Media contact: Adam Pope
Vivek Lal, M.D.,
Photography: Steve Wood A University of Alabama at Birmingham professor who has launched two startups was honored with the Bill L. Harbert Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s most prestigious award during the institute’s annual Innovation Awards on Oct. 13.
Vivek Lal, M.D., associate professor in the UAB Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics and the founder of both ResBiotic Nutrition and Alveolus Bio, was given the 2023 Award for Excellence in Entrepreneurship.
ResBiotic Nutrition develops microbiome-based supplements for lung, digestive and immune health, while Alveolus Bio is a drug development company creating FDA-approved inhaled therapeutics for chronic lung diseases.
Lal headlined a group of innovative minds and organizations from UAB, Birmingham and the state of Alabama that walked away from the event with Innovation Awards, including:
- Adjuvax, Startup of the Year – Adjuvax, founded by UAB professor of chemistry Pengfei Wang, Ph.D., focuses on developing novel saponin-based vaccine adjuvants, which are ingredients that help evoke stronger immune responses.
- Innovate Alabama, Community Partnership of the Year – Innovate Alabama is a statewide public-private partnership focused on entrepreneurship, technology and innovation, and is a vital source of support and funding for UAB startups. To date, more than 10 UAB startups have received funding from Innovate Alabama.
- Ashita Tolwani, M.D., EntrepreHER Award – Professor of medicine Ashita Tolwani’s work in developing user-friendly, patient-safe citrate solutions for use in Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy dialysis has saved the lives of countless patients across the world and was given FDA approval to assist patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also established the Tolwani Innovation Fund in Nephrology, which supports investigators and researchers as they create products and solutions to help kidney-related therapies.
- Most Prolific Inventors:
- Kyle Wood, M.D. – In fiscal year 2023, Wood was named on four intellectual property disclosures. He is an associate professor in the UAB Department of Urology.
- Surya Bhatt, M.D., Sandeep Bodduluri, Ph.D., and Arie Nakhmani, Ph.D. – In fiscal year 2023, Bhatt, Bodduluri and Nakhmani were named on four intellectual property disclosures and shared inventor credit on all four disclosures. The three are working together on Spiromatics, an AI-based lung function solutions suite. Bhatt and Bodduluri are part of the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, while Nakhmani is in the School of Engineering.
- Alex Cox, Most Outstanding Entrepreneurship Student.
“Our Innovation Award winners exemplify the best and brightest innovative minds on campus and in our community,” said HIIE Executive Director Kathy Nugent, Ph.D. “We are overjoyed by what they have achieved and eagerly look forward to what they will accomplish. We are also thankful for the partnerships we have forged as we all work together to bring new inventions and innovations to the marketplace.”
The HIIE also inducted seven new members into the UAB chapter of the National Academy of Inventors, which is in its second year of existence. Those new members include:
- Anupam Agarwal, M.D., dean of the UAB Heersink School of Medicine
- Charles Amsler, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Biology, College of Arts and Sciences
- Peter Anderson, DVM, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Pathology in the Heersink School of Medicine
- David Bedwell, Ph.D., professor/chairman the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics in the Heersink School of Medicine
- Kim Keeling, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics in the Heersink School of Medicine
- James McClintock, Ph.D., University Professor in the Department of Biology, College of Arts and Sciences
- T im Townes, Ph.D., professor emeritus, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics in the Heersink School of Medicine