In its second year of existence, the Blazer Bridge Fund (BBF) will provide support to six innovative projects from University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) inventors, including a device to prevent neonatal apnea, a tool to help ICU patients remain safely hydrated, and continued development of a possible therapeutic target for Alzheimer's disease, among others.
The BBF, launched in spring 2023 by the Harbert Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (HIIE) at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), is intended to identify and assist in the development of promising ideas, discoveries, innovations and/or technologies from UAB faculty and staff that have commercial potential.
The six projects selected for the 2024 funding round are:
Flexi-coat, an innovative solution for biomedical device coating, invented by Jesse Jones, M.D., of the Department of Neurosurgery, and Vinoy Thomas, Ph.D., of the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering.- Application to Predict and Prevent NEonatal Apnea (APPNEA), invented by Colm Travers, M.D., and Namasivayam Ambalavanan, M.D., of the Department of Pediatrics; and Arie Nakhmani, Ph.D., of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
- Characterizing UAB126 as a drug candidate for diabetic retinopathy, invented by Jeonga Kim, Ph.D., of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism; Venkatram Atigadda, Ph.D., of the Department of Dermatology; Maria Grant, M.D., of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences; and Marina Gorbatyuk, Ph.D., of the School of Optometry.
- Portable and scalable multifunctional plasma-catalytic membrane reactor, invented by Andrei Stanishevsky, Ph.D., Riley Yager, Riley Nick and John Conaway, all of the Department of Physics.
- Fluid Aviator, a tool designed to address the issue of balancing adequate hydration and avoiding fluid overload in critically ill ICU patients, invented by David Askenazi, M.D., Nancy Tofil, M.D., and James Odum, M.D., of the Department of Pediatrics; and Andres Morales, Samuel Misko and Michael Brascome, of the School of Engineering.
- Development of target engagement biomarkers for Tau-SH3 inhibitors, invented by Erik Roberson, M.D., of the Department of Neurology.
The BBF brought in 27 applications for its second-ever round of funding, representing 62 inventors in 26 UAB departments and divisions across six schools and ArtPlay Community Education.
“We were highly impressed with the quality of applications we received for this year’s Blazer Bridge Fund round, and the six that we ended up selecting all have tremendous potential,” said HIIE Executive Director Kathy Nugent, Ph.D. “We are especially excited that we awarded funding to inventors from the Heersink School of Medicine, the School of Engineering and the College of Arts and Sciences. We take pride in supporting UAB innovation from every corner of campus.”
Learn more about the Blazer Bridge Fund here.