Sierra Neuropharma Among CBSA 2008 Award Recipients
Sierra Neuropharmaceuticals, Inc., a company founded on technology developed by CU's Dan Abrams, is among those who were honored by the Colorado BioScience Association at the 208 Biowest conference in mid-November. The CBSA awards recognize those individuals and companies making a significant difference to Colorado's vibrant bioscience industry this year.

Alumni and Entrepreneurs Donate to CU Bioscience Initiative
In October, the University of Colorado Foundation announced two gifts supporting the Colorado Initiative in Molecular Biotechnology (CIMB), which pursue breakthroughs at the intersection of engineering, science, and medicine. Former Myogen CEO and local entrepreneur Bill Freytag and his wife, Janet recently made a $5M endowed gift, and in mid-October CU alumni Jack and Jeannie Thompson of Boulder pledged $2M  to fund CIMB's new Vaccine Development Laboratory, slated for groundbreaking in 2009. These gifts follow a kick-off $20M gift in 2007 from CU-Boulder Distinguished Professor Marvin Caruthers

Interview: CU Energy Initiative Leadership Council
Paul Nelson (Special Projects, Energy Initiative Leadership Council, EILC) and TTO's Kate Tallman discuss the goals of the newly-formed EILC, and how they will help support the Colorado energy sector and Colorado's position as the epicenter of the clean tech energy scene.

UC Denver Med School's Associate Dean Garners National Research Award
E. Chester Ridgway, a senior associate dean and professor at the School of Medicine, has won the 2008 John B. Stanbury Thyroid Pathophysiology Medal from the American Thyroid Association, recognizing outstanding research contributions to the understanding of thyroid physiology and pathophysiology.

UC Denver Vice Chancellor Selected as 2008 AHA Distinguished Scientist
Richard J. Traystman, professor and vice chancellor for research at the University of Colorado Denver, has been selected by the American Heart Association (AHA) as one of the Distinguished Scientists for 2008, a distinction bestowed upon prominent AHA members whose work has advanced the understanding and management of cardiovascular disease and stroke.

UC Denver Cancer Researcher  Wins First Lung Cancer Research Foundation Merit Award
Rachel Linger, a postdoctoral cancer researcher at UC Denver, has received the inaugural Lung Cancer Research Foundation Merit Award for her novel work on two receptor tyrosine kinases in lung cancer which play important roles in tumor development and progression. She will also receive a $50,000, one-year grant from the foundation to support her work.

CSU President Makes Abrupt Exit
Larry E. Penley, Colorado State University's president since 2003, resigned suddenly in early November, surprising many on the Fort Collins campus and around the state. Penley earned praise for CSU's full-court press on environmental initiatives, including a giant wind farm and a pledge to be carbon-neutral by 2020. The university also drew attention for its creative approach to technology transfer.

Do you know of a recent award, new position or transition of interest to the CU tech community? Please send information to TTOnews@cu.edu.

TTO Commentary: Douglas Prasher and GFP
Many have already heard the story of Dr. Douglas Prasher and how his discovery of one of the most powerful molecular biology research tools, Green Florescent Protein (GFP), resulted in the award of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Dr. Prasher's former collaborators. Dr. Prasher provided his materials freely and without condition, to all comers, but his contributions to the field were not acknowledged when the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the 2008 Nobel in Chemistry, nor by federal granting agencies in the United States. Having enabled the field of fluorescent protein analysis, Dr. Prasher is out of money and out of science, with no attribution for his major contributions to the field of molecular and cellular biology.

Dr. Prasher should have provided his materials, openly and free of charge, to all academic collaborators under a Uniform Biological Material Transfer Agreement (UBMTA) to encourage the advancement of science, while codifying his contributions to his collaborators, and the field, through guaranteed attribution, authorship, or citation. He should also have filed a patent with his technology transfer office, so that companies making money from his discovery would pay a royalty that could support further scientific research in his laboratory. The simple use of common practices of technology transfer practices would have ensured that Dr. Prasher:

-received due scientific credit for his work

-benefitted from any commercial exploitation of GFP, and possibly derivative proteins

-gained substantial financial support for his science, commensurate with his contributions to science

Commercialization and collaboration are not mutually exclusive outcomes, and technology transfer best practices can help innovators like Dr. Prasher benefit from both. For more information about protecting your contributions to your field, please see TTO's Bulletins page and our Invention Submission Form.

Tech Seed Funds Recognized for Economic Role
In October, the State Science & Technology Institute (SSTI) recognized several seed funding programs for its 2008 Excellence in Technology-Based Economic Development Award, two of which we wanted to share with you. Pennsylvania's Innovation Works Seed Fund and the Maryland Technology Transfer Fundare similar to the CU TTO's own Proof-of-Concept Investment program (POCi), and although CU's program has only been operating since 2004, our results, in terms of capital leverage and licensing success, are also similar. We believe that the CU POCi program is positioned to become as powerful in the Colorado tech economy as these programs are in their own regions - please see our POCi page for more information.

Moving On: Scientific Founders
As a company grows, the founding scientist sometimes discovers (and investors often hint) that it's time to leave the CEO spot and hand it to someone with more business experience. To ease the possible shock of the process, consider this transition from day one.

Good News for Biotech: New Regulation Opens a New Path to Profitability
The financial markets are working against biotech, no doubt. But the regulatory system is tilting in biotech's direction.

Federal Innovation Funding and Programs Could Expand Under Obama Administration
Though nothing is certain at this point, throughout his campaign, President-elect Obama has reiterated his support for TBED-related initiatives and plans to increase funding for research and innovation. His Plan for Science and Innovation (PDF), released in September, makes a wide range of commitments, touching on clean energy investment, STEM education, entrepreneurship and basic research.

Roundup: University, Community, State, National and International Initiatives

Gates Foundation to Fund Novel Medical Research with $100M
World's largest private philanthropy is handing out $100M fund to 104 research projects that explore novel ways to solve some of the world's most pressing medical problems. The grants mark the first round of funding from the Gates Foundation's new Grand Challenges Explorations program.

EU Promises $1.28B for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Initiative
A new initiative from the European Union (EU) promises to inject a considerable pool of money during the downturn to accelerate the development of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies.

UC San Diego and UBC Strike Deal to Study Green IT
The University of California at San Diego and the University of British Columbia have signed a memorandum of understanding that says they will work together on "green cyberinfrastructure" - computing techniques that will improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.

Brooklyn Lab Is Part of NYC's Biotech Effort
In a cavernous warehouse built as a military supply depot during WWI, medical scientists will soon be searching for a vaccine to fight the spread of AIDS. Their laboratory will be the first tenant of a section of the Brooklyn Army Terminal that the city has reserved for bioscience companies and organizations - the newest frontier in the city's long-running campaign to make itself a capital for the biotech industry.

Colorado VC Gains Hold Steady
Venture capital funding dropped off 7 percent nationwide during the third quarter, but a burgeoning "clean-tech" industry helped Colorado buck the national trend during the past three months, according to two reports released in mid-October.

From Bureaucratic Tech Transfer to Entrepreneurial Tech Commercialization
This new study presents an overview of current success of the University of Utah tech transfer program, supported by theory and evidence from other successful programs that will give the audience critical 'lessons learned' and a deeper understanding of how other institutions can deploy this constellation of entrepreneurial mechanisms.

Study: Cleantech Funding Hit Record $1.6B in Third Quarter
Capital investments in U.S. cleantech companies reached a record $1.6B in the third quarter, according to an Ernst & Young LLP analysis based on data from Dow Jones VentureSource. A total of $3.3B was invested in the first three quarters of 2008, surpassing the figure for the same period last year by 71%.

NIH Increases by State, 2002-2006
Via SSTI, this table shows the yearly total amount from NIH grants directed to each state from 2002 to 2006, the percent change over that period, and the rank of that change. Colorado ranked 38^th over that period with an overall increase of 2.5%, from $294M in 2002 to $301M in 2006.