Five Emory innovations and researchers honored at annual ceremony

Posted onAuthorAsher Alt

Emory’s Office of Technology Transfer held its 20th Annual Celebration of Technology and Innovation on April 2, where it honored the outstanding scientists, research, and innovations at Emory. The event kicked off with an hour-long awards presentation, which honored superlative projects in seven categories. The awardees represented several areas across the university – three Schools (Medicine, Nursing, Emory College of Arts and Sciences) and several departments, including Computer Science, Biochemistry, Dermatology and Human Health, Infectious Diseases, and more. The ceremony, held at the Emory Conference Center Hotel’s Silverbell Pavilion, was followed by a reception to network and mingle. Members of Read More …

Q&A With Annual Celebration 2026 Awardees: Cassandra Quave, PhD

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Cassandra Quave, PhD, is the recipient for Emory OTT’s Start-Up of the Year Award at the 2026 Annual Celebration of Technology and Innovation for her start-up, Verdant Scientific. The company is an early-stage biotech start-up developing a first-in-class, first-in-approach small molecule (VDT-002) for the treatment of atopic dermatitis (AD), more commonly known as eczema. In 2025, Verdant secured seed funding and was invited to present at the Southeast Venture Showcase. Can you introduce yourself? I’m Dr. Cassandra Quave, an Associate Professor of Dermatology and Human Health at Emory University and the Director of the Herbarium. In my research, I have Read More …

Q&A With Annual Celebration 2026 Awardees: Hari Trivedi, MD

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Hari Trivedi, MD, is the recipient for Emory OTT’s Corporate Partnership Award at the 2026 Annual Celebration of Technology and Innovation for his central role in advancing Emory’s academic-industry collaborations in AI. Through his leadership in AI-driven imaging research, Trivedi has been instrumental in connecting OTT with industry partners and enabling multiple data and AI model licensing agreements that support AI research. By proactively aligning Emory’s research capabilities with industry needs, Trivedi has helped translate innovation into impactful partnerships aligned with Emory University’s translational mission. Can you introduce yourself? I’m Dr. Hari Trivedi, an Associate Professor of Radiology, Biomedical Informatics, Read More …

What is post-license compliance?

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The road to commercialization is a long one, and it doesn’t end when a license is signed. With Emory OTT’s vigilant post-license compliance program, Emory inventors can rest knowing that their intellectual property (IP) is being carefully supervised on its way to making a lasting impact. What is post-license compliance? Licensing and legal professionals work with outside partners to negotiate license terms and conditions, outlining who gets the right to develop the IP in question. Once a license agreement is executed, it enters the “post-license” stage of commercialization. Post-license compliance is about ensuring that licensees follow the terms of the Read More …

How to strengthen your patent

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If you create something – whether it’s a medical device, a new type of shoelace, or a better method of washing clothes – you have the chance to protect your idea and earn money from it. A patent is a publicly available, government-issued document that gives certain rights to an invention, such as preventing others from making, using, or selling your invention. Patents provide crucial protection to intellectual property, the intangible creations of the human intellect. When you apply for a patent, it’s processed within the administrative and legal framework of the patent office. In the US, that’s the United Read More …

From the Director: A Year of Celebration Comes to a Close

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When I kicked off our 40th anniversary celebrations back in January, I don’t think many of us knew the changes that 2025 would bring. Emory University and many of our peer institutions grappled with serious uncertainty, as proposed budget cuts to federal research agencies and a government shutdown threatened funding for essential research. Throughout the year, we were braced for impact, expecting that the shifting guidelines in federal research funding would dampen the university’s life-saving research efforts. However, while some impacts were felt, Emory’s research enterprise and technology transfer activity remained strong: the number of invention disclosures and grants remained Read More …

How Do So Many Candy Canes Exist?: The Technology, Innovation, and History Behind The Festive Treat

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The candy cane is synonymous with holiday cheer — and they seem to be everywhere this time of year. With 1.76 billion canes sold in the U.S. annually (and 90% falling between Thanksgiving and Christmas), there’s deep technological efficiency and innovation keeping this festive treat in homes. Early History While today we know and love the crooked shape that gives the candy cane its name, the candy cane began as a straight, white sugar strike during the 17-18th century in Europe. These early renditions of the modern-day treat were peppermint or anise flavored, with candymakers mixing, pulling, twisting, and shaping Read More …

How the Grinch Stole the Big Screen: Adapting Written Intellectual Property to Film

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We all have those movies that we watch during the holidays. They make us laugh or cry or fill us with Christmas cheer and that warm, happy holiday feeling. And many of our favorite films, such as How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Polar Express, A Christmas Carol, and It’s a Wonderful Life, were actually books, short stories, and novellas before they were adapted into movies. So, how does a piece of written intellectual property (IP) get turned into a movie? Copyrights and Wrongs When anyone creates an original work of authorship fixed in a tangible form of creative expression Read More …

Let it Snow: How Synthetic Snow Redefined the Magic of Winter

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Snow imagery often rings in the winter season, but not everyone gets to enjoy it. Even for those in northern climates, snow needs an ideal balance of weather conditions to form. Understanding that not everyone can enjoy the fun and excitement of this wintertime delight, researchers developed a solution: synthetic snow. A happy accident In the 1940s, a group of scientists in Canada aimed to study how ice could impact the productivity of airplanes’ jet engines. In their attempts to create ice by spraying water vapor in front of the airplane’s tunnel-like engine, the vapor was instead sucked into the Read More …

Emory Patent Group: Protecting Emory Inventors’ Intellectual Property Since 2010

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It’s a tale as old as tech transfer: an academic researcher invents a revolutionary technology and wants to get it out of the lab to the public, maximizing its real-world impact. But there are many steps involved in this process – including securing intellectual property protection via patents. For that, they’ll need a patent application with strong claims and knowledge of their university’s IP policy. If they’re an Emory inventor, the Emory Patent Group (EPG) is the go-to resource for navigating the patent process. Patent Power When Emory inventors make a discovery or innovate a new technology, they disclose it Read More …

Marking Milestones: 40 Years of Firsts at Emory OTT

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At Emory Office of Technology Transfer (OTT), we’ve trailblazed many “firsts” in our 40 years, which have opened the door to hundreds of discoveries, partnerships, and breakthroughs — events that continue to define our impact today. Here are 9 milestones worth remembering. First Invention Disclosure: A Potential Drug to Control Steroids In 1985, the same year OTT began, the first invention disclosure was submitted: “Novel Compounds for Inhibition of Steroid Biosynthesis” from inventor Dave Lambeth, PhD. An invention disclosure is the confidential document that starts the journey from idea to impact, capturing the details of a discovery so OTT can Read More …

15 Good Minutes: Lily Yang, MD, PhD

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When asked to describe her job, Lily Yang, MD, PhD, said that she is first and foremost “a translational scientist of oncology research.” Yang is also a professor of Surgery and Radiology and Imaging Sciences, the Nancy Panoz Chair of Surgery in Cancer Research, and Director of the Surgical Oncology Nanomedicine Research Lab, all at the Emory University School of Medicine. She is an innovator and researcher within the field of oncology, and she has made a career of recognizing shortcomings in clinical management of cancer patients, filling the gaps in oncological knowledge, and developing better treatment options for cancer Read More …

No Patent Needed: Commercializing with Copyrights and Open-Source Licenses – Part 2

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In Part 1 of this series, we learned how OTT helps inventors commercialize their copyrighted work while also exploring some of the limitations of copyrights, including the problems that can arise when inventors use copyleft licenses or reveal details of their inventions before securing their intellectual property. Below, we will learn about open-source software (OSS) licenses and how they factor into the commercialization process, or how they might impact commercialization. What is Open Source? When talking about software, open-source generally means that anyone can access and modify the software in question for free. When commercializing, there are two ways in Read More …

OTTie’s Summer Travels: Following Emory OTT’s favorite office mascot around the world

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At Emory’s Office of Technology Transfer (OTT), we’ve long referred to ourselves as “OTT-ers”— pronounced like “otters,” the adorable marine mammal. While the nickname started off organically, it eventually stuck, becoming a fun, unofficial way to describe the team. That same nickname also inspired the introduction of OTTie: a plush, stuffed otter who got his start a few years ago as a way to celebrate the work happening within the office. But OTTie quickly became more than just a symbol of success—he’s become a member of the team in his own right. He’s posed for photos, been passed from desk Read More …

NAI Member Spotlight: A Q&A with faculty driving innovation at Emory OTT

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Faculty research is what drives our work in Emory’s Office of Technology Transfer (OTT). Their discoveries shape every part of our mission, whether it’s filing patents, licensing technologies, or guiding early-stage startups. As a way to honor their accomplishments, OTT nominates outstanding faculty innovators to the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), an esteemed organization that recognizes inventors with U.S. patents. In our 40 years of existence, OTT has fostered relationships with faculty members and encouraged academic inventorship. Here, we spoke with several of Emory’s esteemed NAI Fellows and Senior Members about their career as innovators and experiences partnering with OTT. Read More …

No Patent Needed: Commercializing with Copyrights and Open-Source Licenses – Part 1

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In the process of commercialization, the word “patent” has become something of a status symbol. Which is fair, considering the basic road to commercialization is to invent, patent, and produce. But what about copyrights and open-source software (OSS) licenses, which don’t involve patents? These different types of intellectual property warrant special consideration during the commercialization process. What is a license? The term “license” comes up quite a bit in the commercialization process. Basically, a license is an agreement between the owner of the intellectual property and the entity that wants to use said intellectual property. The agreement allows the licensee Read More …

The Emory OTT Licensing Internship: Cultivating the Next Generation of Tech Transfer

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The OTT licensing internship, according to its coordinator Catherine Murari-Kanti, PhD, is about “setting up a pipeline for future licensing associates and the future of tech transfer by making sure we have excellently trained people who can take the reins over the next few years.” The program, aimed at graduate students both within the Emory community and outside of it, offers interns a look at a fulfilling career outside the lab – one that sits at the exciting intersection of science, business, law, and innovation. What to Expect The program commences in the last week of August, where the students Read More …

4 Emory OTT Success Stories You Might Not Know

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Emory’s Office of Technology Transfer has transformed many ideas into products on the market in the last 40 years. You may have even heard of some of our products, like the HIV antiretrovirals emtricitabine and lamivudine, which went on to become brand names like Truvada, Dovato, and Descovy. Or maybe you’ve heard of molnupiravir, one of the world’s first approved oral medications for the treatment of COVID-19. While not all of Emory’s 65+ products to make it to the market have been blockbusters, they all certainly have created positive impact. Here, we’re highlighting a few under-the-radar success stories that demonstrate Read More …

The 2025 Tech Partnership Forum: Technology, Partnering and Faculty Honors

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Each year, Emory researchers push the boundaries of innovation, developing groundbreaking technologies with the potential to change the world. When these technologies are patented, licensed, and brought to market, it marks a significant milestone in advancing research and real-world impact. On April 17, 2025, Emory OTT hosted the Tech Partnership Forum: Technology, Partnering & Faculty Honors. Since the event’s inception in 2007, it’s changed names and locations, and it’s grown to host more than 150 people. But even as it’s evolved, our annual event has always highlighted exceptional faculty contributions to innovation and commercialization. It was an especially remarkable year, Read More …

Transforming Ideas into Impact: Linda Kesselring’s Legacy in Emory’s Office of Technology Transfer

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  Linda Kesselring is a seasoned operations leader who has dedicated nearly 30 years to Emory University, with almost two decades as the Operations Director in the Emory Office of Technology Transfer (OTT). Throughout her career, she has been a key player in enhancing the office’s strategic direction, focusing on project management, financial oversight, and technology transfer. Linda’s innovative approach has led to significant improvements in operational efficiency and has fostered a culture of excellence within the team. Notably, her efforts have helped position OTT as a leader in the field, enabling impactful collaborations and driving advancements in technology transfer. Read More …