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The University of South Alabama Office of Commercialization and Industry Collaboration (OCIC) recently held its 2018 Inventor Recognition Luncheon.

Published Jan 8th, 2019

The University of South Alabama Office of Commercialization and Industry Collaboration (OCIC) recently held its 2018 Inventor Recognition Luncheon.

The Inventor Recognition Luncheon is an opportunity for the OCIC to acknowledge the university’s inventors for their dedication to innovative research that results in valuable intellectual property. At the event, special recognition awards were formally presented to inventors named on recently issued patents in the United States.

This year the OCIC presented six awards to the following USA inventors listed on five U.S. patents that issued between October 2016 and October 2018, as well as the inventor of the university's first licensed trade secret:

  • Dr. Brian Fouty, professor of internal medicine and pharmacology at the USA College of Medicine and a pulmonologist with USA Physicians Group; and Dr. Victor Solodushko, associate professor of pharmacology at the USA College of Medicine, are co-inventors on a patent issued Dec. 12, 2017. The patent describes a gene delivery system that utilizes genetic elements of the piggyBac family transposon system, and methods of introducing nucleic acid into target cells. This technology consolidates plasmids into a single delivery vector, while also dramatically reducing incorporation of non-essential DNA into the target genome, thereby reducing or eliminating potential side effects associated with more traditional transposition systems.
  • Dr. Ajay Singh, professor of oncologic sciences at the USA Mitchell Cancer Institute and professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the USA College of Medicine; and Dr. Seema Singh, associate professor of oncologic sciences at the USA Mitchell Cancer Institute, are co-inventors on a patent issued Nov. 28, 2017. The patent describes a method to alleviate Gemcitabine (chemotherapeutic) associated resistance in pancreatic cancer. Another patent, issued Oct. 4, 2016, included co-inventor Dr. Sanjeev Srivastava, assistant professor of oncologic sciences at the USA Mitchell Cancer Institute. The subject of this patent was the identification of relevant functions of Myb in prostate cancer.
  • Dr. Gary A. Piazza, professor of oncologic sciences and pharmacology, leader of the Cancer Chemoprevention and Experimental Therapeutics Programs, and chief of the Drug Discovery Research Center at the USA Mitchell Cancer Institute, is an inventor on a patent issued Aug. 7, 2018. The patent covers both diagnostic tools and therapeutics for the treatment of cancer based on phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibition. This assay is an opportunity to repurpose known inhibitors of PDE towards a cancer therapeutic indication as well as identify novel compounds as PDE specific inhibitors.
  • Dr. Kuang-Ting Hsiao, professor of mechanical engineering, is the inventor on a patent issued Sept. 4, 2018. The patent is a transformative method of manufacturing composite materials that enhances a fiber-reinforced polymer’s level of performance, while mitigating weaknesses and enabling multi-functionality.
  • Anna Buford, a research assistant in physiology and cell biology, is the inventor of a trade secret formulation of a specialty cell culture media allows primary cells isolated from animals to remain viable longer and survive a greater number of passages than standard cell culture media. This can significantly reduce the cost associated with in vitro studies that require primary cells from a myriad of animal models.

The USA Office of Commercialization and Industry Collaboration is responsible for managing the intellectual property assets of the university and serves as a point of contact for research-related industry collaboration.

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