Category: Misc.

During the summer of 2016, I was asked to teach a class on marketing in technology transfer in South Africa—which was both exciting and intimidating. It would be a three-day class with me as the primary instructor. There would also be two guest speakers and the final day would be dedicated to practice technology pitches. The class would be comprised of more than 80 people—primarily from technology transfer offices across South Africa and a handful of start-up companies all told. I would need to prepare a day and half of instructional material including exercises. I spent many a weekend on my screen porch working on course material. It all had to start with an outline and establishing a flow for the topics. There were so many subjects to cover a) tech briefs (non-confidential summaries), b) market summaries, c) the value propositions, etc. For each major theme there were definitions to be created, examples to prepare, and exercises to generate. In the end there were eight slide decks and 160 slides with speaker notes and references—holy smokes! Once on ground, worry melted away; the participants were welcoming, lively, and eager. There were lots of questions and conversation during exercises and breaks.

There is always a long to-do list during this time of year —from party planning to shopping for gifts. Even with all the holiday cheer, the endless tasks can sometimes seem daunting. Luckily, there are numerous apps that can ease stress and streamline countless holiday tasks. Here at OTT, we know we need all the help we can get so we have compiled a list of the best apps to download in preparation for the holidays: Giftfund: Are you planning on getting a joint gift? Planning a joint gift can be difficult; it is hard to choose just the right gift, follow up to make sure everyone contributes, and physically purchase the item. With the Giftfund app, all of these details are taken care of in one app. It’s very simple: first, pick a person and choose a gift or amount of money. After this, invite those who want to contribute through email or text. As soon as the funds are collected, the gift is shipped to the recipient, conveniently including a gift receipt and a full list of all the contributors. ParkWhiz: Living in Atlanta already makes commuting and parking quite the challenge, but the holiday season only worsens

Emory Institute for Drug Development (EIDD) has a mission of early stage discovery, pre-clinical drug research, and training new generations of researchers in a drug discovery environment. The primary focus is on developing small-molecule therapeutics for commercially neglected diseases and rapid response to emerging infectious disease threats. Recently EIDD joined the fight against the Zika virus by attempting to identify and develop antivirals to treat the infection caused by the virus. The EIDD facility is an interdisciplinary space designed to promote drug discovery and development by co-locating equipment for Medicinal and Process Chemistry, Virology and Molecular Biology, Bioanalytical Chemistry, Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics including dedicated teams in each area. The facility was opened in 2012, and is currently home to both office space and fully equipped laboratories to enable research teams to focus on cutting-edge research and drug development. The facility is 12,000 sq. ft. which includes a 3,500 sq. ft. chemistry suite for medicinal chemistry, ability to support resynthesis efforts, a separate NMR room, and a hydrogenation lab. In addition to their current work with the Zika virus, the Institute is working in a number of other areas and the following three projects illustrate this (find additional information here).

Around four years ago, the finance & administration team including Sr. Program Associate Connie Newsome and Sr. Accountant Maritta Allison, came up with the idea of using a stuffed OTTer as the office mascot. Many members of the OTT team referred to themselves as the OTT-ers or “otters,” so no other animal could be a better choice. This summer, members of the office took the mascot abroad on travels all over the globe. Rome: First, the OTTer went to Italy and decided to Rome around a bit. Ireland: While in Ireland, the OTTer even decided to test the quality of Irish beer and explore the countryside. He can neither deny nor confirm that the grass is always greener on the Irish side, but it certainly was green. England: The OTTer investigated Stone Henge and contemplated how many otters it took to build such a structure. Back in London after the long wait to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham palace, the OTTer decided a life of royalty did not suit him. Germany: OTTer tested out the local automobiles in Germany, and may or may not have tested them out on the Autobahn. South Africa: After fulfilling his need

Science does not always occur in a linear fashion, but rather is a combination of determination, surprises, luck, and curiosity. Many accidental innovations occur when a researcher is looking for something else entirely. In fact, some of the most influential innovations came from a simple initial observation in nature that may be part accident and part science. Read part one of the series Read part two of the series Nitrous Oxide Joseph Priestly discovered nitrous oxide in 1772 and initially assumed it would be a successful preserving agent. After discovering it would not function as a preservative, he did not pursue any further research there was little study of nitrous oxide until 1798. Even as the Pneumatic Institute in the UK focused on harnessing newly discovered gases and utilizing them for therapeutic benefit, nitrous oxide went generally unnoticed. Although it certainly did not go unnoticed recreationally. Nitrous oxide, also referred to as laughing gas, induces feeling of euphoria and mild hallucinations. The superintendent of the Pneumatic Institute was a frequently used the gas recreationally and it quickly became in upper class British society. Even the poet Samuel Coleridge fondly recorded his experience at the laughing gas parties, “The first time

Science does not always occur in a linear fashion, but rather is a combination of determination, surprises, luck, and curiosity. Many accidental innovations occur when a researcher is looking for something else entirely. In fact, some of the most influential innovations came from a simple initial observation in nature that may be part accident and part science. Read part one of the series Quinine The true origins of Quinine, an antimalarial drug that is especially effective during the first trimester of pregnancy, is historically unclear with multiple accounts telling different tales of this medication’s first application. Jesuit Missionaries in South America, who christened Quinine “Jesuit’s bark,” “Cardinal’s Bark,” and “Sacred bark,” claimed that the medicine, found in the bark of the cinchona (quina-quina) tree, was used to treat malaria and its symptomatic fevers as early as the 1600s. The Jesuits asserted that Quinine’s medical application was originally discovered when a South American Indian with a raging fever who got lost in the Andean Jungle. The Indian drank from a pool of stagnant water, which had been tainted by the surrounding quina-quina trees. As the story goes, to his surprise the Indian later found that his fever had subsided and he

From the sex lives of screwworms to invincible milk maids, some of the world’s most ground breaking discoveries were born out of peculiar studies and happy accidents. Scientific innovation might better be associate with the word “oops” than “eureka.” Serendipitous and Accidental discoveries are responsible for some of the most influential scientific discoveries in the past century like the small pox vaccination and anticoagulants, many of which are medicinal innovations that have saved and or improved billions of lives. In 1975 Senator William Proxmire created the “Golden Fleece Awards,” which targeted federally funded programs that Promxmire considered to be a waste of money. Many of these programs were what in lay terms might be called “weird science.” The attitude that peculiar scientific research is a wasteful investment is unfortunately a popular one, which leads to condemnation or marginalization of research that could lead to innovative breakthroughs. In response to this attitude, new awards and grants have emerged to counteract the attack on odd science. Awards like the “Golden Mole Awards” and the “Golden Goose Awards” recognize science and scientists who have made major socially relevant discoveries through curiosity driven research or accidental happenstance. These awards intend to highlight that scientific

Age-Related Macular Degeneration or AMD is the deterioration of the central portion of the retina, called macula and is the primary cause of loss of vision in individuals over 60 in the United States. Estimates predict that from 2010 to 2050 the number of people with AMD in the United States will double, primarily due to the longer life span of the average individual[i]. In spite of advances in eye care AMD remains a major problem and currently cannot be treated thorough the use of corrective lenses, pharmacotherapy, or surgery. Furthermore, there is no cure for end stage AMD resulting in many individuals losing their sight. The Emory Eye Center continues the treatments of AMD forward, implementing some of the latest cutting edge technologies including an implantable miniature telescope that can be placed into an affected eye through the cornea and inserted behind the iris. The telescope helps reflect images onto the remaining part of the macula. The individuals other eye is not altered and helps the patient maintain their peripheral vision. After the surgery the two eyes relearn to function together and improve the patient’s overall eyesight. However, despite this breakthrough AMD treatment, those who are actually candidates for

The Emory Eye Center was catapulted into the global spotlight in late 2014, when they discovered the Ebola virus in the eye of Ian Crozier, MD a patient who had recently recovered from an Ebola infection. After treating Crozier for an extreme case of uveitis, which was correlated to his Ebola infection, the Emory Eye Center’s team lead by Steven Yeh, MD helped found the project, Quiet Eye West Africa (QEWA). Quiet Eye West Africa or QEWA is a team of optometry experts partnering with Crozier and local West African colleagues who serve the optometry needs of Ebola survivors. The program was dubbed “Quiet Eye West Africa” because it expresses the program’s goals. The phrase “quiet eye” refers to a non inflamed and healthy eye. Emory Eye Center’s program seeks to help all Ebola survivors obtain and maintain “quiet (and healthy) eyes.” In April of 2014 the QEWA team flew to West Africa to work with John Fankhauser, a physician working in Monrovia, Liberia treating Ebola patients and survivors. Fankhauser observed that many of his survivor patients were experiencing ocular symptoms and hoped that the QEWA team could help diagnose and treat his patients’ ailments. While in Liberia the QEWA

In honor of National Inventors Month we highlight the good work of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) and our fellows. In 2010, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office organized the founding of the NAI to promote innovation and support inventors by creating a dynamic community of inventors, non-profit organizations, universities, and other research institutes across the United States. Since then, the NAI has grown to include over 3,000 individual members and fellows originating from more than 200 institutions. “The rapid growth of the NAI is a direct reflection of how critical academic invention has become. Commercializing patents, spinning off new companies, building products, and creating high paying jobs have to become as much a part of a university’s mission as educating a high tech workforce for its state and the nation,” says NAI president Paul Sanberg. The NAI inducts members and researchers who reach the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s benchmark of “inventorship”. Using the organizational power of the NAI community, to recognize and encourage inventors, enhance the visibility of the contributions of research and innovation, and advance measures supportive of intellectual property. Emory University is an NAI member institution, and has had at least one of its faculty

Do you have a kidney? Do you have five minutes to spare? Do you want to develop a better understanding about what this key organ does? Look no further than Emory University’s Department of Medicines short video, which was created by undergraduate researchers for an annual video contest, entitled “Hello from Your Kidney (i).”   The American Physiological Society holds an annual “Phantastic Physiological Voyage: Function Follows Form,” video contest and Emory’s 2015 submission is all about the pair of bean shaped organs that each one of us has in our abdomens. The kidney is often overlooked as one of the lesser organs in the human body and the majority of people are unable to explain just what it is that the kidney does. However, kidney disease is the 3rd leading cause of death in the United States and so keeping our kidneys healthy is necessary and it is easier to protect what you understand. The Emory team’s short video is an engaging and humorous dialogue with an internal organ that explains in layperson terms the functions and jobs that a kidney performs. So, take your extra five minutes to learn about your body and get up close and personal