Author: Linda Kesselring

Tackling the Terms of Technology Transfer

Posted onAuthorLinda Kesselring

As with any field, technology transfer comes with its own special language. But there is no need to worry when you face an article filled with confusing acronyms. Keep this glossary handy for when you need to break down the different types of agreements used throughout the technology transfer process. MTA & DUA MTA stands for Material Transfer Agreement and DUA stands for Data Use Agreement. Collaboration is critical to research and technology development. So, colleagues may want to protect the research tools that they share with each other. MTAs and DUAs are formal contracts that define the proper use Read More …

Take My Breath Away: What You Need to Know About Lung Cancer

Posted onAuthorLinda Kesselring

With the rise of products like vapes and e-cigarettes, the warning of lung cancer is not unheard of to most teenagers. Lung cancer is the most common cancer across the world, and the third most common cancer in the United States after skin cancer and breast cancer. In a normal, healthy lung, air enters through the bronchi that divide into bronchioles that ultimately lead to tiny air sacs known as alveoli. The alveoli are the site for gas exchange where oxygen is absorbed, and carbon dioxide is removed. Different types of lung cancer affect different parts of the lungs, but Read More …

Intern: Experience by the Numbers

Posted onAuthorLinda Kesselring

5 boot camp sessions 3 rotations 5 wonderful supervisors 19 commercialization evaluation reports 14 technology briefs ~377,286 database searches 1 year of invaluable experience in the technology transfer field I decided to apply for the OTT internship at the end of my third year of graduate school for two reasons. First, I knew that academia wasn’t for me and wanted exposure to alternative careers and second, the daily lab slog (grad students, you know what I’m talking about) had me feeling burned out and in need of something new to channel my energy into. At the time, my PI was Read More …

Mark Goodman: The Radiologist

Posted onAuthorLinda Kesselring

Mark Goodman, PhD holds the Emory University Endowed Chair in Imaging Science. He is Professor in the Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology and Director of the Radiology and Imaging Sciences Radiopharmaceutical Discovery Laboratory. Goodman received his BA in chemistry from Monmouth College, Illinois, and a PhD from the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. He trained as a postdoctoral fellow at Yale and Harvard University in radiopharmaceutical chemistry. His research is directed towards the development of new radiotracers for the study and management of treatment of myocardial disorders, Read More …

Ken Cornell: The Patient

Posted onAuthorLinda Kesselring

Ken Cornell is the general superintendent at JE Dunn Construction. He was been with JE Dunn for a little over five years and has worked in the construction industry for 38 years. He has a degree in construction engineering and has done lab and hospital construction work for the past 28 years. He is currently working on the construction of the new Health Sciences Research Building II (HSRBII).  Can you give an overview of how you got into construction, specifically the construction of medical and research facilities? I have a degree in construction engineering. That is my initial start in Read More …

Ronald Crowe: The Pharmacist

Posted onAuthorLinda Kesselring

Ronald J. Crowe, RPh/BCNP is board-certified nuclear pharmacist and graduate of University of Georgia College of Pharmacy. He has practiced nuclear pharmacy since 1990 and has worked at Emory since 1997. He has worked with both the department of radiology and the School of Medicine and Imaging Core. Still currently working as a radiopharamacist at Emory, Crowe looks forward to the construction of the new Health and Sciences Research Building (HSRB) and its implications for the work that he does. What drew you to radiology and imaging science? In Pharmacy school, I was intrigued that radiopharmacy was a new and Read More …

Six Things to Know about Design Patents

Posted onAuthorLinda Kesselring

Patents give inventors intellectual property rights by excluding other people from creating, using, or selling an invention for a set period of time. In return, inventors publish an enabling disclosure for the invention, which provides basic technical information about the invention to the public. There are actually several types of patents including plant patents, design patents, and utility patents. Most people think of utility patents when they think of the types of intellectual property that is protected with a patent. For example, machines, software, or manufactured items. However, design patents also play an important role in protecting the inventor’s right Read More …

15 Good Minutes: Eric Wagner

Posted onAuthorLinda Kesselring

For Emory Orthopedic Surgeon Eric Wagner, MD, research isn’t just a side pursuit. Despite maintaining a busy clinical practice, Wagner has managed to make research into what he calls a “second career.” Wagner and his partner, Michael Gottschalk, MD, currently have over 45 ongoing projects, with topics running the gambit from managing opioid addiction to helping tendons heal. Wagner has published over 185 articles in peer-reviewed journals, and his work has had a substantial impact in improving patient outcomes from orthopedic procedures. “We take some complex surgeries where patients don’t traditionally do as well and try to make them better Read More …

Virtual Reality Series: Using Simulations to Achieve Real-Life Benefits in Healthcare Part 3

Posted onAuthorLinda Kesselring

Therapeutic Uses of VR Virtual reality has expanded the options for therapy through creating simulations that help patients overcome physical and mental ailments, making it easier for people to find methods of therapy that work with their condition and lifestyle. This last part of the Virtual Reality in Healthcare series will explore the types of VR found in this important healthcare field. Revisit part 1 in the series Introduction to Virtual Reality in Healthcare and part 2 Uses of VR in Medical Procedures and Education. Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Like surgery, using VR in physical rehabilitation was first explored in Read More …

Virtual Reality Series: Using Simulations to Achieve Real-Life Benefits in Healthcare Part 2

Posted onAuthorLinda Kesselring

Uses of VR in Medical Procedures and Education Virtual reality helps medical professionals plan for and execute complex procedures, especially in the surgical field. This technology is being implemented in medical schools and surgical training programs so that the next generation of doctors can be trained in innovative techniques to prepare for their future in the medical field and the operating room. Revisit part 1 in the blog series Introduction to Virtual Reality in Healthcare. Surgery  VR has been used in surgical procedures since the early 1990s when technology was used to plan out surgeries and present complicated information visually. Read More …

Virtual Reality Series: Using Simulations to Achieve Real-Life Benefits in Healthcare Part 1

Posted onAuthorLinda Kesselring

Introduction to Virtual Reality in Healthcare Communication in the healthcare industry can improve healthcare experience and outcomes for everyone involved. Whether it’s a doctor explaining treatment options to a patient or an instructor teaching a class how to perform surgery, medical work relies on clear and effective instructions. However, in situations when verbal explanations can be complicated or difficult to follow, how do we make information easy to understand? One technology that has cost-efficiently increased communication in clinical medicine by “showing” rather than just “telling” is virtual reality (VR). VR, also known as a virtual environment, produces simulations that help Read More …

The Institutional Review Boards 101

Posted onAuthorLinda Kesselring

New discoveries of therapies and drug mechanisms are not always the daily news headline, but today ethical guidelines exist to continue to keep a standard of the production of any new medication or treatment. However, the history of clinical research has not always been so ethical. For instance, the PHS Syphilis Study in Tuskegee, AL and the Willowbrook Hepatitis Experiments, are only two of many notorious examples of horrifically unethical clinical trials. The purpose of this article is to bring light into the role of the Institutional Review Boards (IRB) in relationship to on ongoing clinical trials today to ensure Read More …

15 Good Minutes: Hari Trivedi

Posted onAuthorLinda Kesselring

After completing an undergraduate degree in engineering at Georgia Tech, Emory Assistant-Professor Dr. Hari Trivedi began medical school with an open mind about what field to specialize in. While exploring different fields, Trivedi began to grow interested in the intersection of medicine and technology. He eventually settled on his chosen field, radiology, after witnessing how it combined his interests in both medicine and engineering. “During radiology rotations, I thought radiology was just so cool because radiologists get all the newest toys,” Trivedi said. “I remember seeing my first 3D reconstruction of a CT scan, and that’s when I was like, Read More …

Understanding AI Lingo in Healthcare

Posted onAuthorLinda Kesselring

With the ever-growing incorporation of technology into medicine over the past decade, healthcare industries have advanced to integrate novel technology innovations. Such innovations include artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), 3D-printing, robotics, and so on. One of these innovations, artificial intelligence (AI), holds promise in improving patient care while reducing costs. This technology has been applied in areas such as patient diagnosis and monitoring, treatment protocol development, radiology, and drug development. While some of this might seem like science-fiction, it’s being incorporated every day in the healthcare field. To help introduce you to this new world below, we’ve compiled a Read More …

15 Good Minutes: Ichiro Matsumura

Posted onAuthorLinda Kesselring

For Emory Professor of Biochemistry Ichiro Matsumura, PhD, inspiration to pursue a career in research came from an unlikely source: a concussion. When Matsumura was in college at MIT, he got into a bike accident that left him hospitalized for several months. After being released from the hospital, Matsumura was prepared to retake all his courses from that semester over the summer. However, one of Matsumura’s professors, Harry Lodish, gave him the option to write a report from a list of topics instead of retaking the course, given that he had done well on the class’s first midterm. The topic Read More …

Algorithms and Healthcare: The Future is Coming

Posted onAuthorLinda Kesselring

Computers are everywhere it seems, even in our healthcare. While they aren’t quite at the level of (find some movie reference with something futuristic) they are making significant contributions. One of those contributions is algorithms which are contributing in areas from imaging, diagnosing, and predicting. To help solve dilemmas such as this, healthcare professionals are increasingly turning to algorithms, which use machine learning techniques that enable computers to learn information without human input. Algorithms create a formulaic process for healthcare professionals to evaluate patient symptomology and decide on the best course of treatment. While they cannot replace human decision-making or Read More …

15 Good Minutes: William Wuest

Posted onAuthorLinda Kesselring

Antibiotics have been one of the most consequential innovations in human history, allowing us to treat a wide variety of bacterial diseases that could otherwise be damaging or fatal. However, bacterial resistant to these antibiotics is on the rise, necessitating a constant drive to discover new antibiotic drugs as older ones are rendered less effective. One of the scientists on this forefront of this push is Emory Associate Professor and Georgia Research Alliance Distinguished Investigator, William Wuest, PhD. Wuest runs a lab that is focused on finding novel antibiotics to fight bacterial infections. Recently he and his team have made Read More …

Be Ware of Preprints: Protect Your Intellectual Property First

Posted onAuthorLinda Kesselring

Who owns the rights to a new innovation described in a research paper? If a patent is in place, the answer is simple: the owner. Generally, the lengthy, and confidential, peer-review process means that authors of unpublished work have ample time to submit an invention disclosure and to have their technology transfer office review and if necessary, file a patent, ensuring that any new invention is protected prior to any public disclosure. However, the rise of “preprint” services, which allow authors to publish preliminary findings ahead of peer-review, has complicated this process. Preprints can severely hamper the ability of authors Read More …

15 Good Minutes: Cassandra Quave

Posted onAuthorLinda Kesselring

When most people think about medicine, plants are not what immediately jumps to mind. However, for Emory Assistant Professor Cassandra Quave, PhD, the relationship between plants and medicine is career-defining. Quave is an ethnobotanist, meaning she studies human interaction with plants and their potential medical properties. Her work has led to important discoveries including treatments for eczema and skin infections. Quave describes her research as investigating compounds on a fundamental level, derived from their source in plants. She and her lab then determine whether the compound has properties that would allow it to be used in medicine. “In a single Read More …

12 Days of Christmas Invent

Posted onAuthorLinda Kesselring

The most wonderful time of the year is officially here! You may usually count down the days until Christmas with an Advent calendar, but why not count down with an “Invent” calendar, too? Happy Holidays from the Office of Technology Transfer and these twelve days of festive inventions. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas… with all of those twinkly lights strung up around the house! Would you believe that Christmas lights were actually invented by Thomas Eddison and his business partner Edward Johnson in 1882? The duo hand-wired 80 lights around Johnson’s revolving Christmas tree, but it didn’t Read More …