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Our vision is to be a leader in innovation management that creates value for the University of Utah, its stakeholders and society.
Jess Tate’s favorite part of his job as a research associate at the University of Utah Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute (SCI) is the variety of projects he is involved in.
“It’s really stimulating, and I have a lot of exposure to the cutting-edge science around me,” Tate said. “I get to be involved in all these fields of research and find solutions to problems.”
Because Tate is involved in so many projects, he made an excellent choice for one of the first three Innovation Ambassadors at the University of Utah. The Innovation Ambassadors connect their colleagues to the resources available at the Technology Licensing Office.
For Tate, serving as an Innovation Ambassador offers him the chance to encourage other SCI researchers to pursue potential commercialization opportunities related to their research. “The commercialization of ideas is really how our research or the things that we develop can have an impact,” he said.
Learn more about the Innovation Ambassadors
Just to get an idea of the scope of projects Tate and SCI work on, here are a few things he has had his hands on at the U:
- Building and improving on simulation models to be more accurate at estimation.
- Using statistical shape modeling to describe the shape of things like hearts or bones.
- Supporting and writing software to help researchers discover new phenomena in science.
- Creating computer models of the brain and the heart.
One of Tate’s main goals across all these projects is to push discovery and human knowledge forward. “All the software we write is centered on how we can make it easier for researchers or clinicians to discover,” he said. “It's using techniques that haven't been used in this field before to discover new principles and new ideas governing the proteins that make life work. Then, of course, the overall hope is that these ideas would result in some benefit to society.”
Commercializing some of these software projects is a bit more complicated than getting a tangible product licensed. Software is not always patentable, so Tate and the Technology Licensing Office are exploring new ideas to ensure these projects can be just as impactful.
“We are still pretty early in the process, but we hope to be able to come up with some strategies that would really inspire our researchers and students to come to the university and think of it as a place where they can make their ideas impactful,” Tate said.
Tate also hopes his position as an Innovation Ambassador will help grow a network of industry connections interested in the work done at SCI.
“I hope to help them see the value of our research and our work in their industry, and also in return use their expertise and their strengths to help our research progress,” Tate said. “There’s a lot that we can learn from each other across these domains and spaces that we work in.”
TLO Director of Commercialization Jonathan Tyler spearheaded the development of the Innovation Ambassador program with the hope that it would benefit researchers in more ways than one. “This initiative is designed to embed innovation resources within departments, offering trusted advisors who can provide direct support and guidance,” Tyler said. “Additionally, the program creates a valuable feedback loop with our office, helping us refine and enhance our offerings.”
University of Utah startups continue innovating and discovering solutions to today’s unmet needs. Here’s a roundup of some of the latest news out of these companies:
Blackrock Neurotech announces partnership with Noldus Information Technology
Blackrock Neurotech announced an official collaboration with Noldus Information Technology, a global leader in behavioral research solutions trusted by over 60,000 researchers worldwide! This strategic partnership integrates Blackrock Neurotech's advanced neural recording systems with Noldus' EthoVision XT behavioral tracking capabilities, creating a seamless platform for neuroscience research.
TikkunLev Therapeutics Emerges from Stealth Mode to Develop First-in-Class Precision Therapies for Heart Failure Targeting the Causal Disease Biology of Failing Heart Muscle
TikkunLev Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing precision therapies targeting the causal disease biology of failing heart muscle, officially announced the company’s launch, lead program for non-ischemic DCM, seed financing from undisclosed investors, and the establishment of its Scientific Advisory Board. The proceeds from the seed financing have been supporting ongoing IND-enabling development and product manufacturing, in anticipation of the company’s first IND filing in 2025.
The second annual University of Utah Innovation Awards recognized researchers across campus striving to transform their academic research into marketable, impactful products.
The event on Monday, Oct. 28, highlighted the recipients of the eight Innovation Awards and recognized those who patented technologies, received commercialization specific grants (the Ascender Grant and SBIR/STTR and participated in the I-Corps program in fiscal year 2024.
Learn more about this year’s Innovation Awards recipients
Patents issued in FY24
U research community members were issued 23 patents in the fiscal year. The patents represent numerous collaborations between departments on campus and institutions around the world.
Each person named on a patent received a personalized U patent mug with the patent they were issued, and first-time patent recipients took home a special travel mug to celebrate the milestone.
pdf View all 23 patents (117 KB)
Ascender Grant recipients
The Ascender Grant is one of the ways the Technology Licensing Office advances technologies for the U. The grant helps inventors bridge the funding gap between research and commercialization by providing support for technology development, proof of concept and additional investment. On Monday, we recognized five PI’s who completed their Ascender Grant milestones in the fiscal year:
Robert Hitchcock
Matthew Rondina
Jesse Rowley
Jan Kubanek
Massood Tabib-Azar
Learn how to apply for the Ascender Grant
I-Corps teams
The University of Utah is proud to be part of I-Corps Hub West and support our teams of faculty and students as they progress through the program and learn more about entrepreneurship. The following teams successfully completed regional I-Corps programming and are working toward Nationals.
Sethera
Karsten Eastman
Vahe Bandarian
EnduraCure
Grant Musgrave
EAS Sensing
Mary Jeppson
Bobby Mohanty
NOVUS-AT
Dhruv Patel
Marc Porter
Interested in I-Corps? Learn more
SBIR/STTR recipients
The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs are the nation’s largest source of early-stage, high-risk funding for startups and small businesses. These federal programs support the development of cutting-edge technologies and help startups bridge the funding gap needed to bring innovations to market.
The following PIs received SBIR/STTR funding in FY24:
Florian Solzbacher
Commercial translation of high-density carbon fiber electrode arrays for multi-modal analysis of neural microcircuits – SBIR NIH, Phase 2
Hamid Ghandehari
Topical Eyedrops Increasing Lysyl Oxidase Activity to Control Myopia – SBIR NIH, Phase 1
Andrew Zayachkivsky
Temperature-Controlled Recording System for Wireless Data Acquisition from Immature Rodents – SBIR NIH, Phase 2
Rebecca Simmons
Implementation of support tools to promote safety in the prescribing of oral contraceptives – SBIR NIH, Phase 2
Steve Blair
High density chronic optogenetic interface for primate brains – SBIR NIH, Phase 2
Edward Cazalas
Radiation-Resistant Stepper Motor – SBIR DOE, Phase 1
Shinduk Lee
Ultra Wideband Fall Detection and Prediction Solution for People Living with Dementia – SBIR NIH, Phase 2
Gabor Marth
A state-of-the-art web platform for collaborative, longitudinal genome diagnostics – SBIR NIH, Phase 2
Berardi Sensale-Rodriguez and Rajesh Menon
Development of Novel Lens Technology for Next Generation Laser Manufacturing – NSF, PFI-TT
Mark Mahan
Restoration of muscular function following direct muscle neurotization - STTR NIH, Phase 1
Jake Abbott
The development of the 3D Resident Object in Space Inspection (3DROSI) technology - STTR DOD, Phase 2
Jacob Hochhalter
Human-interpretable machine learning for certification and sustainment of fatigue-critical additively manufactured - STTR DOD, Phase 2
Jacob Hochhalter
Method development to correct inaccuracies in stress intensity factor models and improve reliability estimates - SBIR DOD, Phase 1
Innovation Ambassadors
TLO has tapped 3 researchers to serve as Innovation Ambassadors to their colleagues. These ambassadors are liaisons between our office, university departments and researchers across campus.
Bobby Mohanty
Jess Tate
Jay Kim
Learn more about the Innovation Ambassadors
