UB Faculty Inventors Named on Patents

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Eleven University at Buffalo faculty members were named on eight patents issued to The Research Foundation of State University of New York in 2005. Two of these patented technologies have already been licensed to companies that will bring new products to the market.

"Being awarded patents on new technologies and inventions is an important aspect of technology transfer," said Robert J. Genco, Ph.D., D.D.S., UB vice provost and director of the UB Office of Science, Technology Transfer and Economic Outreach (STOR).

"In most cases, patent protection provides the opportunity for exclusivity that companies need to justify the investments required for product commercialization."

STOR files patent applications on behalf of The Research Foundation of State University of New York. Filing patent applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is a multi-step process that can take four to five years before a patent is actually awarded. STOR receives more than 90 new technology disclosures per year. With the increased investment made by UB in intellectual property protection, STOR files 35-40 new U.S. patent applications per year, including provisional applications.

The following faculty members named on patents in 2005 will be recognized at the annual STOR Scholars, Inventors and Entrepreneurs Reception to be held in May:

* Ali El-Solh and Brydon J.B. Grant, both of the Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, for patent 6,839,581 -- Method for Detecting Cheyne-Stokes Respiration In Patients with Congestive Heart Failure. This patent and related software have been licensed to Sleep Solutions, Inc., of Pasadena, Md.

* Jui H. Wang, Department of Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences, for patent 6,863,942 -- Free-Standing and Aligned Carbon Nanotubes and Synthesis Thereof. Collaborators include Zhongping Huang, Dezhi Wang, and Zhifeng Ren, all formerly of UB. This nanotube technology has been licensed to NanoPolaris of Pasadena, Calif.

* Daniel J. Metzger, Michael W. Russell, Terry D. Connell, all of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, for patent 6,846,488 -- Chimeric Antigen-Enterotoxin Mucosal Immunogens.

* Joseph A. Gardella, Department of Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences, for patent 6,864,090 -- Method for Testing the Degradation of Polymeric Materials. Collaborators include Jiaxing Chen and Joo-Woon Lee both formerly of UB, and Norma L. Hernandez de Gatica.

* Michal K. Stachowiak, Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, for patent 6,878,858 -- A Rodent Model for Parkinson's Disease.

* Aidong Zhang, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, for patent 6,882,997 -- A Wavelet-Based Clustering Method for Managing Spatial Data in Very Large Databases. Collaborators include Surojit Chatterjee and Gholamhosein Sheikholeslami, both formerly of UB.

* The late Dennis Higgins, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, for patent 6,949,505 -- Morphogen-Induced Dendritic Growth.

* Huw M.L. Davies, Department of Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences, for patent 6,962,891 -- Solid Support Dirhodium Catalyst Compositions and Methods for Making and Using Same. Tadamichi Nagashima, formerly of UB, was his collaborator.

STOR is the commercialization and technology transfer office of the University at Buffalo. It identifies, protects and commercializes the outcomes and discoveries of research conducted by UB faculty and students for the public good. STOR also provides a continuum of business-development support for the university's technologies, entrepreneurs and start-up companies, and enables joint development of inventions with industry.