LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The University of Southern California’s Stevens Institute for Innovation, a university-wide resource that helps USC innovators make maximum impact beyond traditional academic means, today announced it will award $439,000 in gap funding for seven breakthrough USC innovations that have a high potential to spin out within a year or two.
“USC has a long history of innovation and continues to be a rich source for new technologies, companies and jobs,” said Krisztina ‘Z’ Holly, Vice Provost for Innovation at USC and Executive Director of the USC Stevens Institute for Innovation. “Ideas Empowered matches the most exciting and game-changing ideas at USC together with well targeted funding and top level mentoring in order to advance high impact research to the next stage of development and investment.”
The USC Stevens Institute invited more than thirty members of the LA business and entrepreneurial community to review the different proposals and mentor the USC research teams participating in the program. The research teams also participated in idea feasibility analysis and pitch presentation workshops, received guidance on issues ranging from intellectual property to regulatory affairs, and were supported by MBA students coordinated through the Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies.
“The mentoring we received through the Ideas Empowered program took our proposal to a whole new level,” said Professor Ellis Meng of the Viterbi School of Engineering. “My team is now ready to tackle future funding processes and pave the way for adoption of our idea in the market.”
The Ideas Empowered program is funded, in part, by an influential board of charter members, including James C. Blair, General Partner at Domain Associates; Ken Klein, USC Trustee and President of Wind River; David Lane, General Partner at ONSET Ventures; Andy Rappaport from the Rappaport Family Foundation and a General Partner at August Capital; and Mark Stevens, USC Trustee and General Partner at Sequoia Capital.
46 faculty and student-comprised teams applied to the program when it was announced in the summer of 2010. The field was later narrowed to a small group of finalists and the following will receive funding:
Minimally-invasive universal cancer detection
method
Alan Epstein
Keck School of Medicine
of USC
Dr. Epstein and his team are developing a new clinical
test to detect cancer by measuring Myeloid Suppressor Cells (MSC) in the
blood using unique biomarkers displayed in these cells. Using this test,
clinicians could measure MSC levels in patients undergoing routine
hospital tests to screen for any form of cancer, monitor tumor
response to therapy, and detect the spread or reoccurrence of the
disease.
Cred.fm – The game you play by sharing the music
you love
Chris Swain
USC School of Cinematic
Arts
Prof. Swain’s team has developed a music-based social
networking game that generates a daily personalized playlist of
recommendations from other players (and from the system) that keeps
the user on the pulse of music they care about. Cred.fm is a
free-to-play game with optional virtual goods that players may purchase.
Light-weight low-cost movement tracking for
personalized exercise coaching post-stroke
Maja Mataric
USC
Viterbi School of Engineering
Research shows that life-long
recovery is possible for most individuals post-stroke, but
the supervision and motivation to perform proper exercises is usually
lacking. Prof. Mataric and her team are developing light-weight
wireless wearable sensors that will make it possible for stroke
survivors to undergo rehabilitation in their homes. The system being
developed is affordable, comfortable, and convenient so users enjoy
exercise while observing significantly improved physical ability.
Novel agents for hair growth and skin care
Michael
Kahn
Keck School of Medicine of USC
Dr. Kahn’s team
has developed an application that modulates endogenous skin stem cells,
which can be applied to treat serious medical issues as well as cosmetic
concerns. These agents could have a significant economic impact in both
the health care/topical pharmaceuticals industry and the cosmetics
industry.
Non-invasive therapy with the potential to cure
chronic and recurrent bacterial diseases
Steven Goodman
The
Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC
Cumulatively,
treatment of chronic or recurrent bacterial infections cost $120 billion
a year and includes middle ear infections, chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease, urinary tract infections, sinusitis, and many oral diseases.
Prof. Goodman and his team are developing a non-invasive therapy that
has the potential to cure chronic or recurrent bacterial infections.
The team is currently focusing on periodontal (gum) disease as their
target.
Tear-based diagnostics for autoimmune eye disease
Sarah
Hamm-Alvarez
USC School of Pharmacy
Sjögren’s
syndrome (SjS - pronounced as “show-grins”), occurs when the body's
immune system attacks the moisture-producing glands in the body. Four
million Americans are affected by this chronic autoimmune disease and
there are no simple tests for early identification of afflicted
patients, which would enable more aggressive treatments. Dr.
Hamm-Alvarez and her team are developing low cost tear-based
diagnostic test to predict SjS.
High performance fluid synchrony drug micropumps:
delivery of the right dose at the right time
Ellis Meng
USC
Viterbi School of Engineering
Chronic medical conditions are
primarily managed by drug therapy and the mode of delivery greatly
influences therapeutic efficacy. Prof. Meng’s micro technology-enabled
platform performs advanced drug delivery not possible with any other
current approach; it can deliver a diverse assortment of drugs at the
right dose, to the right tissue, and at the right time over the entire
course of treatment.
For more information about the Ideas Empowered program or the USC Stevens Institute for Innovation please visit: http://stevens.usc.edu/USC_Ideas_Empowered_Program_2010.flv
About the USC Stevens Institute for Innovation
The USC Stevens Institute for Innovation (www.stevens.usc.edu) is a university-wide resource in the Office of the Provost at the University of Southern California that helps identify, nurture, protect, and transfer to the market the most exciting innovations from USC. It also provides a central connection for industry seeking cutting-edge innovations in which to invest. As part of this role, the USC Stevens Institute manages the university’s intellectual property portfolio stemming from its $560M annual research program. Furthermore, the USC Stevens Institute develops the innovator as well as innovations, through educational programs, community-building events, and showcase opportunities.