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By ELLEN GOLDBAUM

Published: Aug. 4, 2011

UB faculty who are inventing and patenting new products and discoveries, commercializing research and developing startup companies were celebrated during the 2011 Inventors and Entrepreneurs Reception held during the spring semester.

UB faculty and local entrepreneurs were recognized for their efforts in 2010 in the following categories: inventors named on U.S. patents, Visionary Innovators (UB faculty who developed technologies licensed to industrial partners), UB Technology Incubator graduates and companies entering the UB Technology Incubator.

In 2010, 20 patents were awarded to UB faculty covering a broad range of research, including calcium sulfate nanoparticles for bone regeneration; fast, efficient ways to produce novel pharmaceutical compounds; molecules that boost the potency of vaccines; novel anti-fouling coatings for ships and other marine vessels; and a method of detecting bacterial-induced rhinosinusitis.

The following UB inventors were named on patents:

• Jens Ponikau and David Sherris, both of the Deaprtment of Otolaryngology, patent 7,659,080, Detecting a Bacterial Process in Chronic Rhinosinusitis.
• Sathy V. Balu-Iyer, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Richard B. Bankert, Microbiology and Immunology, with collaborator Vivek Purohit, formerly of Pharmaceutical Sciences, patent 7,662,405, Compositions and Methods of Preparation of Liposomal Microparticulate IL-12.
• David G. Hangauer, Chemistry, with collaborators Tao Ji, formerly of Chemistry, and Madison Lee and Steven G. Pruitt, both of Roswell Park Cancer Institute, patent 7,662,750, Protein-Protein Interaction Antagonist Screening Libraries Based Upon 1,4-Disubstituted Naphthalenes and Related Scaffolds.
• Joseph P. Balthasar, Pharmaceutical Sciences, with collaborators Ryan J. Hansen and Feng Jin, both formerly of Pharmaceutical Sciences, patent 7,662,928, Anti-FcRn Antibodies for Treatment of Auto/Allo Immune Conditions.
• Paras N. Prasad and Guang S. He, both of Chemistry, patent 7,684,112, Backward Stimulated Rayleigh-Bragg Scattering Devices Based on Multi-Photon Absorbing Materials and Their Applications.
• Chunming Qiao, Computer Science and Engineering, with collaborators Dahai Xu and Yizhi Xiong, both formerly of Computer Science and Engineering, patent 7,701,848, Efficient Trap Avoidance and Shared Protection Method in Survivable Networks with Shared Risk Link Groups and a Survivable Network.
• Paschalis Alexandridis, Chemical and Biological Engineering, with collaborator Toshio Sakai, formerly of Chemical and Biological Engineering, patent 7,718,094, Preparation of Metallic Nanoparticles.
• Frank V. Bright, Chemistry, with collaborators William Holthoff and Elizabeth Cornell, both formerly of Chemistry, patent 7,750,294, Photonic Sensors, Xerogel-based Sensors and Nanosensors.
• Rosemary Dziak and Robert J. Genco, both of Oral Biology, and Mark Swihart, Chemical and Biological Engineering, with collaborators YoungBum Park, formerly of Oral Biology, and Hiran Perinpanayagam, formerly of Periodontics and Endodontics, patent 7,767,226, Calcium Sulfate Based Nanoparticles.
• Terry D. Connell and Michael W. Russell, both of Microbiology and Immunology, with collaborators Hesham Nawar and Sergio Arce, both formerly of Microbiology and Immunology, patent 7,776,338, Adjuvant Activities of Mutants of LT-IIa and LT-IIb Enterotoxin Lacking Binding to Ganglioside.
• Alexander N. Cartwright and Albert H. Titus, both of Electrical Engineering, and Frank V. Bright, Chemistry, with collaborators Vamsy P. Chodavarapu, formerly of Electrical Engineering, and Rachel M. Bukowski, formerly of Chemistry, patent 7,794,584, pH-Change Sensor and Method.
• Michael R. Detty and Frank V. Bright, both of Chemistry, with collaborators Michael D. Drake and Ying Tang, both formerly of Chemistry, patent 7,794,795, Hybrid Anti-Fouling Coating Compositions and Methods for Preventing the Fouling of Surfaces Subjected to a Marine Environment.
• Laurie K. Read, Microbiology and Immunology, with collaborator John Fisk, Microbiology and Immunology, patent 7,803,594, Type III T.Brucei Arginine Methyltransferase.
• Aidong Zhang, Computer Science and Engineering, and Murali Ramanathan, Pharmaceutical Sciences, with collaborators Young-Rae Cho and Woo-Chang Hwang, both formerly of Computer Science and Engineering, patent 7,808,921, Bridging Centrality: A Concept and Formula to Identify Bridging Nodes in Scale-Free Networks.
• Timothy F. Murphy and Alan J. Lesse, both of Medicine, with collaborator Charmaine Kirkham, Medicine, 7,811,589, Method for Stimulating Immune Response against Moraxella Catarrhalis.
• Mattheos Koffas, formerly of Chemical and Biological Engineering, with collaborators Joseph Chemler, Effendi Leonard and Yajun Yan, all formerly of Chemical and Biological Engineering, patent 7,807,422, Production of Flavonoids by Recombinant Microorganisms.
• Huw M.L. Davies and Abbas M. Walji, both formerly of Chemistry, patent 7,700,798, Ergorgiaene Congeners and Methods and Intermediates Useful in the Preparation of Same.
• Huw M.L. Davies and James Manning, both formerly of Chemistry, patent 7,816,536, 4-Substituted and 7-Substituted Indoles, Benzofurans, Benzothiophenes, Benzimidazoles, Benzoxazoles and Benzothiazoles, and Methods for Making Same.
• Huw M.L. Davies, formerly of Chemistry, with collaborator A.K. Ratty, a non-UB inventor, patent 7,851,487, Use of Tetrahydropyridines with Central Nervous System Activity.
• Huw M.L. Davies, formerly of Chemistry, patent 7,851,488, Tetrahydropyridines with Central Nervous System Activity.

UB faculty recognized as Visionary Innovators and their industrial partners were:

• Thenkurussi (“Kesh”) Kesavadas, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, for the system for endovascular telerobotic access, with Simulated Surgical Systems Management Company LLC.
• Bradley P. Fuhrman, professor of pediatrics and anesthesiology, and chief of the Division of Critical Care Medicine, Women and Children’s Hospital of Buffalo, and Mark S. Dowhy of the Pediatric Critical Care Laboratory, for a partial gas column separator, with Medical Conservation Devices LLC.
• Te-Chung Lee, associate professor of biochemistry, for the production of YY1 antibody, with Millipore Corporation.
• Sarbajit Banerjee, assistant professor of chemistry, for graphene and graphene-based nanocomposite coatings and freestanding thin films, and chemical vapor deposition and substrate transfer of few-layered graphene, with Graphene Devices Ltd.
• John Panepinto, assistant professor of microbiology and immunology, for crypotococcus and aspergillis strains, with ZeptoMetrix Corp.
• Paschalis Alexandridis, UB Distinguished Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, for controlled synthesis of nanocrystals and nanoparticles by a gas-emulsion process and controlled synthesis of polymorphic nanostructures using templates, with Global EIS.
• Thomas Szyperski, UB Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, for GFT NMR spectroscopy, with Varian Inc. and Bruker Instruments Inc.
• Munawwar Sajjad and Hani Nabi, associate professors of nuclear medicine, for multimodality agents for tumor imaging and therapy, and porphyrin-based compounds for tumor imaging and photodynamic therapy, with Photolitec LLC.

UB’s Technology Incubator graduates during 2010 were Zenhire Inc., an incubator tenant since 2004 that provides a unique suite of Web-based, pre-employment tools and services to the third-party recruitment industry, and Aerostar Group, an tenant since 1999 that offers consulting services in lean manufacturing, logistics and quality management systems.

Joining the incubator in 2010 were Cloudback LLC and Ladybug Teknologies Inc.

Cloudback provides an online avenue for small businesses to leverage the power of the crowd to solve problems. It was founded by two UB School of Management MBA graduates.

Ladybug Teknologies Inc. develops and sells products, including software and an experiential breath kiosk, that enable legal-aged consumers to practice informed consumption while keeping our communities safe.