UM technology transfer showcase honors faculty

UM System President Elson Floyd presents the Faculty Entrepreneur of the Year Award to Dr. Randall Prather.

The number of invention disclosures filed by University of Missouri System faculty was up by 35 percent in fiscal year 2002 compared to the previous period, according to University officials. Actual patent applications increased 32 percent to set a new record.

University of Missouri System President Elson S. Floyd told participants in the University's third annual Technology Transfer Showcase, held March 5 on the University of Missouri-Columbia campus, that these figures are more than just statistics.

"The life of every Missourian is improved by research and development that produces advances in health and medicine, that make our farms more productive, and that maintain or improve the quality of our air, water and land," Floyd said.

The Technology Transfer Showcase was coordinated by the University of Missouri System's Office of Technology and Special Projects. Created in 1999, the office takes an aggressive, entrepreneurial approach to licensing technologies from all four campuses, creating research and development partnerships, and assisting start-up firms that utilize University discoveries.

The office's executive director, Thomas Sharpe, Ph.D., recognized faculty members who filed patent disclosures, patent applications, or successfully licensed their patents during 2002. Sharpe also presented plaques to faculty members who were awarded U.S. patents from January 2002 to December 2002.

Honorees included: Cecil Chappelow, Samuel Conzone, Delbert E. Day, J. David Eick, Virgil J. Flanigan, Michael Giblin, John Gray, Brett Gunnink, Gongshe Hu, Gurmukh S. Johal, Silvia Jurisson, Jayanth Kanunar, Shubhen Kapila, Zhuoxiong Liang, Michael Maples, Joseph W. Newkirk, Jeffrey O. Phillips, Charles Pinzino, Anatoli Pouzyrev, Thomas Quinn, Donald Riddle, Yungryel Ryu, Daniel S. Smith, Henry White, James E. White and Shen Zhu.

In addition, Dr. Randall Prather, Distinguished Professor of Reproductive Biotechnology at UM-Columbia, received the second annual Faculty Entrepreneur of the Year Award. One of the world's leading authorities on animal cloning, Dr. Prather and his research team recently succeeded in "knocking out" certain genes in pigs that prompt the human body to reject transplanted pig organs. The work could someday help save the lives of thousands of Americans who are awaiting suitable transplant organs.

"Dr. Prather's work illustrates the value of public-private partnerships," Floyd noted. "A private firm, the National Institutes of Health, and the University of Missouri came together to support his cutting-edge research. I believe such partnering is essential to ensuring Missouri's future economic viability."

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