Prasad recognized with first UB Innovation Impact Award

UB will present its inaugural Innovation Impact Award to Paras Prasad, executive director of the university’s Institute for Lasers, Photonics and Biophotonics.

The award ceremony will take place from 3:30–5:30 p.m. March 6 in the Screening Room in the Center for the Arts, North Campus.  

Prasad, a SUNY Distinguished Professor and one of the world’s pre-eminent scientists in the field of nanomedicine, will be recognized for his work in developing the use of magnetic and laser-activated nanoparticles for cancer diagnosis and treatment.

This technology was licensed to UB spinoff Nanobiotix, a French publicly traded company and leader in nanomedicine that has maintained close contact with Prasad while working to develop these and other new nanomedicine products.

“Professor Prasad’s discoveries in nanomedicine have great potential and could lead to breakthroughs in terms of detecting, diagnosing and treating various forms of cancer,” says Venu Govindaraju, interim vice president for research and economic development. “His work also demonstrates how university researchers can drive innovation and economic development within our region and around the world.”

A professor of chemistry, physics, medicine and electrical engineering, Prasad developed the magnetic and laser-activated nanoparticles in the 1990s with partners including Nanobiotix founder Laurent Levy, who served as a postdoctoral researcher in Prasad’s lab.

As part of the agreement to license nanomedicine technology to Nanobiotix, UB received company stock. The university sold the shares for $1.35 million in 2014, with the majority returning to UB to be reinvested in research, in accordance with university policy.

The UB Innovation Impact Award is given in special recognition of high-impact innovations created by university faculty and members of the university research community. UB encourages and facilitates the transfer of discoveries into enterprises that create value and provide products or services that benefit the public good and contribute to the development of products that will benefit people around the world.