin
August, 2022. Dr. Gabriel Taubin (Engineering and Computer Science)’s research projects emphasize low cost precise 3D scanning systems, 3D scanning for 3D printing, industrial applications of 3D scanning systems, and more generally digital fabrication. This month, Brown was awarded a method patent (#11,425,356) to calibrate an uncollimated laser diode for 3D imaging applications.
Karniadakis Receives Vannevar Bush Fellowship
July, 2022. George Karniadakis, a professor of applied math and engineering, is one of nine faculty scientists and engineers from across the U.S. to receive a Vannevar Bush Fellowship with the Department of Defense (DoD). Read more, here.
New Patents to Brown
July, 2022. Brown was recently awarded two patents. Stefanie Tellex (Computer Science) continues to shine with another innovative patent (US 11,383,386) related to robotic drawing. Nitin Padture (Engineering) and National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) received a patent for their joint work on perovskite films and methods (US 11,387,420).
Bolden Therapeutics Awarded SBIR Grant
June, 2022. Brown startup, Bolden, was awarded a Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant for $497,500 from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) of the National Institutes of Health. Bolden Therapeutics is a biotechnology company that develops therapeutics to promote neurogenesis in patients with diseases that affect cognition, such as Alzheimer’s. Read more, here.
BTI hosts The Business of Innovation
May, 2022. BTI is hosting The Business of Innovation: Practical Considerations for Researchers, Entrepreneurs and Investors (and those looking to get into it), on May 18th, 2022! We will bring together venture capitalists, CEOs, corporate attorneys and university leaders for a panel discussion around startups, investing, and finance.
This event is geared towards faculty, graduate students, and postdocs interested in learning more about these fields and/or starting their own new venture. Reception to follow. Register here.
Introducing Brown Innovation Fellows!
May, 2022. Brown Innovation Fellows is a paid internship program for graduate students, postdocs and medical students interested in technology commercialization. We are launching our first cohort in July 2022. This program is a part of Brown Technology Innovations (BTI), which is responsible for managing the university’s patent portfolio and driving commercialization of Brown-developed technologies.
The Job Description and Application due May 27, 2022 can be found here.
New Patents to Brown
May, 2022. A new patent was awarded last month for joint work between George Konidaris (Computer Science) and Duke University on methods facilitating motion planning of self-driving cars (US11292456B2). The technology is licensed to Realtime Robotics, a growing company in the automation industry.
New Patents to Brown!
April, 2022. A jump from last month, we are celebrating three new issued patents. The patents include development of nanoparticles used to treat fungal infections, methods for treating alcohol use disorder, and microtissue manipulation techniques.
AtomICS wins first-place venture prize
April, 2022. AtomICS, a joint student/faculty venture focused on harnessing small molecules for digital information storage took first-place at the Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship’s Venture Prize pitch night. Brenda Rubenstein (Chemistry), and Jacob Rosenstein (Engineering) lead this venture with two graduate students.
Inventor’s Toolkit: Digital Health Commercialization Seminar Series
April, 2022. #ICYMI The Digital Health Commercialization Seminar Series, hosted by BTI and Life Span, covered a range of topics from preparing a string pitch to how to achieve FDA approval. Catch up on the seminar talks, here.
Inventor’s Toolkit: Industry Night: Data & Technology
April, 2022. Presented by the Brown Women's Network and co-sponsored by BTI. Please join us for Industry Night: Data & Technology on May 9 as students and young alumnae are invited to connect with Brown students. Register here.
Digital Health Commercialization Seminar Series
March, 2022. Alongside the Brown-Lifespan Center for Digital Health, BTI will host a weekly seminar series on how to bring digital health innovations to market. Hear from digital health strategy experts and our legal partners to guide your entrepreneurial journey. More here.
New Patents to Brown
March, 2022. A new patent was awarded to work by Christopher Moore (Neuroscience) for a bioluminescence-driven optogenetic approach to modulate activity of an excitable cell (US11242374B2). The invention can be used to treat conditions related to neuron bursting, like epilepsy.
RightHill Ventures has officially launched!
March, 2022. Backed by a core of university-based groups and entrepreneurs, RightHill Ventures recruits key players from the national pool of industry and entrepreneurial talent to identify and fund innovators developing solutions to the world’s most challenging problems. Learn more.
Inventor’s Toolkit: Certificate in Digital Health Innovation
March, 2022. Brown offers an online Digital Health Innovation Certificate program for those interested in learning about the lifecycle of digital health solutions, from design to implementation. More here.
Brown faculty join AAAS fellows
February, 2022. Five Brown faculty are honored in this year's class of American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) fellows. Jill Pipher, Vice President for Research, has also been recognized as a 2021 National Academy of Inventors Fellow!
Jake Kurtis the “Malaria Hunter”
February, 2022. Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Jake Kurtis, has dedicated his research efforts to developing a vaccine against malaria. Read more about the mission of inventors Jake Kurtis and Dipak Raj to identify the treatment for Plasmodium falciparum malaria, here.
Inventor’s Toolkit: CoresRI
February, 2022. CoresRI offers a directory of research facilities, instruments, and services in RI. The website was developed as a collaboration between medical and academic institutions across the state to maximize use of and collaboration through these important resources.
Brown Licensee, RIC is a 2022 Prism Award Finalist!
January, 2022. Research Instruments Corporation (RIC) is a 2022 Prism Award finalist. RIC has developed an X-ray source that produces clearer images while using less radiation. The Prism Award recognizes top new optics and photonics products on the market. More here.
New Patents to Brown
January, 2022. Starting the year off with a new patent to Brown (US20210018193A1) licensed to Derek Stein's (Physics) startup Techstyle Materials, which has developed smart building materials to create more energy efficient structures.
Quantum-Science Leap 2021
January, 2022. In case you missed it! Four Brown researchers gave short talks on their work in Quantum computing and sensing. The goal of the panel was to share Brown’s efforts towards powerful advancements in the field of quantum science. Video here.
Welcome Andrew Bond to Brown Technology Innovations
December, 2021. Brown Technology Innovations is thrilled to have Andrew Bond join our team as Senior Director of Business Development. He will support life science researchers and inventors as they engage with our office.
Andrew Bond has over twenty years of experience in biotechnology, genomics, and computational biology research and product strategy. Prior to joining Brown, he served in executive roles at Universal Sequencing Technology, 1CellBio, Gen9, and PrimeraDx.Andrew Bond brings to BTI extensive experience in building life science startups and will support Brown life science researchers interested in commercial ventures or industry partnerships. Andrew has a PhD in Molecular Genetics from University of Massachusetts Medical School.
Accepting Applications: Brown Biomedical Innovations to Impact
December, 2021. The Brown Biomedical Innovations to Impact (BBII) is an accelerator fund that supports biomedical technologies with high impact potential to become attractive to industry partners and investors. BBII is accepting applications due by Dec. 16. Learn more about BBII here.
Brown Alum, Christina Bailey-Holt, in Forbes 30 Under 30
December, 2021. Christina Bailey-Hytholt has been recognized in Forbes 30 under 30 in science. Christina, an incoming assistant professor at WPI, is a Brown alum who worked in the Tripathi and Shukla Labs and is a co-inventor on several Brown technologies. Christina’s research at Brown included the development of an in vitro placenta model which can be used to investigate how medications interact at the maternal/fetal interface, and liposome development for antifungal delivery, a method aimed to minimize damage to healthy cells. Read Christina’s Forbes profile here.
Inventor’s Toolkit: True Stories from a Startup Master
December, 2021. RIBio is hosting RI Innovator Series: Zen and the Art of Starting Up a Start-up January 2022. Chesley Chen, Life Sciences Principal at CliftonLarsenAllen, will share insights on popular start up topics using real life examples. The topics range from discovering a business model, to how to lead a team, and how to raise money for your startup.
Date January 13, 2022
Time 11:00 am - 12:15 pm
Register here
RIBio connects innovators, educators, and capital and government partners across Southeastern New England with the goal of advancing the life sciences through collaboration, education, and advocacy. Learn more about RIBio here.
Brown to Attend JPM Health Conference 2022
November, 2021. Brown Technology Innovations will attend the annual JPM Healthcare Conference, which will take place January in San Francisco, CA. Please contact us ([email protected]) with news or connections related to the conference.
Accepting Applications: Brown Biomedical Innovations to Impact
November, 2021. The Brown Biomedical Innovations to Impact (BBII) is an accelerator fund that supports biomedical technologies with high impact potential to become attractive to industry partners and investors. BBII is accepting applications due by Dec. 16. Learn more about BBII here.
Brown Licensee, Theromics, Awarded Small Business Technology Transfer Grant
November, 2021. Brown licensee, Theromics, Inc. was recently awarded a Small Business Technology Transfer Grant and a patent (US11076916). The technology, a thermal accelerant, is a joint development between Brown and Rhode Island Hospital/Lifespan. The thermal accelerant is used during hyperthermal tissue ablation, a non-surgical treatment used to destroy tumor tissue. The accelerant is deposited at the tumor boundary and promotes faster heating in fields further away from an antenna used to provide heat. The result is more precise tumor removal and protection of nearby, healthy tissues.
Deeplite Wins AI Tech Award
November, 2021. The Montreal start-up, Deeplite, licensed Brown technology developed by Sherief Reda (Engineering) with the goal of making computing faster and more accessible. Deep neural networks, a facet of artificial intelligence, are capable of data modeling, prediction, and have applications such as facial recognition. Faster neural networks minimize cloud and hardware requirements which can translate to lower costs and supporting AI on smaller devices.
Deeplite’s effort and progress were recognized at the largest AI development meeting to date, AI DevWorld, where they were awarded Best in Deep Learning Technology. Learn more about Deeplite here.
Developments in Clean Energy
November, 2021. Nitin Padture Ph.D. (Engineering) and his team recently published data on use of a molecular glue that significantly enhances durability of perovskite solar panels. Use of perovskite, compared to silicon, holds promise of greatly increasing energy efficiency of solar panels. However, a current limitation to their use is knowing whether they can last as long as silicon solar panels, due to certain sensitivity to heat and moisture. Learn more about perovskite solar panels and Brown’s contribution to solar energy efficiency in this video.
Bolden Therapeutics Awarded Small Business Technology Transfer Grant
October, 2021. Last month, Brown startup, Bolden, was awarded a Small Business Technology Transfer (SBTT) grant of $500,000 from the National Institute on Aging for their approach to enhance neurogenesis. Bolden Therapeutics is a biotechnology company that develops therapeutics to promote neurogenesis in patients with diseases that affect cognition, such as Alzheimer’s.
Bolden has licensed several patents produced from Brown University faculty inventors. The projects funded by the SBTT grant will be completed in collaboration with the labs of Justin Fallon, PhD (Molecular Biology, Cell Biology & Biochemistry, MCB) and Ashley Webb, PhD (MCB). The work of Fallon and Webb has identified molecular pathways whose activity stimulates neurogenesis. Bolden plans to develop therapeutics that could promote neurogenesis and improve memory in Alzheimer’s patients. Read more, here.
New Patents to Brown
October, 2021. Keeping apace with prior months, three new patents were awarded to Brown for research from the labs of Michael Black, Computer Science, Sherief Reda, Engineering, and Ben Kimia, Engineering.
Michael Black and his team have developed a method to estimate body shape from a series of images. Standard measurements are computed from a series of images captured in different poses. Potential applications for this technology are body scanning, advertising, and online clothes shopping (CA2734143C).
A new patent was awarded for Sherief Reda’s work which accelerates iris recognition (US 11,113,553). Iris recognition is considered a secure and more reliable form of biometric identification that is becoming increasingly common in electronic devices.
Ben Kimia has developed a system which links visual information captured by a wearable device to path data for an indoor location. Together with an audio interface, the wearable device guides the user to their destination (US 11,112,261).
Inventor’s Toolkit: RI Startup Week Oct 2021
October, 2021. The first-ever Rhode Island Startup Week happens this month at RI Hub, a network of innovators, investors, students, citizens and those interested in building our economy through new ideas. Rhode Island Startup Week, October 18-22, is five days of events that showcase RI’s startup community, where local entrepreneurs can connect.
Events will include presentations from startups on topics from blockchain to digital health, pitch contexts, and tips and tricks on challenges such as IP management, financial modeling, and how to connect with VCs.
One highlight is an event hosted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which will share best practices for successfully securing a grant from the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. Register here, and learn more about Rhode Island Startup Week, here.
About RIHUB: Located at the Wexford Innovation Center (225 Dyer St, Providence), RI Hub is dedicated to bringing together students, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders to effectively support entrepreneurship in Rhode Island. Founded in 2019 by Governor Gina Raimondo, Brown University, IBM, University of Rhode Island, Commerce RI, Arizona State University and MassChallenge, RIHub is Rhode Island’s first Innovation Campus and provides a new entry point for global accelerators such as MassChallenge and IBM Alphazone.
Inventor's Toolkit: Climate Risk, Insurance & Innovation
September, 2021. CIC Providence will host Climate Risk, Insurance & Innovation on October 6th. The event will highlight innovation within the context of insurance and climate risk. Innsure (not a typo) connects investors, students, and academics, bringing leaders together through action. More here.
New Patents to Brown Inventor's Toolkit: Climate Risk, Insurance & Innovation
September, 2021. Last month, Brown was awarded three patents: (1) for Jacob Rosenstein’s work on chemical computation methods (US 11,093,865); (2) Samir Gadre’s innovation to facilitate human training of robots (US 11,090,813); and (3) Peter Weber’s spectroscopy enhancing chemical vapor detection (US 11,099,129).
Faster Neural Networks to Tackle Data Modeling Challenges
September, 2021. George Karniadakis (Applied Math and Engineering) and his team recently received press coverage for DeepONet, a method they developed that uses neural networks to solve families of Partial Differential Equations (PDE). More here.
Oxford Nanopore Announces IPO in London
September, 2021. Oxford Nanopore announced a London IPO after reaching a $3.3B valuation. Nanopore offers DNA sequencing products and rapid COVID-19 tests. The company has licensed imaging and sequencing technologies from Derek Stein (Physics) and has sponsored related research in his lab. More here.
FY2021 in Review: Putting Brown Technology First
August, 2021. Brown Technology Innovations’ 2021 Annual Report highlights our highest recorded number of invention disclosures and 87% growth in industry sponsored research agreements, driven by Brown faculty inventors. The report walks you through progress towards Tech Innovations’ goals surrounding putting Brown technology first, stewarding Brown inventions, marketing and networking, and deal execution. You can also read our top stories and collaborations in the report, here.
BBII Funds Faculty Projects With Potential for Patient Benefit
July & August, 2021. Brown Biomedical Innovations to Impact (BBII) will fund four projects to accelerate their commercialization.The projects include drug developments to treat glioblastoma and a rare childhood genetic disorder, growth of human biomaterials, and videography improvements to enable collaboration in surgery. More, here.
A Year of Innovation
July & August, 2021. Congratulations to Brown faculty for the most productive year for inventions to date with 90 invention disclosures received to date, surpassing the previous high of 76 in 2017!
Drug Delivery Advances: New License Agreements to Brown
July & August, 2021. Therapyx has licensed from Brown a proprietary protein micronization and encapsulation process developed by Edith Matthiowitz (Engineering). The process involves a crystalline matrix that enhances storage ability for active drugs and effectively shields them from environments that promote degradation, including the disease microenvironment. This method helped Therapyx develop a unique second-generation platform technology, EXStaM (patent pending) that allows commercial scale microencapsulation of therapeutic proteins.
Therapyx is a biotech company dedicated to the development of microparticulate therapeutics to treat infectious disease, immune-mediated inflammatory disorders, and cancer. Our collaboration with Therapyx has been ongoing since 2011. Read more about EXStaM and Therapyx, here.
New Patents to Brown
July & August, 2021. Brown was awarded a new patent last month (US 11,034,019) for a method enabling a robot to learn a mapping between English language commands and Linear Temporal Logic expressions, developed in the lab of Stefanie Tellex (Computer Science).The patent, which relates to robotics, would allow for non-experts to engage with particular robots without programming knowledge.
Brown Tech Innovations Participates in CDH 2021 Virtual Conference
July & August, 2021. Last month, the Brown-Lifespan Center for Digital Health hosted it’s 2021 virtual conference, “Leveraging Digital Health for the Post-Pandemic World.” The goal of the conference was to explore a role for digital health in ethical and effective reduction of mental illness, violence, and opioid use. Tech Innovations Director, Neil Veloso moderated the panel "Scaling for Impact: Digital Health investors discuss their metrics for success" with speakers Keith Kerman, MD; Rajiv Kumar, MD; Aike Ho; and Aneesha Mehta. Watch the symposia, here.
Inventor’s Toolkit: RI Startup Weekend 2020
July & August, 2021. RIHUB is hosting RI Startup Weekend online this year on November 20-21. The online event offers business and technology workshops, networking, and an opportunity to meet RI startup founders. More info and registration, here.
Brown Joins Program for Streamlined Technology Licensing
June, 2021. Brown is one of fifteen leading universities who will aggregate their engineering and physical science patents into broad bundles of technologies for commercialization as part of the University Technology Licensing Program (UTLP). This strategy streamlines the process for technology licensing from multiple universities to interested companies and investors.
The culmination of discussions that began five years ago, Brown now joins Caltech, Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, University of Illinois, Michigan, Northwestern, Penn, Princeton, SUNY Binghamton, UC Berkeley, UCLA, USC, and Yale as part of the UTLP. These universities will pool together patents across several technologies, including power management, image processing, and data management.
Developments in Clean Energy
June, 2021. Nitin Padture’s research team has developed a molecular glue that increases the efficiency of perovskite solar cells in converting sunlight into electricity. This work, published in Science, was included in a recent patent application guided by Brown Technology Innovations.
Stabilizing the multi-layered structure of the perovskite solar cells has been a big challenge to the expanded use of solar energy. Padture’s team identified a compound that forms strong bonds with different layers of the cells. This discovery extends the length of time at which the cells retain 80% of their peak efficiency from 700 to 4,000 hours. Full story here.
Nitin Padture is a Professor of Engineering and Director of the Institute for Molecular and Nanoscale Innovation at Brown.
Oxford Nanopore Raises $217M
June, 2021. Oxford Nanopore raised $217M in a recent funding round to further develop its genetic sequencing technology. The UK-based company offers sequencing technology capable of analyzing a single DNA or RNA molecule at a time while providing data in real time.
There are many applications for nanopore technology from clinical to biological research. Most recently, OxFord Nanopore developed a rapid diagnostic test for COVID-19.
Derek Stein (Physics) has a long standing relationship with Oxford Nanopore leading to sponsored work in product development. Full story here.
Inventor’s Toolkit: Marketing to Industry
June, 2021. AUTM offers a guide for matching technologies with an industry partner in their Marketing to Industry Toolkit, here. These can be used to organize ideas and conversations with Brown Technology Innovations.
Explore Commercial Applications of Life Sciences Research
June, 2021. In this short video, our team describes ways that Brown researchers can explore commercial pathways for life sciences discoveries, including licensing, sponsored research agreements, and startups. We also describe Brown's accelerator fund in life sciences, the Brown Biomedical Innovation to Impact program.
Brown Licensee, Deeplite, Raises Funds to Expand AI Access
May, 2021. Deeplite, a start-up based in Montreal, closed a $6-million seed fundraising round to “bring AI to Everyday Life”. Power and processor capacity are two big limitations to AI and deep learning. Deeplite’s automated software engine enables AI computing on any device.
BTI supported the development of a collaboration between Sherief Reda and Deeplite which led to the licensing of key IP from Brown to make this possible. Full story here.
New Patent on Sensors Awarded to Brown
May, 2021. Brown was awarded a patent for research by Gang Xiao (Physics) on ultrasensitive magnetic tunneling junction (MTJ) sensors (US 10,983,182). The patented MTJ sensor--which can achieve a sensitivity of 30 picoTesla--has applications in the disk drive and semiconductor industry.
Coulombe Earns NSF CAREER Award
May, 2021. The National Science Foundation bestowed a CAREER Award to Kareen Coulombe, Assistant Professor of Engineering, Molecular Pharmacology, Physiology and Biotechnology. The award supports work included in a recent patent application (guided by the Brown Technology Innovations office).
Coulombe’s NSF project aims to understand the onset of atrial arrhythmias in non-inherited Wolff-Parkinson White (WPW) syndrome. Her team will develop cardiovascular tissue in a dish using patient-derived human induced pluripotent stem cells through a collaboration with RI Hospital. The vast majority of WPW patients lack an inherited genetic mutation; the in vitro cardiac models will help identify biomechanical and biochemical stressors that contribute to atrial arrhythmia. Full story here.
New Center for Alzheimer’s Research at Brown
May, 2021. With two gifts to the university totaling $30 million, Brown will establish a new Center for Alzheimer’s Disease Research (Brown News). The new center will focus on the early detection and treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease, drawing together research scientists and physicians from Brown’s Division of Biology and Medicine and the Carney Institute for Brain Science. One of the early goals of the center is to establish a biomarker facility dedicated to collecting patient samples to identify disease biomarkers and test treatment efficacy.
By fostering collaboration, the new research center will augment Brown’s existing strength in neuroscience and neurodegenerative research. The Brown Technology Innovations office continues to support new neuroscience startups and partnerships, including Bolden Therapeutics and BridgeBio.
Brown neuroscience researchers interested in exploring commercial applications of their work can start the disclosure process here or email us at [email protected].
Save the Date: 2021 Conference on Digital Health at Brown
May, 2021. The 2021 Digital Health Virtual Conference will be held on June 22. Open to the public, this conference will explore how digital health has transformed over recent years and what its future may hold. Hosted by the Brown-Lifespan Center for Digital Health. More details forthcoming. The CDH website.
Inventor’s Toolkit: Fridays for Founders
May, 2021. RIHub facilitates connections between entrepreneurs and industry leaders through its many programs, including mentoring, networking, and community events. Now, RIHub has launched a program that provides entrepreneurs, faculty, and students an opportunity to book a 30 minute one-on-one consultation with a business expert. Learn more about RI business laws or how to tell compelling stories through marketing with Fridays for Founders.
Biomedical Entrepreneurship Summer Course
May, 2021. The University of Vermont is offering an intensive Biomedical Entrepreneurship summer course in June. The course will present a roadmap on how to bring products to market, the deadline to apply is May 15th.
New Patents to Brown
April, 2021. A new patent has been issued this month for work in the lab of Dr. George Karniadakis (US 10,963,540). Professor of Applied Mathematics and Engineering, Karniadakis uses machine learning to model physical and biological systems. This patent is for an approach that uses differential equations to analyze objects.
Building a Faculty Inventor’s Toolkit
April, 2021. BTI kicks off a monthly initiative to share resources focused on educating and encouraging faculty interested in patents, startups and licensing. Check out this playlist of short podcasts, A Guide to University Spinouts hosting several researchers and entrepreneurs. Sangeeta Bhatia, (Brown class of ’90), Professor of Engineering at MIT, has launched multiple biotech companies leveraging nanoparticles developed in the lab for medical use. Pulling from her own experience, Dr. Bhatia shares a “playlist” of short podcasts describing what a faculty entrepreneur should know before starting a new company.
“How do I know when technology is ready to be commercialized?” That is just one of many questions answered by a panel of academics who have launched startups, business development directors, and current CEOs.
BridgeBio collaborates with Brown
April, 2021. Brown is partnering with BridgeBio to advance new treatments for neurological diseases with genetic origins. BridgeBio will work with scientists to evaluate discoveries made in the lab and develop them into potential treatments for patients. The partnership will support Brown scientists as technologies transition to clinical development and maintain Brown scientists involved as company leaders through BridgeBio’s affiliate companies.
Bridging Industry with University Technology
April, 2021. The annual AUTM meeting supports engagement between industry partners and university tech transfer offices. This year’s virtual AUTM meeting took place in March and featured 39 exhibitors including Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and the National Institute on Aging. The keynote speakers were Ellen Ochoa, the first Hispanic woman to go into space, and Dr. Antwi Akom, Director of the Social Innovation and Urban Opportunity Lab.
2021 Quarter 3 Report
April, 2021. A key strategy to achieve financial sustainability is to achieve diversity in revenue streams. As our office is part of a university-wide strategy to diversify funding sources, we are glad to report some initial success. See our Quarterly Report, here.
Exclusive Insights from JPM 2021
March, 2021. At a conference, the conversation in the hallways is often where the insights and connections happen. While the JP Morgan Health Care Conference was not in person in San Francisco this year—like it usually is—the Brown Technology Innovations team attended the virtual meetings. One year into the “Decade of Neuroscience”, the JPM Conference was a chance to learn about which neuro-technologies and strategies life science companies are pursuing. This report shares our insights about where companies are looking for innovation.
A Year Later, Brown’s Contributions to COVID Solutions
March, 2021. Looking back a year—everyone is doing it—we see Brown inventors who pivoted to find ways to address the pandemic.
First up: making schools and public spaces safer from COVID-19 and Influenza A virus H1N1 in under one minute. Amanda Jamieson, a respiratory virologist (Molecular Microbiology and Immunology), performed independent testing of a nano-material, GC Ink™. According to her report release at the end of February, GC Ink™ neutralized 100% of the virus present.
This fast-acting, extremely effective, and safe formulation of graphene and silver nanoparticles can be applied to masks and other PPE, and in particular, applied to filters in ventilation systems. When used in filters and masks, GC Ink™ is highly effective at trapping and neutralizing airborne coronaviruses and other viruses/bacteria for several weeks. When used in wipes, GC Ink also leaves a thin, highly effective, safe layer of protection against viruses and bacteria that lasts for 24 hours. The press release is here.
Last spring, researchers in Dan Harris’s lab began developing a rapidly-deployable ventilator, addressing critical shortages worldwide. The design utilizes 3D-printed mechanical components, off-the-shelf parts and open-source electronics that allow for easy use in resource-limited settings. Called Brun02, the team—which now includes collaborators from other universities—is working to submit a specific variant of the BrunO2 ventilator prototype to the United States for review under the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) authority. Brown recently signed a collaboration agreement with Stanford and the University of Utah for continued work on this project. See the Brun02 website for more.
Streaming Now: More Patent Awards and Disclosures to Brown
March, 2021. Last month, Brown was awarded three patents. Christoph Rose-Petruck and Brian Sheldon led the research behind an in-situ x-ray scatter imaging of battery electrodes (US 10,833,374). Nitin Padture and Yuanyuan Zaho’s team patented discoveries from their work with the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) on perovskite films and methods (Padture, Zhao, US 10,910,569). The most recent patent from Gabriel Taubin—whose work has led to many patent awards to Brown—was for a method that uses high frequency sinusoidal patterns to measure three-dimensional objects (US 20190101382A1).
Also, we are proud to share that we passed last year’s total for number of disclosures—a key entry point to explore commercial applications of research—before the third quarter was out (53 YTD 2020, vs 54 Q3FY2021). Brown researchers can start the disclosure process here.
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