Q&A With Annual Celebration 2024 Awardees: Eric Ortlund, PhD

Eric Ortlund, PhD, is the recipient for Emory OTT’s Deal of the Year Award at the 2024 Annual Celebration of Technology and Innovation. Ortlund and his research team used a structure-guided approach to exploit a newly discovered polar interaction to lock agonists in a consistent orientation. This enabled the discovery of the first low nanomolar LRH-1 agonist. In 2023, Emory University executed an exclusive high net worth license with Allonix Therapeutics for this technology. Can you introduce yourself? My name is Eric Ortlund. I’m a professor of biochemistry in the School of Medicine. I run a research lab here that Read More …

Q&A With Annual Celebration 2024 Awardees: Louise Hecker, PhD

Louise Hecker, PhD, is the EmpowHER Award recipient at Emory OTT’s 2024 Annual Celebration of Technology and Innovation. Hecker is a prominent researcher in the field of regenerative biology and specializes in pulmonology. Her research primarily focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying lung fibrosis and developing novel therapeutic approaches for treating this debilitating disease. Can you introduce yourself? I’m Louise and I am an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Pulmonary Division. We do a wide range of projects, under a big umbrella. We study aging and injury repair. We’re not trying to necessarily find the fountain of youth Read More …

Q&A with Annual Celebration 2024 Awardees: Santiago Arconada Alvarez

Santiago Arconada Alvarez is one of five members of the team receiving the Inclusivity, Diversity, and Equity Award (IDEAward). Their technology, Low English Proficiency Nurse Communication Tool, is an application that revolutionizes how nurses communicate with patients who have limited English language proficiency and their caregivers. This novel mobile app enables the clinical team to communicate using common phrases in the patient’s language, images, and real-time translation. Can you introduce yourself? I am Santiago Arconada Alvarez and I’m a product development team lead working on medical apps for clinical research. Currently, I co-lead a group called the AppHatchery at Emory Read More …

Q&A with Annual Celebration 2024 Awardees: Erica Evans

Erica Evans is one of six team members receiving the 2023 Corporate Partnership Award. Partnering with Honeywell, Evans and team are developing multiple diagnostics for sickle cell disease via a multi-pronged, multi-year partnership. Can you introduce yourself? I’m Erica and I’m a research assistant at Dr. Vivien Sheehan’s lab. I’ve been working on the microfluidics projects with her and Dr. Wilbur Lam at Georgia Tech. For about two years, we’d had a prototype for a sickle cell disease, red blood cell adhesion device. My main priority was to get that device to a state where we could reliably distinguish between Read More …

Q&A with Annual Celebration 2024 Awardees: David Myers, PhD

David Myers, PhD, is one of three team members to receive the 2023 Innovation of the Year award. The technology, A Bio-Inspired Skin Interface Method for Continuous Access to Blood for Measurement and Therapy, is a wearable, continuous blood collection device that can monitor blood-based biomarkers with reduced risk of blood clots. Can you introduce yourself? I’m David Myers. I’m an assistant professor in biomedical engineering. I studied mechanical engineering for my PhD, and then trained in hematology for my postdoc. What initially drew you to your field? I love seeing things move and how stuff works. Can you tell Read More …