Senior Associate Dean for Research Gordon Jensen, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine Yvonne Janssen-Heininger, Ph.D., & V.P. for Research Richard Galbraith, M.D., Ph.D., at the 2019 I2V awards ceremony. (Photo: UVM Innovations)

More than a dozen Larner College of Medicine faculty and scientists were recognized during the awards portion of the 14th annual Invention to Venture (I2V) conference April 5 at the Davis Center at the University of Vermont. Hosted by the UVM Innovations office, the conference brings together academic researchers, students, entrepreneurs, business leaders and experts from across Vermont and New England to talk about how to protect, develop and finance ideas.

Kyle Clark, founder of South Burlington-based Beta Technologies, a two-year-old startup focused on building electric aircraft and recharging systems, was the keynote speaker.

Corine Farewell, DVM, director of UVM Innovations, presented the Awards Ceremony, in which Vice President for Research Richard Galbraith, Ph.D., participated.

Patent Award recipients included:

• Victor May, Ph.D., professor of neurological sciences; Karen Braas, Ph.D., research associate professor of neurological sciences; Sayamwong E. Hammack, Ph.D., professor of psychological science; and Donna Toufexis, Ph.D., associate professor of psychological science for “Diagnostic and therapeutic methods and products related to anxiety disorders” (2 patents)
• Mercedes Rincon, Ph.D., professor of medicine, and Tina Thornton, Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine, for “Methods and products relating to GSK3 beta regulation.”
• Jason Botten, Ph.D., associate professor of medicine; Karen Lounsbury, Ph.D., professor of pharmacology; and Christopher Francklyn, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry for both “Methods and compounds for reducing threonyl-tRNA synthetase activity” and “Methods and compounds for increasing threonyl-tRNA synthetase activity.”
• Albert van der Vliet, Ph.D., professor of pathology and laboratory science; David Earl Heppner, Ph.D.; and Karamatullah Danyal, Ph.D., Class of 2020 medical student, for “Covalent inhibitors of dual oxidase 1 (DUOX 1).”
• Francklyn; Lounsbury; and Tamara Williams, Ph.D., for “Methods and compounds for diagnosing threonyl-RNA synthetase-associated diseases and conditions.”
• Christopher Danforth, Ph.D., associate professor of mathematics and statistics; Kathleen Brummel-Ziedins, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry; Thomas Orfeo, Ph.D., assistant professor of biochemistry; Stephen Everse, Ph.D., associate professor of biochemistry; and Kenneth Mann, Ph.D., professor emeritus of biochemistry, for “Methods for dynamic visualization of clinical parameters over time.”

License Award recipients included:

• Yvonne Janssen-Heininger, Ph.D., professor of pathology and laboratory medicine – license to Celdara Medical, LLC.
• Markus Meyer, M.D., associate professor of medicine – license to Medtronic, Inc.
• Mercedes Rincon, Ph.D., professor of medicine – license to EMD Millipore

Learn more about the 2019 I2V conference.