From the Senior Vice President for Research, Innovation & Economic Development Throughout 2014 USF faculty continued to break new ground and receive increasing recognition nationally and internationally. USF is one of the nation’s top public research universities and one of only 40 public research universities nationwide with very high research activity that is designated as community engaged by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. We are also one of only four Florida public universities with this classification in the top tier of research universities (RU/ VH), a distinction attained by only 2.3 percent of all universities. We are proud to share with you some of our milestones over this past year. n USF
ranks 43rd in the nation for total research expenditures, among all U.S. universities, public or private, for the second year in a row (National Science Foundation 2013). n USF was awarded a record $428 million in research contracts and grants in FY2014, up 35% from FY2013. n USF has ranked among the Top 15 Universities Worldwide for U.S. Patents for the past four years, according to the Intellectual Property Owners Association/National Academy of Inventors (2013). n USF is the founder and home of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), a nonprofit member organization with over 3,000 individual inventor members and Fellows spanning more than 200 U.S. universities, and governmental and non-profit research institutes.
2 USF RESEARCH & INNOVATION | ANNUAL REPORT 2014
n The
Princeton Review and Entrepreneur Magazine ranked USF’s interdisciplinary graduate entrepreneurship program among the top 25 programs in the nation (#11), the only Florida program included (2012). n USF ranked 5th among the country’s Best for Vets: Colleges 2014 (Military Times). n USF ranked in the top 15% of all colleges, universities and trade schools nation-wide as a Military Friendly School®, as named by G.I. Jobs magazine. USF Research & Innovation continues to encompass a broad array of programs, goals, and new entrepreneurial opportunities. Research, scholarship, discovery, and a focus on driving innovation from the lab to the market are our touchstones, as we work with our state and community partners to drive this development in Tampa Bay and Florida. Our success is the result of the dedication and commitment of our faculty, students, staff, colleges, departments, institutes, centers, leaders, colleagues and partners. We are proud to highlight and celebrate their accomplishments as we work together to build a better community, state, nation and world.
Paul R. Sanberg, Ph.D., D.Sc.
Senior Vice President for Research, Innovation & Economic Development, USF System President, USF Research Foundation, Inc. Executive Director, Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair Distinguished University Professor
Table of Contents From the Senior Vice President............................. 2
USF Research & Innovation Leadership
USF Research & Innovation Leadership................. 3
Paul R. Sanberg, Ph.D., D.Sc., Senior Vice President for Research, Innovation & Economic Development, USF System, and President, USF Research Foundation, Inc. Sudeep Sarkar, Ph.D., Associate Vice President for Research & Innovation
Encouraging Innovation: Annual Research Report........................................ 4 USF Technologies Featured at Smithsonian Institution’s Innovation Festival............................. 8
Valerie McDevitt, J.D., Associate Vice President for Technology Transfer and Business Incubation Lt. General Martin Steele, USMC (ret.), Associate Vice President for Veterans Research Rhonda Hendrix, Chief Operating Officer Rebecca Puig, Assistant Vice President, Sponsored Research and Research Financial Management
Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science................................. 9
Cheryl Byers, Assistant Vice President, Research Integrity & Compliance Robert Engelman, D.V.M., Assistant Vice President, Comparative Medicine
Honoring Outstanding Research and Innovation..................................................... 10
Bill Baker, Ph.D., Director, Center for Drug Discovery & Innovation Patty Gamble, Chief Financial Officer & Director, USF Research Foundation
By the Numbers: Research & Innovation.............. 12
Allison Madden, Director, USF Research Foundation Operations
USF RESEARCH & INNOVATION | ANNUAL REPORT 2014 3
Annual Research Report
Encouraging INNOVATION ANN CARNEY | USF News
F
or Distinguished USF Health Professor Shyam Mohapatra, the future of medicine is shrinking.
An associate dean in the College of Pharmacy and a Research Career Scientist at the VA Hospital, Mohapatra is a pioneer in the field of nanobiotechnology. His innovations are focused on nanoscale (about one-hundredth the width of a strand of human hair) biomedical diagnostics and therapeutics to combat allergies, viral infections, brain injuries and cancer. An inventor or co-inventor on 22 U.S. patents to date, Mohapatra’s unique drug delivery systems include an intranasal gene transfer technology that inhibits RSV, a global respiratory virus that kills 200,000 people annually, and “smart” nanoparticles that specifically target diseased cells, leaving healthy cells alone. “Shyam is a great example of a hard-working life scientist who really wants to change the world,” says Paul R. Sanberg, senior vice president of research and innovation at USF. “He combines engineering, medicine and entrepreneurship to create cures and treatments for some of the most hideous diseases.”
For four years in a row, USF has ranked in the top 15 among universities worldwide for generating new inventions.
This nanoscale fiber scaffold, which is a huge advantage over the traditional two-dimensional petri dish, is being commercialized by TransGenex, a company Shyam and Subhra co-founded.
“Cells grow very differently in a dish than in the body,” Mohapatra says. “Tumor-on-a-dish is 80 to 90 percent like a tumor in the body.”
4 USF RESEARCH & INNOVATION | ANNUAL REPORT 2014
Photo: AIMEE BLODGETT | USF News
Among his research inventions and co-inventions, he is most excited about the “tumor-on-a-dish” platform. The co-invention is a result of his collaboration with Subhra Mohapatra, a tumor biology expert and associate professor in the Department of Molecular Medicine in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, who has been his life partner for 30 years. Their proprietary, three-dimensional tumor-on-a-dish technology allows researchers to study cancer cells in a three-dimensional environment that resembles human tissue.
Using the new technology, scientists can grow a tumor in three to five days from a biopsy sample and test up to 96 separate treatments to determine which treatment is most effective against that patient’s cancer. “Cancer is very different for each person; a mother and daughter may have very different experiences with breast cancer,” Mohapatra explains. “We expose the tumor on the dish to five or six drugs in different doses, or a cocktail of drugs, and see how it responds.” Within seven days of the biopsy, scientists are able to hone in on the best treatment. The approach is a significant departure from traditional trial-and-error cancer treatment in which tumors can grow and metastasize to other parts of the body as stem cells inside the tumor learn to resist the cancer drugs. The technology—which could revolutionize the fields of drug discovery and personalized medicine—is symbolic of the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship that has put USF on the world stage.
In October, Subhra was one of four USF professors to receive the Excellence in Innovation Award, recognizing exceptional achievement in technological innovation and entrepreneurial success. Just one month earlier, Shyam, a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, was named to the inaugural class of six inventors inducted into the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame. Founded last year and located at USF, the Hall of Fame showcases the groundbreaking innovations of Florida scientists and inventors. Along with Mohapatra, the charter class includes: Thomas Edison, the most prolific inventor in U.S. history; Dr. John Gorrie, the father of air conditioning and refrigeration; Dr. Robert Cade, a University of Florida professor who developed Gatorade; William Glenn, a Florida Atlantic University professor who invented the high-definition camera for NASA; and Shin-Tson Wu, a University of Central Florida professor whose liquid crystal research has widely impacted display technology worldwide. Together, the six inventors represent some 1,300 patents for their work.
3-D tumor technology invented by USF researchers Subhra (l) and Shyam (r) Mohapatra could transform cancer treatment.
“It is thrilling to recognize these outstanding inventors whose work has had such an impact on the lives of Floridians and the world,” says Sanberg, who chairs the Hall of Fame—one of only five state inventors halls of fame throughout the United States. “Our hope is that the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame will encourage individuals of all ages and backgrounds to strive toward the betterment of Florida and society through continuous, groundbreaking innovation.” Creating a culture that encourages innovation has long been Sanberg’s goal at USF, where in September, USF System President Judy Genshaft announced a new record for research grants and contracts, with more than $428 million awarded in the last academic year—a nearly $15 million increase over 2012-13. The historic figure came in a year that also saw a record 113 new patents awarded, 91 new licenses and options
USF MAGAZINE | Fall & Winter 2014 3 USF RESEARCH & INNOVATION | ANNUAL REPORT 2014 5
“
We continue to translate research for the common good. Research, innovation and commercialization are prized here.” – Paul R. SanbeRg
It was a year in which six faculty members were named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), marking the second year in a row that USF has been in the top 10 worldwide and number one in Florida with fellows named, and a year in which 18 faculty members earned prestigious fellowships, prizes and awards recognized by the Association of American Universities “We continue to grow. We continue to increase partnerships with business and the community. We continue to change the culture to translate research for the common good,” says Sanberg. “Research, innovation and commercialization are prized here.” It’s a shifting culture, where patents, licensing and commercialization activities are factored into consideration for tenure. And students, from their first
moments on campus, are exposed to opportunities and resources to engage in undergraduate research. According to Richard Pollenz, director of the Office for Undergraduate Research, nearly 1,600 students attended “Getting Started in Research” workshops during the 2013-2014 academic year and nearly 60 percent of the attendees were first-year students. The action-oriented sessions are designed to empower students to engage in undergraduate research activities. Additionally, Pollenz says, at the annual Research and Arts Colloquium in April, nearly 20 percent of the record 300 student presenters were first- or second-year students, up from 5 percent just two years before.
6 4 USF RESEARCH MAGAZINE &| INNOVATION www.usf.edu | ANNUAL REPORT 2014
“We are embracing students into research and scholarship,” says Sanberg, adding that through the recently launched USF Student Innovation Incubator “we are seeing students who want to start companies in addition to doing school work.” Opened in November of 2013, the incubator offers a unique place for student inventors and entrepreneurs to learn, collaborate and launch their new businesses. Student ventures with scalable, commercial potential are given access to high-tech, collaborative office space and are paired with industry mentors, subject matter experts and community corporate partners to develop business plans and market their products and services.
Photos: Pg. 6-7, AIMEE BLODGETT | USF News; pg. 6, ANTHONY MORRISON; pg. 7, KATY HENNIG | USF News
executed, 11 new startup companies and a surge in national research rankings to No. 43 among public and private universities nationwide.
Photos, left to right: Paul R. Sanberg, USF senior vice president of research and innovation. Richard Pollenz, director of the Office of Undergraduate Research, speaks with an undergraduate student. Professor Daniel Yeh’s NEWgenerator turns waste into fertilizer, renewable energy and clean water. Forensic anthropologist Erin Kimmerle leads a team of researchers looking for answers at the infamous Dozier School for Boys.
Fifteen student ventures, ranging from a medical supply company that distributes excess medical supplies, to a watermelon consumer goods company, were accepted into the incubator’s inaugural class. More than 80 student companies applied for the second cohort. “There have been so many highlights,” says Sanberg, reflecting on the past year. “We are involved in so many things, and we are making an impact across the state.” He lists continuing research at the infamous Dozier School for Boys in Marianna, Fla., where a team led by USF anthropologist Erin Kimmerle is working to identify remains recovered from unmarked graves at the site, ongoing investigations into the impact of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, revolutionary testing of driverless cars, accomplishments in medicine, and the development of novel devices.
And he speaks of life-changing technology—USF Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Daniel Yeh’s NEWgenerator—that could help solve a global challenge in sanitation that impacts close to 2.6 billion people.
“Our compact sanitation and resource recovery technology is in a niche where there is a dire need, and we are trying to do what many feel is an impossible task—that is to bring high technology to impoverished communities,” he says.
Yeh and his team of graduate students are developing a generator that turns waste product into fertilizer, renewable energy and clean water. Their invention was awarded the prestigious Cade Museum Prize for 2014—selected from among 85 teams that entered the competition.
Yeh and his team are using the $50,000 prize money they received from the competition to form a company that will commercialize the new technology. They are also working with a private company in India to conduct a field demonstration in 2015, with funding from the Indian government and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The innovative and patent-pending technology requires little energy to operate and is different than typical wastewater treatments because it recoups what other methods cast off. According to Yeh, the entire process is net energy positive, meaning it generates more energy than it consumes.
Yeh’s project, says Sanberg, “epitomizes exactly what we are trying to accomplish at USF—doing excellent research that leads to marketable innovations that help the economy and create new jobs.” n Story first appeared in USF Magazine | Fall & Winter 2014
USF RESEARCH & INNOVATION | ANNUAL REPORT USF MAGAZINE | Fall & Winter 2014 7 5
USF technologies featured at Smithsonian Institution’s Innovation Festival The Rolling Dance Chair and Skatecase were showcased as part of the Innovation Festival at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Nov. 1-2, 2014. The University of South Florida licensed technologies were two of 10 inventions from around the country to be featured. The Innovation Festival is part of a five-year collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to develop programs and exhibitions showcasing American innovation. The estimated total attendance for the festival was more than 36,000, double the number of people who visited the Air and Space Museum on the same dates the previous year.
Rolling Dance Chair
Merry Lynn Morris demonstrates Rolling Dance Chair
The Rolling Dance Chair, a project initiated in 2005 by USF instructor Merry Lynn Morris, College of The Arts, is a smartphone controlled, omnidirectional, powered wheelchair that does not require arms or hands to operate. By wearing or holding the wireless device, the user can move in a fluid motion, offering more freedom to dancers with disabilities and supporting artistic freedom.
As an independent student inventor at USF, Alexei Novitzky created the Skatecase, a skateboard that acts like a briefcase. Novitzky partnered with USF, and since graduating, has founded Looshes Labs LLC, to commercialize his technology that allows skateboarders to store small electronics and personal items inside the skateboard.
Alexei Novitzky shows the Skatecase to event attendees 8 USF RESEARCH & INNOVATION | ANNUAL REPORT 2014
Photos: Michael Cleveland
Skatecase
Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Five faculty members from the University of South Florida in Tampa were named 2014 Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Election to AAAS fellowship is an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers. With five Fellows, USF ranked fourth worldwide for organizations with the most AAAS Fellows named for 2014, tied with Boston University, Duke University, Johns Hopkins University, University of California, Los Angeles, University of Chicago, University of Florida, University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign, University of Tennessee Knoxville and University of Texas at Austin. USF has ranked in the top 10 organizations worldwide for the last three years and has a total of 48 AAAS Fellows among the USF faculty.
Photos: Judy Lowry (top) & Aimee Blodgett (bottom)
“The University of South Florida is proud of these outstanding faculty members,” said Dr. Paul R. Sanberg, AAAS Fellow and senior vice president for research, innovation and economic development at USF. “Their dedication to furthering knowledge and discovery within their fields continues to make USF successful as a global research university.”
(From left) Dave Morgan, Barbara Hansen, Stephen Liggett, Natasha Jonoska, Bill Baker
USF’s 2014 AAAS Fellows are: Dr. Bill Baker, Professor of Chemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences and Director of the Center of Excellence for Drug Discovery and Innovation (CDDI) Dr. Natasa Jonoska, Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, College of Arts and Sciences Dr. Barbara Hansen, Director of the Obesity, Diabetes and Aging Research Center and Professor of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Morsani College of Medicine, USF Health Dr. Stephen Liggett, Vice Dean for Research, Professor of Internal Medicine and Professor of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology in the Morsani College of Medicine, USF Health Dr. Dave Morgan, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of the USF Health Byrd Alzheimer’s Institute and Distinguished Professor of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology in the Morsani College of Medicine, USF Health
(From left) Paul R. Sanberg, Stephen Liggett, President Judy Genshaft
USF RESEARCH & INNOVATION | ANNUAL REPORT 2014 9
Honoring Outstanding
Research & Innovation
From left: Shufeng Zhou, Subhra Mohapatra, Michael Fountain, Daniel Yeh
E
ach year, USF Research & Innovation honors faculty for their exceptional work by bestowing
the Excellence in Innovation Awards to recognize faculty who have demonstrated exceptional achievement in innovation and translational research, and the Outstanding Research Achievement Awards, for outstanding publications, awards and grants in the previous calendar year.
2014
Excellence in Innovation Award Recipients
Michael Fountain, Ph.D., Director, Center for Entrepreneurship, Muma College of Business and Professor, Industrial and Management Systems Engineering and Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine Subhra Mohapatra, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Molecular Medicine, Morsani College of Medicine, USF Health Shufeng Zhou, M.D., Ph.D., Professor, Associate Vice President of Global Medical Development, Associate Dean of International Research, and Chair of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy and Morsani College of Medicine, USF Health
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Photos: Aimee Blodgett
Daniel Yeh, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering
2014
Faculty Outstanding Research Achievement Award Recipients
Matthias Batzill, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Physics, College of Arts and Sciences Colin Heydt, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Philosophy, College of Arts and Sciences Chuanmin Hu, Ph.D., Professor, Optical Oceanography, College of Marine Science Anne Latowsky, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Director, French Graduate Program, World Languages, College of Arts and Sciences Susan C. McMillan, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor, College of Nursing, USF Health James Mihelcic, Ph.D., Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, State of Florida 21st Century World Class Scholar, College of Engineering Gokhan Mumcu, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Chuck Owen, M.A., Distinguished Professor and Director, School of Music, College of The Arts Inna Ponomareva, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Physics, College of Arts and Sciences Jason Rohr, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Integrative Biology, College of Arts and Sciences Stanley Stevens Jr., Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Cell Biology, Microbiology and Molecular Biology, College of Arts and Sciences, and Faculty Director, Center for Drug Discovery and Innovation (CDDI) Srinivas M. Tipparaju, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, USF Health Yicheng Tu, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, College of Engineering Xiaohong (Mary) Zhang, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Pathology and Cell Biology, Morsani College of Medicine, USF Health
(From left) President Judy Genshaft, Inna Ponomareva, Paul R. Sanberg
Daniel Yeh, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering
USF RESEARCH & INNOVATION | ANNUAL REPORT 2014 11
By the Numbers | Research & Innovation
2014
Primary Sources of
Federal Funding
Funding by
FY2014
Project Type FY2014
Department of Transportation
2%
Training
10%
Department of Education Additional Sponsored Activities
Research
33%
National Science Foundation
Other Federal
9% 7%
2%
Department of Veterans Affairs
57%
7%
Department of Defense
5% 10%
National Institutes of Health
58%
Other DHHS
Research $245,904,863
National Institutes of Health $86,961,801
Training $40,932,476
Other DHHS (Non-NIH) $14,513,653
Additional Sponsored Activities $141,420,449
Department of Veterans Affairs $10,629,374
Total $428,257,788
National Science Foundation $13,297,702 Department of Transportation $2,628,139 Department of Defense $7,926,109 Department of Education $2,631,973 Other Federal $10,513,392
Total Federal $149,102,143 12 USF RESEARCH & INNOVATION | ANNUAL REPORT 2014
Sources of
External Funding FY2014
Other
1% Federal Government
35% 37%
Federal Government
State/Local Government
19%
Foundation
14%
Private Partnerships
46%
Private
23% Corporate
5%
University
3%
State/Local Government $81,485,654 Private Partnerships $197,669,991 Federal Government $149,102,143
Total $428,257,788
USF RESEARCH & INNOVATION | ANNUAL REPORT 2014 13
By the Numbers
Multi-Year Trends Issued U.S. Patents per Fiscal Year 120 100 80 60 40 20
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 22 23 23 29 31 31 37 67 91 98 76 113
License Agreements per Fiscal Year
Start-Up Companies per Fiscal Year 12
100
10
80
8
60
6
40
4
20
2 0
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 1 4 6 5 4 6 4 5 8 10 9 11
14 USF RESEARCH & INNOVATION | ANNUAL REPORT 2014
0
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 7 11 20 21 23 28 25 37 36 52 75 91
Research Funding per Fiscal Year Millions $450 $400 $350 $300 $250 $200 $150 $100 $50 $0 Federal %
FY2005 FY2006 FY2007 FY2008 FY2009 FY2010 FY2011 FY2012 FY2013 FY2014 47%
48%
40%
48%
48%
52%
46%
40%
37%
35%
Federal
$134.5
$149.3
$121.9
$171.5
$184.6
$203.2
$180.3
$165.5
$151.1
$149.1
Total
$287.2
$310.2
$308.4
$360.1
$380.3
$394.1
$391.8
$411.1
$413.6
$428.3
Source: Total research funding amounts include Project and Non-Project data from USF and all affiliates.
Research & Development Expenditures per Fiscal Year Millions $500 $500 Millions $450 $450 $400 $400 $350 $350 $300 $300 $250 $250 $200 $200 $150 $150 $100 $100 $50 $50 $0 Federal %
$0
FY2004 53% FY2004
FY2005 55% FY2005
FY2006 54% FY2006
FY2007 58% FY2007
FY2008 61% FY2008
FY2009 62% FY2009
Federal %
53% $126,906
55% $142,580
Federal Total
$126,906 $240,021
$142,580 $259,218
Total
$240,021
$259,218
FY2010 63% FY2010
FY2011 61% FY2011
FY2012 53% FY2012
54% $153,737
58% $158,442
61% $169,911
$153,737 $285,941
$158,442 $272,661
$169,911 $278,419
$285,941
$272,661
$278,419
FY2013 49% FY2013
62% $190,949
63% $246,016
61% $245,410
53% $239,902
49% $228,460
$190,949 $309,456
$246,016 $390,828
$245,410 $400,679
$239,902 $451,259
$228,460 $467,355
$309,456
$390,828
$400,679
$451,259
$467,355
Source: Total research expenditure amounts include Project and Non-Project data from USF and all affiliates. Source: Total research expenditure amounts include Project and Non-Project data from USF and all affiliates. USF RESEARCH & INNOVATION | ANNUAL REPORT 2014 15
USF Research & Innovation 3702 Spectrum Boulevard, Suite 165 Tampa, FL 33612-9445 813.974-5570 Fax: 813-974-4962 www.research.usf.edu