I have now highlighted two of the twelve research projects that have reached the technology transfer phase of their development and filed invention disclosures with the Indiana University Research and Technology Corp. (IURTC). All twelve have contributed to the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (Indiana CTSI) setting a record last year for supported research projects reaching sufficient development to initiate technology transfer activities. I am highlighting four of the twelve projects to have entered this commercialization process over the past year. The first two blogs highlighted Dr. Craig Erickson’s autism research project and Dr. Stan Spinola’s new approach to the treatment of bacterial infections.

The third new project I would like to feature is a novel method to analyze dental “biofilm” for cavity risk by Dominick Zero, DDS, professor and chair of preventive dentistry and associate dean for research, and Andrea Ferreira-Zandona, DDS, MSD, Ph.D., associate professor of preventive and community dentistry, both of the IU School of Dentistry; and Milos Novotny, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, Indiana University Bloomington. This technology could radically change clinical treatment since dentists currently have no reliable method to predict whether a caries lesion (characterized by soft enamel and/or discoloration) will develop into an active tooth-detroying cavity. Subsequently, the commercial potential for this diagnostic invention appears substantial.  The project received more than $16,000 from the Pediatric Project Development Team in 2012. Dr. Zero and colleagues also benefited from services from the Design and Biostatistics Program. This is the third of four blogs. Check back soon for the last posting in the series on Indiana CTSI/IURTC-supported projects.

Read Part 1 on Dr. Craig Erickson’s autism research project here