Brown Biomedical Innovations to Impact (BBII) made its second round of awards last month. Five projects led by Brown University research teams have each been awarded $100,000 to help translate their scientific discoveries into commercial products that benefit patients.

Last month, Brown received a US Patent (#10,722,468) for drug delivery research led by Dr. Edith Mathiowitz, Professor of Medical Science and of Engineering.

Justin Fallon, Professor of Medical Science, Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, has optioned intellectual property to Bolden, his newest startup.

Regenerative medicine, an emerging field, allows a broad range of testing for toxicity and other health threats without using animal testing. Two Brown researchers, Dr. Kareen Coulombe and Dr. Diane Hoffman-Kim have been part of the Bioengineering Research Partnerships project, funded in 2016 by the NHLBI (National Heart Lung and Blood Institute).

Keeping our average of two patents per month, in June, Brown was awarded patents for discoveries by Derek Stein (Physics) for smart materials used in construction, and Nitin Padture and Yuanyuan Zhou (SoE) for the application of perovskite in solar panels. Stein’s work on smart materials was also included in a license to TechStyle, a startup in construction products (US Patent #10,704,794).

Brown Technology Innovations puts Brown University’s Technology First to drive commercial outcomes that benefit the University and society.

At our first virtual open house June 17, faculty met Executive Director Neil Veloso, heard success stories about Brown startups from Derek Stein and Jake Kurtis, and gained insights on commercialization from alum Kris Brown ‘89 P ‘22

One of the largest biomedical and technology conventions in the world with 3,245 companies and 5,713 delegates this year, BIO 2020 was virtual.

Brown was issued a US patent for research done by Dr. Tayhas Palmore (Engineering) and her graduate student Dan Liu (alum, Chemistry) (US 10,763,065).

Brown Technology Innovations executed a contract with an industry sponsor for a clinical trial to be overseen by Dr. Stefan Gravenstein, Professor of Medicine and Director, Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Care.

Brown Technology Innovations, the commercialization arm of the university, will showcase several life science inventions from Brown at the 2020 Biotechnology Industry Organization conference (BIO).

We have officially changed our name to Brown Technology Innovations.

With the concurrent rise of cryptocurrency and quantum computing, an inevitable collision will occur, as quantum computing will break existing cryptocurrency/blockchain security measures.

Imagine a tool that looks like a small projector that can scan your water bottle and tell you what you need to know to build it from scratch...or a rare part for your old car...or a piece of machinery for which you need to figure out a new supplier.

Each month, our office will share the latest patents that Brown is awarded for inventions by our faculty. This month, we are glad to share that Brown was issued a U.S. patent for an invention by Dr. Gilead Barnea called "Methods for Labeling and Manipulating a Cellular Circuit" (Allowed U.S. Utility Patent, application no. 15/558/90).

Brown has been issued two patents this month. The first is for a possible breakthrough tool for cancer therapeutics. Dr. Karl Kelsey and his colleague, John Wienecke, at the University of California San Francisco, have invented a new methodology for understanding cellular response to cancer diagnostics and treatment.

Brown also received a patent for a novel material for use in chromatography called metal thiolate chromatographic material, or MTCM. Discovered by a research team led by Dr. Yongsong Huang, Professor of Geological Sciences, MTCM will improve upon a process developed half a century ago.

Neil Veloso is the new Executive Director of Brown’s Office of Industry Engagement and Commercial Venturing. The Executive Director is the most senior officer in the University focused on commercializing Brown innovations through new venture creation, industry collaborations and licensing with strategic partners.

RIHub has partnered with The CoWrks Foundry to launch the Innovations in Urban Living Accelerator (IULA).

Starting Phase III of the Brown-Hyundai Research Collaboration, Hyundai awarded $200,000 to a research team jointly led by Dr. Kenny Breuer in Engineering and Dr. Sharon Swartz in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Their collaborative team will develop an enhanced understanding of bat flight and apply it to the modeling and design of flying robots.

On December 5, fourteen companies from the UK visited Brown to learn about our research on graphene and its commercial potential.

A Danish renewable energy company, Ørsted, visited Brown in October to learn about our research capacities in engineering, data science and materials research related to wind energy.

Brown took the stage in San Francisco on November 7 at the Hyundai Mobility Innovator’s Forum. The forum showcased moonshots for all kinds of transport: from kickboards, cars, and buses to drones and flying taxis, with about 650 in the audience.

Brown’s relationship with Hyundai Motor Group is quickly becoming a model for University-Industry partnerships that deepen understandings between scientists, and expands Hyundai’s investment in Brown over time.

Leading life sciences venture capital firms Canaan Partners and Domain Ventures visited Brown with Dr. John Sedivy and IECV team members in October. Next up: IECV will facilitate a scientific and commercial exploration to license and fund a company based upon Dr. Sedivy’s patent-pending intellectual property for compositions and methods for preventing and reversing age-associated inflammation.

IECV is working with licensee Theromics Inc. to source a $1.2 million seed equity investment from Launchpad Ventures, New England’s largest angel investment organization.

Ocean Spray Inc. has agreed to send a team to further develop collaborative research plans with Brown’s Microbiome Consortium and Biomed faculty specializing in nutrition. Ocean Spray has committed to developing a major new product line of nutritionally enhanced food and beverage products, based upon rigorous evidence-based experimentation and testing. They will be back for more later in November.​