Faculty Release Time (FRT): The Research Office, Incentive Programs is accepting applications for the FRT Winter or Spring 2014-15 release. The program provides limited funding for individuals developing external grant proposals or who wish to further their scholarly activities. Program description and application: http://oregonstate.edu/research/incentive/frt. Information: Debbie Delmore at debbie.delmore@oregonstate.edu. Deadline: Nov. 3.
Category Archives: Research
PCOSW Scholarship Applications
Applications for PCOSW scholarships are now being accepted. The President’s Commission on the Status of Women, or PCOSW, provides funding to women faculty, students, and staff who are pursuing professional development or research opportunities, as well as individuals conducting research related to women’s issues. Scholarships range from $500 to $1000 and are awarded during fall, winter, and spring terms; the deadline is Friday of Week 5 with notification in Week 7. Information: http://oregonstate.edu/leadership/pcosw/awards-and-scholarships
PostDoc Research Symposium
OSU is celebrating National Postdoc Appreciation Week with the third annual Postdoc Research Symposium on Oct. 9. There will be a wine/appetizer/poster session in MU 49 (Horizon Conference Room – the old bookstore) from 5 to 7 p.m. Provost Sabah Randhawa will be speaking shortly after 5 p.m. For more information about the OSU Postdocs Association, see http://www.oregonstate.edu/opa/
Advantage Accelerator “graduates” moving toward successful new businesses, jobs
Originally posted on News and Research Communications by David Stauth
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Four promising startup companies in fields ranging from social media to chemical manufacturing are among the first “graduating class” of the Oregon State University Advantage Accelerator, upon completion of a program designed to help lead them toward commercial success.
Organizers of the new program say it’s off to a promising start in efforts to bring more university research and community ideas to the commercial marketplace. This and other elements of the OSU Advantage form partnerships with industry and work to boost the Oregon economy, while providing invaluable experiences for OSU students involved in many aspects of the program.
“Our program has unfolded as well or better than we had hoped, and we now plan to increase the output,” said John Turner, co-director of the Advantage Accelerator. “Completion of this program means that companies have an increased chance to succeed and have a step-by-step plan to approach the future.”
“Based on our experience in the first year of this program, we’ve decided to conduct two cohort groups each year rather than one,” Turner said. “The coming year will result in about 15-20 new startup companies.”
Success in a tough and competitive commercial marketplace is not automatic, however, and not all companies have the will and strength to complete the rigorous program.
The first graduates have completed a “portfolio” of accomplishments, Turner said, that included training to attract investors, a validated business model, a schedule for future steps, and an initial product to show prospective customers, investors or manufacturers. A few clients are already attracting attention through the sale of products and generating profit.
The OSU Advantage Accelerator provides mentoring with industry and entrepreneurial experts, consulting sessions, access to seed grants and the OSU Venture Fund, meetings with active investors, workshops on various topics, networking events and many other activities.
One of the early participants in the program, Onboard Dynamics of Bend, Ore., plans to market technology that could ultimately revolutionize the way America drives. It has developed systems that compress natural gas right in the vehicle and take advantage of the enormous current supplies of low-cost natural gas. The innovation is able to cut automobile fuel costs to the gasoline-equivalent of less than $1 a gallon.
“An intern working with the Advantage Accelerator performed a lot of tasks relating to market analysis and startup activities that were incredibly helpful to the company,” said CEO Rita Hansen.
“We’re in an excellent position right now, having been formally selected by the Department of Energy for a $2.88 million award, and our initial target markets are the underserved, small, light-duty commercial fleets,” Hansen said. “We’re very bullish about widespread adoption by these fleets of our products.”
A few other companies that have completed the program include:
- Pikli, a student-based company based on social media that allows individuals to involve their friends and family in their shopping experiences;
- Waste2Watergy, which is commercializing a microbial fuel cell technology to reduce or eliminate significant wastewater costs and produce electricity from the resultant effluence; and
- Valliscor, a chemical manufacturing company that licensed technology developed at OSU to produce high-value chemicals for the pharmaceutical, agricultural, polymer and electronics industries.
“The OSU Advantage Accelerator program was very helpful and their mentorship was really first-rate,” said Rich Carter, professor and chair of the OSU Department of Chemistry, and CEO of Valliscor. “They helped us develop the necessary tools to become a functioning company, and whenever you needed advice all you had to do was pick up the phone.”
Carter said he’s “very optimistic” about the company going forward, which is already producing and selling its first products.
The OSU Advantage Accelerator is one component of the Oregon Regional Accelerator and Innovation Network, or Oregon RAIN. With support from the Oregon legislature, collaborators on the initiative include OSU, the University of Oregon, the cities of Eugene, Springfield, Corvallis and Albany, and other economic development organizations. All the participants are focused on creating new business, expanding existing business, creating jobs and helping to build the Oregon and national economy.
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About the Oregon State University Advantage: Oregon State is committed to innovation that leads to new businesses, jobs and economic growth for Oregon and the nation. That commitment now includes the Venture Accelerator, to move promising ideas out of the laboratory and into the marketplace; and the Industry Partnering Program, which helps improve the success of existing business and industry.
New assay to spot fake malaria drugs could save thousands of lives
By David Stauth, 541-737-0787
Contact: Vincent Remcho, 541-737-8181 or vincent.remcho@oregonstate.edu
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Chemists and students in science and engineering at Oregon State University have created a new type of chemical test, or assay, that’s inexpensive, simple, and can tell whether or not one of the primary drugs being used to treat malaria is genuine – an enormous and deadly problem in the developing world.
The World Health Organization has estimated that about 200,000 lives a year may be lost due to the use of counterfeit anti-malarial drugs. When commercialized, the new OSU technology may be able to help address that problem by testing drugs for efficacy at a cost of a few cents.
When broadly implemented, this might save thousands of lives every year around the world, and similar technology could also be developed for other types of medications and diseases, experts say.
Findings on the new technology were just published in Talanta, a professional journal.
“There are laboratory methods to analyze medications such as this, but they often are not available or widely used in the developing world where malaria kills thousands of people every year,” said Vincent Remcho, a professor of chemistry and Patricia Valian Reser Faculty Scholar in the OSU College of Science, a position which helped support this work.
“What we need are inexpensive, accurate assays that can detect adulterated pharmaceuticals in the field, simple enough that anyone can use them,” Remcho said. “Our technology should provide that.”
The system created at OSU looks about as simple, and is almost as cheap, as a sheet of paper. But it’s actually a highly sophisticated “colorimetric” assay that consumers could use to tell whether or not they are getting the medication they paid for – artesunate – which is by far the most important drug used to treat serious cases of malaria. The assay also verifies that an adequate level of the drug is present.
In some places in the developing world, more than 80 percent of outlets are selling counterfeit pharmaceuticals, researchers have found. One survey found that 38-53 percent of outlets in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam had no active drug in the product that was being sold. Artesunate, which can cost $1 to $2 per adult treatment, is considered an expensive drug by the standards of the developing world, making counterfeit drugs profitable since the disease is so prevalent.
Besides allowing thousands of needless deaths, the spread of counterfeit drugs with sub-therapeutic levels of artesunate can promote the development of new strains of multi-drug resistant malaria, with global impacts. Government officials could also use the new system as a rapid screening tool to help combat the larger problem of drug counterfeiting.
The new technology is an application of microfluidics, in this instance paper microfluidics, in which a film is impressed onto paper that can then detect the presence and level of the artesunate drug. A single pill can be crushed, dissolved in water, and when a drop of the solution is placed on the paper, it turns yellow if the drug is present. The intensity of the color indicates the level of the drug, which can be compared to a simple color chart.
OSU undergraduate and graduate students in chemistry and computer science working on this project in the Remcho lab took the system a step further, and created an app for an iPhone that could be used to measure the color, and tell with an even higher degree of accuracy both the presence and level of the drug.
The technology is similar to what can be accomplished with computers and expensive laboratory equipment, but is much simpler and less expensive. As a result, use of this approach may significantly expand in medicine, scientists said.
“This is conceptually similar to what we do with integrated circuit chips in computers, but we’re pushing fluids around instead of electrons, to reveal chemical information that’s useful to us,” Remcho said. “Chemical communication is how Mother Nature does it, and the long term applications of this approach really are mind-blowing.”
Colorimetric assays have already been developed for measurement of many biomarker targets of interest, Remcho said, and could be expanded for a wide range of other medical conditions, pharmaceutical and diagnostic tests, pathogen detection, environmental analysis and other uses.
With a proof of concept of the new technology complete, the researchers may work with the OSU Advantage to commercialize the technology, ultimately with global application. As an incubator for startup and early stage organizations, OSU Advantage connects business with faculty expertise and student talent to bring technology such as this to market.
Read the publication here.
“Molecular movie” technology will enable extraordinary gains in bioimaging, health research
By: David Stauth, OSU News and Research Communications
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Researchers today announced the creation of an imaging technology more powerful than anything that has existed before, and is fast enough to observe life processes as they actually happen at the molecular level.
Chemical and biological actions can now be measured as they are occurring or, in old-fashioned movie parlance, one frame at a time. This will allow creation of improved biosensors to study everything from nerve impulses to cancer metastasis as it occurs.
The measurements, created by the use of short pulse lasers and bioluminescent proteins, are made in femtoseconds, which is one-millionth of one-billionth of a second. A femtosecond, compared to one second, is about the same as one second compared to 32 million years.
That’s a pretty fast shutter speed, and it should change the way biological research and physical chemistry are being done, scientists say.
Findings on the new technology were published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, by researchers from Oregon State University and the University of Alberta.
“With this technology we’re going to be able to slow down the observation of living processes and understand the exact sequences of biochemical reactions,” said Chong Fang, an assistant professor of chemistry in the OSU College of Science, and lead author on the research.
“We believe this is the first time ever that you can really see chemistry in action inside a biosensor,” he said. “This is a much more powerful tool to study, understand and tune biological processes.”
The system uses advanced pulse laser technology that is fairly new and builds upon the use of “green fluorescent proteins” that are popular in bioimaging and biomedicine. These remarkable proteins glow when light is shined upon them. Their discovery in 1962, and the applications that followed, were the basis for a Nobel Prize in 2008.
Existing biosensor systems, however, are created largely by random chance or trial and error. By comparison, the speed of the new approach will allow scientists to “see” what is happening at the molecular level and create whatever kind of sensor they want by rational design. This will improve the study of everything from cell metabolism to nerve impulses, how a flu virus infects a person, or how a malignant tumor spreads.
“For decades, to create the sensors we have now, people have been largely shooting in the dark,” Fang said. “This is a fundamental breakthrough in how to create biosensors for medical research from the bottom up. It’s like daylight has finally come.”
The technology, for instance, can follow the proton transfer associated with the movement of calcium ions – one of the most basic aspects of almost all living systems, and also one of the fastest. This movement of protons is integral to everything from respiration to cell metabolism and even plant photosynthesis. Scientists will now be able to identify what is going on, one step at a time, and then use that knowledge to create customized biosensors for improved imaging of life processes.
“If you think of this in photographic terms,” Fang said, “we now have a camera fast enough to capture the molecular dance of life. We’re making molecular movies. And with this, we’re going to be able to create sensors that answer some important, new questions in biophysics, biochemistry, materials science and biomedical problems.”
The research was supported by OSU, the University of Alberta, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
Active Ingredients: Chemists collaborate to form Valliscor
Originally printed in Terra Magazine – Courtesy of Nick Houtman
A good recipe depends on high-quality ingredients. That’s as true in industry (electronics, food products, chemical manufacturing) as it is in our kitchens. So when two Willamette Valley chemists developed methods for producing industrial chemicals with exceptional purity, they saw a business opportunity. The result is a new company: Valliscor. Co-founded in 2012 by Rich G. Carter, professor and chair of the Oregon State University Department of Chemistry, and industrial chemist Michael Standen, Valliscor produces organic building blocks for the pharmaceutical, electronics and biotech sectors. Its first product is a compound known as bromofluoromethane (BFM). BFM is a critical ingredient in the synthesis of fluticasone propionate, the active component in two popular medications: Flonase, a nasal spray; and Advair, an asthma inhaler. “The company was created to exploit the synergy between industrial know-how and academic innovation,” says Carter. “Valliscor harnesses licensed technology from Oregon State and from industrial partners to provide unique and cost-effective solutions for producing high-value chemicals. We can provide ultra-high purity materials that are superior to those offered by our competitors.” Before founding Valliscor, Carter and Standen had collaborated on numerous projects over the past 10 years, including the commercialization of an “organocatalyst” called Hua Cat, an advance in environmentally friendly chemical manufacturing. The OSU Research Office and the Advantage Accelerator program have been key to the company’s growth, Carter adds. “We’ve had great mentorship and guidance from the Advantage Accelerator leadership: Mark Lieberman, John Turner and Betty Nickerson. When we get stuck on a problem, they are just a phone call away.” The Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute (ONAMI) supported the company in 2012 with proof-of-concept funding and guidance from commercialization specialists Jay Lindquist and Michael Tippie and from Skip Rung, ONAMI executive director.
Tiny Amorphyx seeks to reshape the huge, mature business of manufacturing displays
CORVALLIS – Lots of startup companies have big ambitions, but Amorphyx’s are bigger than most.
The four-employee company wants to change the economics of manufacturing liquid-crystal displays. Amorphyx team members hope the process they are developing in an Oregon State University lab will be adopted by the world’s largest display manufacturers, who are eager to cut production costs for the screens used in televisions, signage and mobile devices.
But it’s a big job for a young entrant in a market full of Goliaths. Read more…
Article used with permission of author, Mike Francis, c/o The Oregonian
Award Announcement: RERF Spring 2014
The Research Office received 16 proposals for the Research Equipment Reserve Fund (RERF) Spring 2014 solicitation with requests totaling $684,237. After review and evaluation the Research Council provided the Research Office with a prioritized list of proposals recommended for funding. The Vice President for Research has approved 7 proposals for funding with combined budgets of $266,826.
The following proposals have been selected for funding:
- Blunck, David (School of Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering, College of Engineering): “FLIR SC6700 Camera with Required Software and Lens”
- Fang, Chong (Dept. of Chemistry, College of Science): “Advanced Spectroscopic Imaging System for Ultrafast Characterization of Materials”
- Indra, Arup (Dept. of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy): “Tali™ Image-Based Cytometer”
- Kosro, P. Michael (College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences): “Repairs to HF Surface Current Mapping System”
- Leid, Mark (Dept. of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy): “Synergy™ HT Multi-Detection Platereader”
- Li, Kaichang (Dept. of Wood Science and Engineering, College of Forestry): “Replacement of Fourier Transfer Infrared (FTIR) Spectrometer”
- Taratula, Oleh (Dept. of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy): “BD Accuri C6 Flow Cytometer System”
Loveland et. al. publish in Physical Review Letters
Walt Loveland, et. al, recently published a paper in Physical Review Letters. As part of the publication and promotion, Physical Review Letters, requested a short summary of the article be written in layman’s terms. Below is that summary:
OSU Scientists Explain Synthesis of New Chemical Elements
Exploring the limits of existence of the chemical elements is a driving force for chemists and physicists. OSU scientists (Yanez et al.) have reported (in Physical Review Letters) an important step in understanding
the production of the heaviest chemical elements and their survival. Their novel approach, data and interpretation are ” of key importance for a better understanding”, of the synthesis reactions.
The heaviest elements have been produced by hot fusion reactions at unexpectedly high rates. The authors have measured the survival probability of one of these nuclei, 274Hs, at high excitation energy, finding a unusually high survival and have shown that survival is due to dissipative effects during de-excitation. These dissipative effects decrease the probability of fission occurring in these nuclei and thus increase their survival. This finding helps explain the paradox of hot fusion reactions that make nuclei at high excitation energies (where the effect of nuclear shell structure is “washed out”, and the apparent stabilizing effects of “the island of stability” in these synthetic reactions.
Congratulations all!
Please stay tuned for links to the article!