Faculty members across all academic disciplines at IU Bloomington have through April 1 to apply for funding from the Translational Research Pilot Grants program administered by the Johnson Center for Innovation and Translational Research.
The program funds the completion of proof of concept projects that support the development of research projects with industry partners, lead to the establishment of new companies or strengthen patent applications based on discoveries made at IU Bloomington. Funding will be available June 1.
Keith R. Davis, director of the Johnson Center for Innovation and Translational Research, said all projects in any discipline directly related to moving research or scholarly activities closer to commercialization are eligible.
“Projects must be based on discoveries that have been disclosed to IU Research and Technology Corp.,” he said. “Project budgets up to $25,000 will be considered, and the funding can be used to support research in the principal investigator’s work space or laboratory, or for purchased services from IU core facilities or external vendors.”
Applications will be assessed for scientific merit, their potential to significantly enhance the commercial development of the discovery and the potential for the creation of new intellectual property. Johnson Center personnel are available to provide assistance and answer questions.
Five faculty members received $104,230 during the inaugural round of funding in 2015. They are scheduled to speak at the second annual Bloomington Innovation Conference on March 31 at the IMU’s Frangipani Room:
- Hannah J. Block, assistant professor, Department of Kinesiology, IU School of Public Health-Bloomington. She is developing a tool for the accurate measurement of proprioception, or a person’s sense of how their body is positioned, in a clinical setting.
- Matthew L. Bochman, assistant professor, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, IU College of Arts and Sciences. His project involves the bio-prospecting, selection and analysis of wild yeasts.
- Amit Hagar, associate professor, Department of History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine, IU College of Arts and Sciences. His project involves a patient-specific method for estimating breast cancer progression.
- Andrea Hohmann, professor, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, IU College of Arts and Sciences. She is identifying novel drugs that can block pain signals in the brain for patients with chronic pain.
- Cheng Kao, professor, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, IU College of Arts and Sciences. He is developing an antimicrobial peptide to decrease bacterial infection in medical devices.
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