UNews - Research Support Fund

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ’s Industry Liaison Office can help get an idea off the ground

caroline.zentner — Thu, 04 May 2017 19:55:29 +0000

The process of taking an invention from the lab to the marketplace can be long and consist of more than a few twists and turns. Scientists at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge who have the expertise to research and develop a novel idea or product may need coaching and support to commercialize it and that’s where the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Industry Liaison Office (UILO) within the Office of Research and Innovation Services (ORIS) can lend a helping hand.

Inventive works demonstrating a valued use to society are intellectual property (IP), which is defined by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office as a creation of the mind. IP includes inventions, literary and artistic works, designs and symbols, and names and images used in business. At the U of L, the person who creates the ‘work’ holds the IP. While researchers who want to commercialize an invention can do so independently, UILO provides resources and expertise to work on the inventors’ behalf to translate their findings for an applied use and benefit. The U of L directs some its Research Support Fund towards the operation of the UILO.

“The UILO does several things to enhance knowledge translation of research for society’s benefit,” says Dr. Greg Vilk, UILO manager. “It can take many forms, such as the design of new bioplastics, precision agriculture techniques and technologies, a new drug for medical purposes, or a medical device such as a diagnostic mobile app for an unmet clinical need. It could also be educational materials for a unique requirement in the form of traditional methods or more progressive digital platforms.”

The UILO can assist with intellectual property rights, assessing their value and determining the best way to approach partners who might be interested in collaborating in the refinement of the research, license the intellectual property for mutual gain and to solve society’s grand challenges. While the developer may stand to gain financially from their intellectual property, knowledge translation and commercialization provide other benefits such as more student exchanges, increased employment, other new projects and further collaborations.

“When an intellectual property disclosure arrives at the UILO, I do a full confidential analysis,” says Vilk. “I use proprietary databases; I look at the economics of it, I look at market and company information and try to assign a value for the intellectual property going forward. I give my assessment of whether the presented findings demonstrate a solution to a commercial challenge or problem. ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ-level intellectual property is inherently rough around the edges and therefore high risk. It’s susceptible to failure so I assess that risk and determine if we should go forward or wait and develop it further to de-risk the invention and increase its social and economic value to interested parties.”

Vilk also looks for strategic partners who could team up with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, both to help commercialize intellectual property or to provide essential ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ expertise to help solve a pressing industry problem.

“The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ has strong humanities and physical sciences expertise so there are opportunities to cross-pollinate between those departments. A lot of technology in the physical sciences space can facilitate research and development in humanities space, an example being the use of technology to turn sign language into speech,” says Vilk.

The UILO also performs an educational function and is available to help researchers, staff, students and the university community understand how the knowledge translation and commercialization process works. Vilk can also provide advice on technology translation and knowledge translation given his own experience as a co-founder of four companies in genomics, platform diagnostics, biofuels and agricultural biotechnology. In addition, he was a co-lead in a cell therapeutics company, directing their research and development initiatives to clinical trials. He’s also experienced the patenting and licensing process for both his inventions and others.

Vilk, who has a PhD in biochemistry from Western ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, developed patented infection control drugs while at Western and a proof-of-principal platform detection device that allows allergy sufferers to test for peanut proteins in foods, for example. The infection control drugs were successfully licensed to an international firm, while the allergy platform device technology is still in development. These experiences and outcomes sparked his keen interest in commercialization and knowledge translation.

“I like the startup and entrepreneurial atmosphere, especially its diversity. I like seeing different technologies and early-stage ideas coming from diverse areas and figuring out how to marry them up to accelerate their maturation for society’s use. That’s what I like about academia,” says Vilk.

The UILO is part of the Regional Innovation Network of Southern Alberta which includes Lethbridge College, tecconnect, Alberta Innovates, Community Futures and the National Research Council. Members of the network come together to help with commercialization and act as a conduit for grants, incubation space, advice and connections. In addition, Vilk strives to establish and nurture existing connections with other universities, investors, industries, enablers and associations in Canada and the United States to amalgamate resources where possible, discover new collaborators and note investor trends. He also works with his colleagues in the research office to build strength in new and existing grant fund applications.

“We’re a young and vibrant university with niches of world-recognized expertise that we can pull on and capture value. We can’t be everything to everybody because we don’t have the resources to do that,” he says. “If I can try to leverage our world expertise in these areas, then I can build tangible value that way and make the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ stronger.”

The Research Support Fund supports a portion of the costs associated with managing the research funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, such as salaries for staff who provide administration support, training costs for workplace health and safety, maintenance of libraries and laboratories, and administrative costs associated with obtaining patents for inventions.

Westcastle Field Station supports research in diverse areas

caroline.zentner — Thu, 15 Dec 2016 21:00:20 +0000

The ability to conduct field work is essential to ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge students who study topics like mountain snowpacks, changing tree lines and the cognition, behaviour and ecology of wild hummingbirds.

Christine (Michell) Mishra (BSc/BEd’10) called the U of L’s Westcastle Field Station home for two summers while she participated in three different research projects by Dr. Andy Hurly. The research examined hummingbird foraging behaviour to better understand the factors the birds used when they decided which flowers to feed from in an artificial flower patch.

“My experiences at the Westcastle Field Station, as well as other field work I did with other biology faculty, have really benefited me in my career as a high school science teacher,” says Mishra. “I often share stories from these experiences with my students, either to illustrate a point about a biological process, or just to let them know that science is not just something you do in the lab—it can take you to beautiful places and let you experience great things.”

The field station was renovated in 2016, with a second building added to provide dormitory facilities for 23 beds, an expanded kitchen, more lab space, exterior storage, water storage, a fire alarm system and better road access. The field station can now host numerous students and researchers and community outreach programs. The U of L supports the station by directing a portion of its Research Support Fund toward its operations.

Thomas Fox (BSc ’11), who also studied under Hurly, conducted research on wild hummingbirds and their ability to find the same flower time after time. They learned that hummingbirds primarily rely on landmarks close to the flower, although other factors can also play a role. Using the Westcastle Field Station as home base, the study was conducted over two consecutive summers.

“Having the field station as a resource was really great—it was like summer camp for scientists. Being out there gave me hands-on experience engaging with the scientific method in a beautiful setting,” says Fox. “Perhaps the most beneficial aspect for me was having the opportunity to live out there with graduate students and professors from all over the world. I really learned a lot getting to know all those brilliant people!”

David McCaffrey, who’s completing a Master of Science degree under the supervision of Dr. Chris Hopkinson, studies changes in the tree line in the Castle Wilderness Area southwest of Pincher Creek. While he sometimes camps when conducting his research, the U of L’s Westcastle Field Station serves as a launching point.

“As a base of operations and logistics hub, it makes a world of difference,” he says. “It provides us with a kitchen, lodging and a more research-focused atmosphere. I’m thankful to have the station there. I’ve been at a number of field stations around the world and the Westcastle Field Station is on par with any of them. It’s a really great facility.”

McCaffrey uses repeat photographs to study changes in the tree line. Some of the earliest photos come from surveys done more than 100 years ago. His research has revealed that whether a tree line goes up or down depends on topographic features like slope and aspect, which can affect the way the Castle area stores water. His work helps build understanding of long-term water resources in the Oldman River basin.

McCaffrey, and other geography students studying under Hopkinson, have also used the Westcastle Field Station as a base for LiDAR (light detection and ranging) surveys. LiDAR provides a high-resolution data set that allows researchers like McCaffrey to calculate the mass of the trees and, when compared with earlier images, the amount of carbon stored or lost.

Kelsey Cartwright, a Master of Science student under Hopkinson, conducts snow surveys in the mountains of the Oldman River watershed. Having an accurate measurement of the snow pack allows for better predictions of runoff and the potential for floods or droughts. Knowing more about the snowpack, locally and provincially, could help mitigate natural disasters and the costs that go with them. The Westcastle Field Station has provided a convenient mustering point for the work Cartwright has been involved in.

“We had a ton of equipment and tools to keep track of, which was easier to do at the field station than from tents and vehicles, as we did before the field station opened,” says Cartwright.

The Research Support Fund supports a portion of the costs associated with managing the research funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, such as salaries for staff who provide administration support, training costs for workplace health and safety, maintenance of libraries and laboratories, and administrative costs associated with obtaining patents for inventions.

UNews - Research Support Fund

��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ’s Industry Liaison Office can help get an idea off the ground

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Westcastle Field Station supports research in diverse areas

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��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ’s Industry Liaison Office can help get an idea off the ground