UNeMed completed the first round of training for its new Innovation Ambassadors program, wrapping up a workshop in November that gave the 13-person cohort a deep dive into intellectual property, technology transfer and commercialization.
Launched during the Innovation Awards ceremony in October, the Innovation Ambassadors program was created to help innovative faculty, staff and students who might have new inventions, discoveries or other ideas and don’t know where to turn or what to expect.
The 13 ambassadors are an expert group of experienced faculty inventors empowered to act as mentors, advisers and advocates for colleagues who are unfamiliar or even skeptical of the innovation or technology transfer process.
UNeMed started the Innovation Ambassador program to expand the visibility of technology commercialization and deepen the connections between researchers and UNeMed, said President and CEO Michael Dixon, PhD.
“Our first cohort of ambassadors brings remarkable experience translating discoveries into real-world solutions,” Dr. Dixon said. “By activating this network of knowledgeable and engaged researchers, we aim to make the commercialization process more approachable, more connected and ultimately more impactful for the entire research community.”
As a group, the Innovation Ambassadors have disclosed 249 inventions, applied for 199 patents — 44 of which have issued — built five startup companies and have had 20 technologies licensed. They have amassed more than $4 million in additional grants, sponsored research and funding.
Nathan Hatch, PhD, the program director and a licensing specialist at UNeMed, said the program already has yielded positive results.
“We had some great discussions that directed us toward some potential changes we can make to improve our operations,” he said. “This is just getting started, and they’ve already demonstrated just how impactful we expect this program to be over the next few years.”
UNeMed’s Innovation Ambassadors are:
- Hamid Band, MD, PhD, Elizabeth Bruce Professor of Cancer Research and director of the Center for Breast Cancer Research, Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer & Allied Diseases. Contact 402-559-8572 and by email.
- Beth Beam, PhD, associate professor and director of global health, UNMC College of Nursing, and Heroes Program Director. Contact 402-559-6547 and by email.
- Gregory Bennett, DMD, chair and associate professor for the Department of Adult Restorative Dentistry, UNMC College of Dentistry. Contact 402-472-1272 and by email.
- Benson Edagwa, PhD, professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience, UNMC College of Medicine. Contact 402-559-0856 and by email.
- Robin Gandhi, PhD, Charles W. & Margre H. Durham Distinguished Professor, School of Interdisciplinary Informatics, and associate dean for research, technology and facilities, University of Nebraska at Omaha College of Information Science & Technology. Contact 402-554-3363 and by email.
- Jason Johanning, MD, professor in the Division of Vascular Surgery, Department of Surgery, UNMC College of Medicine. Contact 402-559-4395 and by email.
- Brian Knarr, PhD, associate professor of biomechanics and core director for the Center for Research in Human Movement Variability, UNO College of Education, Health and Human Sciences. Contact 402-554-3228 and by email.
- Bethany Lowndes, PhD, associate professor, human factors, in the Department of Neurological Sciences, UNMC College of Medicine. Contact 402-559-6202 and by email.
- Thanh Nguyen, PhD, assistant professor and research scientist, Department of Emergency Medicine, UNMC College of Medicine. Contact 402-559-5413 and by email.
- Ryan Riskowski, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Physics, UNO College of Arts & Sciences. Contact 402-554-2511 and by email.
- Ka-Chun (Joseph) Siu, PhD, chair and professor, Global Health Opportunities, Physical Therapy Program, UNMC College of Allied Health Professions. Contact 402-559-8464 and by email.
- Paul Trippier, PhD, professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UNMC College of Pharmacy; co-director, T32 Training Program in Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias Drug Discovery; and co-leader Translational Cancer Research Program, Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center. Contact 402-836-9763 and by email.
- Justin Weeks, PhD, clinical psychologist with the Nebraska Medicine Department of Psychology and psychotherapy director for the Anxiety Subspecialty Treatment Program. Contact 402-559-5031 and by email.