Maria Labreveux, executive director of the Kentucky Science and Engineering Foundation, is scheduled to speak Tuesday, Nov. 28, to women and underrepresented minority researchers and entrepreneurs at IUPUI and the IU School of Medicine. The topic will be federal Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer grant programs.

The hourlong seminar will be 1-2 p.m. at the Indiana Center for Biomedical Innovation, 1800 N. Capitol Ave., Suite E504. There is limited space, and attendees must register online.

Padma Portonovo, program director at the ICBI, described the goal of the seminar.

“We want to enhance the competitiveness of federal grant applications originating from women and underrepresented minority researchers at IUPUI, the IU School of Medicine, and other IU schools and centers,” Portonovo said. “Federal SBIR and STTR grants are essential to the vitality of startup companies, including those that license IU intellectual property. Because it is a highly competitive process, there also is tremendous prestige associated with receiving one of these grants. Maria’s insights could be exactly what budding entrepreneurs need to hear as they build and develop innovations that could help people worldwide.”

Labreveux brings research and grants-management experience from Delaware State University, where she worked as an assistant professor before moving to Kentucky. She secured over $2 million in a 2.5-year period at DSU for her research and teaching. Funding came from federal and state agencies such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Resources Conservation Services, the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Services, the National Science Foundation, and the University of Delaware.