Project builds a bridge between research, business: An offshoot of the Kauffman Foundation aims to quickly move innovations from campus labs to the ma
BYLINE: Jason Gertzen, The Kansas City Star, Mo.
Jan. 31--Are you looking for a new genetically engineered mouse? Maybe you are seeking a new imaging technique to detect heart disease.
Entrepreneurs or large companies seeking inventions to drive the next blockbuster product and scientists seeking to advance their research have a new way to discover these and other intriguing technologies.
An offshoot of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation on Tuesday unveiled a revamped version of its iBridge project. At the heart of the initiative is a Web site, www.ibridgenetwork.org, that provides searchable and clear descriptions of university innovations and how they can be used to advance other research or develop commercial products.
Leaders of the foundation see the nation's universities as potential economy-boosting sources of innovation. Too often, though, scientific advances fail to benefit patients or the economy because businesses do not know they exist or are reluctant to grapple with university bureaucracies.
About $40 billion is spent each year on academic research, but it generates only about $1 billion from companies and others that pay to use the discoveries that the research produces, according to the Association of University Technology Managers.
While much of university research is basic science that is not intended to produce immediate products, Kauffman leaders think the gap between the $1 billion in licensing income and the $40 billion in research spending indicates some missed opportunities.
Research powerhouses such as Stanford University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Wisconsin have developed reputations over decades that they have discoveries that are worth closer looks. Other universities find it more difficult to gain attention, said Lesa Mitchell, a Kauffman vice president who guides the foundation's efforts to advance innovation.
"Many universities don't have the skills and resources to market their technologies," Mitchell said.
Also companies sometimes are reluctant to partner with university researchers because technology-transfer offices have developed reputations as slow-moving bureaucracies that cannot accommodate businesses' bottom-line concerns.
The iBridge initiative seeks to address this problem by providing best-practice advice, as well as standardized forms and approaches to streamline access to a researcher's technology.
The foundation provided $1 million to the iBridge project when it began in 2005. The initial effort led to the creation of the Kauffman Innovation Network Inc., a separate nonprofit arm of the foundation that manages the iBridge initiative, a Web site and a pilot project involving a select group of universities.
Innovation network officials will present the improved version of the iBridge initiative this week at Demo '07, a high-profile event in Palm Desert, Calif., where investors, corporate executives and entrepreneurs check out emerging technologies.
IBridge leaders hope to raise awareness about the new tool for finding university technology. They also will seek potential sponsors and partners to enhance the network, said Laura Dorival Paglione, the director of the innovation network.
The initiative already is working with Science Commons, an initiative based at MIT that is working to improve the flow of scientific knowledge and technical information.
The University of Kansas and Washington University in St. Louis are among the universities that have listed more than 700 research projects on the iBridge Web site.
The University of Arizona found the iBridge system a good way to handle major scientific advances and other projects that in the past would not have received substantial attention, said Stephen ONeil, a special manager in the university's technology-transfer office.
It has been a great way, for example, to distribute a resource compiled by the university's law school providing all of the internships and contact information needed by students nationwide, ONeil said.
Arizona officials also hope iBridge will help university researchers gain wider notice for other work.
"It does increase the profile of institutions doing very good science, technology and the life sciences, but may be less commonly thought of as places to check," ONeil said.
To reach Jason Gertzen, call (816) 234-4899 or send e-mail to jgertzen@kcstar.com.
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