Research NewsletterIssue: ORN-2024-18

Announcement

CTR Workshop on

Pathways to Translational Research and Innovation Partnerships

(Sponsored by NSF ART (Accelerating Research Translation) Program at NJIT)

Date and Venue: May 21, 2024, 9.00 AM – 3.00 PM; Atrium, Campus Center

Registration Requested: Please Click Here to Register by May 10, 2024

Full Announcement and Additional Information: Click Here

Brief Description: The Center for Translational Research is committed to promoting excellence in collaborative research, innovation partnerships, entrepreneurial pathways, education, training and infrastructure development to translate technology into applications with a high societal and economic impact. To follow up on the CTR mission to enhance the research, innovation and technology entrepreneurship ecosystem at NJIT, we will host a workshop on pathways to translational research and innovation partnerships, with panel discussions and breakout sessions giving faculty, postdocs and students an opportunity to interact with experts on early and advanced translational research, tech transfer, licensing and funding strategies for entrepreneurial activities.

Who Should Attend: Faculty, research staff, undergraduate and graduate students and postdocs and external partners who are pursuing or are interested in pathways to translational research and innovation, technology development for use-inspired applications and societal benefit should attend and would be benefited from the workshop.

Why You Should Attend: You will have the opportunity to learn about translational research and innovation, tech transfer, market validation, networking and impact assessment, from faculty, industry experts and entrepreneurs with successful start-up companies. You will have opportunities to speak with them on 1-1 basis and in small groups at lunch and in breakout sessions focused on specific topics in the complete spectrum of technology translation from lab to market. You will be able to discuss your issues with experts and ask questions about how to develop your translational research and build innovation partnerships along with funding strategies for societal impact.

Breakout Sessions Format: The breakout sessions will engage faculty, staff, postdocs, and students in interactive discussions on challenges, perceptions, fears, concerns, expectations, and resources needed for successful translational research and innovation partnerships. The discussion should pave the way for future initiatives to help the NJIT community understand the perspectives of multiple stakeholders in validating technology solutions for market needs and societal benefits. Understanding the pathways, expectations and needs of diverse collaborators and external partners and stakeholders in an equitable and inclusive way with sustained engagement is critical. The breakout session will represent diverse perspectives of moderators and audience, addressing their questions and leading to a pre-designed case study with scenario analysis and feedback. Registered attendees will be able to submit their questions for the breakout sessions for experts to follow up with open discussion. 

Distinguished Experts You will Meet and Interact with:

• Translational Research and Tech Transfer Expert: Maria Rahmany, Adjunct Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering, Director - Business Development and Portfolio Management, Columbia University’s Technology Transfer office - Columbia Technology Ventures (CTV)
• Translational Research Partnership and Networking Expert: Pallavi Gupta, PD/COP LASER PULSE (USAID), Purdue University  
• Collaboration, Partnership and Industry Expert: Pallavi Madakasira, Vice President at Phase Change Solutions, Mentor, Female Leaders in Energy (FLIE), Previous Managing Director - Clean Energy, New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA)
• Translational Research and Innovation Expert: Barry Rand, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Associate Director for External Partnerships at the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University
• Innovation and iCorps: Christina Pellicane, Assistant Director of Innovation and Lead Instructor, I-Corps Northeast Hub, Princeton University.
• Technology Transfer: John Ritter, Executive Director, Office of Technology Licensing, Princeton University

NJIT and NJII Experts:

• Intellectual Property: Sanjiv M. Chokshi, Esq., Associate General Counsel
• Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Commercialization: Michael Johnson, President, New Jersey Innovation Institute; Cesar Bandera, Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship, MTSM School of Management;   Michael van Ter Sluis, Vice President, Entrepreneurship, New Jersey Innovation Institute
• DEIB Initiatives in Technology Translation and Partnerships: David Jones, Chief Diversity Officer

Agenda

8.30 AM – 9.30 AM:  Registration and Meet & Greet Networking with Full Breakfast

9.30 AM – 9.45 AM: Welcome Remarks and Program Outline

                                    Atam Dhawan, Senior Vice Provost and Executive Director – CTR

                                    Teik Lim, President, New Jersey Institute of Technology

                                    Michael Johnson, President, New Jersey Innovation Institute

9.45 AM -11.00 AM: Distinguished Panel Discission: Pathways to Translational Research and Innovation Partnerships

                                 Maria Rahmany, Adjunct Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering, Director - Business Development and Portfolio Management, Columbia University’s Technology Transfer office- Columbia Technology Ventures (CTV)

                                Pallavi Gupta, PD/COP LASER PULSE (USAID), Purdue University

                                Pallavi Madakasira, Vice President at Phase Change Solutions, Mentor, Female Leaders in Energy (FLIE), Previous Managing Director - Clean Energy, New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA)

                                Barry Rand, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Associate Director for External Partnerships at the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University

11.00 AM – 12.30 PM: Breakout Sessions

                                  Breakout Session -1: Translational Research and Innovation – Why Get Involved?

                                  Moderator: Pallavi Madakasira, Barry Rand and Shawn Chester

                                 Topics:

                                Why do collaborative translational research with external partnerships, potentially losing control of the project, as compared to an individual PI-based project?

                                What are the benefits to faculty and industry for their professional contributions and accomplishments in collaborative translational research?

                                What are the risks associated with collaborative translational research?

                                  Breakout Session -2: Innovation Partnerships and Societal Benefits

                                  Moderator: Pallavi Gupta, Christina Pellicane, Charmi Chande and David Jones

                                 Topics:

                                 How to find partners and be a part of the large network of stakeholders?

                                 How to engage a diverse community of stakeholders and partners for sustainable partnership with professional equity?

                                 How to engage and sustain external partners, specifically start-ups and entrepreneurs? 

                                 Breakout Session -3: Tech Transfer and Entrepreneurship

                                 Moderator: Maria Rahmany, John Ritter and Cesar Bandera

                                 Topics:

                                 What resources within Tech transfer would be useful as you consider translating your innovations?

                                 What hinders PI engagement with TTOs?

                                 How can Institutions foster an innovation ecosystem in academia?

                                What motivates Investigators to commercialize?

12.30 PM – 1.30 PM: Lunch with Experts – Roundtable Assigned Seats Networking

                                    NJIT CTR Faculty and Student Fellows Program Initiation  

1.30 PM – 3.00 PM:   Open Forum with Presentations from Breakout Sessions and Next Steps

3.00 PM:                     Closing Remarks

_______________________________________

Propelus I-Corps at NJIT - Summer 2024

Virtual Zoom Session: June 3, 5, 12, and 26; 6.00 PM – 9.00 PM

Apply by May 17, 2024

Our four-session Propelus program helps researchers explore the customer perspective to inform how a discovery or innovation can become the basis of a successful startup or venture.

This program will take place online hosted by New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), and is open to qualified applicants from throughout the region. University affiliation is not required. Through the program, we provide training and grants to support team-based customer research aimed at investigating the viability and societal impact of scientific and technological discoveries.

To apply to attend the Propelus program, researchers must form a team of at least two people involved with the scientific or technological discovery. The team must include:

• An entrepreneurial lead (often a postdoctoral researcher, graduate student or undergraduate)
• A technical lead (usually a faculty member)

The NJIT I-Corps Program Manager will provide assistance to complete teams as necessary. You must have at least 2 teams members identified to apply. All team members must be able to participate for the project duration. 

Benefits

Training: Four sessions introducing the Lean LaunchPad methodology, which focuses on customer discovery research to evaluate the potential of your idea to solve problems and provide value. View a sample course agenda(Link downloads document) (Link opens in new window).

Funding: Grants of up to $3,000 are provided to each selected team and can be used to fund expenses related to customer discovery research, including conferences and marketing tools. 

Resources: Selected teams will receive mentorship from seasoned entrepreneurs and innovators. Teams may also utilize many other programs offered by the Hub-affiliated institutions.

Follow-on opportunities: Upon completion, teams are eligible for the national NSF I-Corps Teams program which provides an intensive 7-week training course and a $50,000 grant.

For Additional information, please contact Michael Ehrlich at ehrlich@njit.edu

NSF: National Science Foundation Research Traineeship Institutional Partnership Pilot (NRT-IPP) Program; NSF Regional Innovation Engines

NIH: Independent Scientist Award (Parent K02 - Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed); NIH Pathway to Independence Award (Parent K99/R00 Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

Department of Defense/US Army/DARPA/ONR: Funding Opportunity Announcement ONR STEM Program; Office of Naval Research Science and Technology for Advanced Manufacturing Projects (STAMP)

Department of Energy: Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) – Joint Office of Energy and Transportation: Communities Taking Charge Accelerator, Fiscal Year 2024 Funding Opportunity Announcement; FY2024 Vehicle Technologies Office Research & Development Funding Opportunity Announcement

Bipartisan bill seeks to grow NASA program using drones to fight wildfires:  House lawmakers introduced bipartisan legislation this week that would expand a NASA initiative designed to use drones and other advanced aviation technologies to assist with wildfire prevention and mitigation efforts. 

The bill — introduced on Tuesday by Reps. Mike Garcia, R-Calif., and Jennifer McClellan, D-Va. — would bolster NASA’s Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response to Operations program, or ACERO, “to improve aerial responses to wildfires.” According to NASA, the ACERO program is developing “airspace management technologies to share information between crewed aircraft, drone operators and ground crews during wildfire responses.”  The lawmakers said in a press release that their legislation would “codify, expand and improve the existing ACERO project at NASA” and grow the initiative further “to include research and development of new technologies related to the management, deconfliction and coordination of manned and unmanned aerial vehicles in wildfire response.” More information is posted on the NextGov website.

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Senate bill aims to bring more private sector participation to federal AI innovation: A cohort of bipartisan senators introduced new artificial intelligence-focused legislation Thursday, which aims to consolidate U.S. leadership in emerging technologies through enhanced private sector collaboration. The Future of AI Innovation Act, cosponsored by Sens. Todd Young, R-Ind, Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., responds to the larger global race to lead in new AI and emerging technologies, like quantum computing systems and applied biosciences.  Key provisions in the text would allocate more federal support to the National Institutes of Standards and Technology for standards development in critical tech fields; launch an AI testbed competition helmed jointly by NIST and the Department of Energy’s National Laboratories; and ask leadership within the Department of Commerce, State Department and White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to form more international alliances focused on developing a consensus on AI standards. The bill also asks for participation in AI scientific and technological advancement from the Government Accountability Office and the National Science Foundation to identify hindrances to AI application across the federal government and to further spearhead initiatives for private sector collaboration, respectively. More information is posted on the NextGov website.