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Proposals sought for SUNY funding
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“The money spent on discovery is small compared to what is needed to conduct the clinical trials required for that drug to get FDA approval.”
UB researchers have an opportunity to apply for funding that can help bring their innovation to the marketplace.
The SUNY Technology Accelerator Fund (TAF) helps bridge the gap between research and commercialization.
“People can apply for money for a project that focuses on key milestones that need to be achieved to demonstrate feasibility, says Kenneth Tramposch, associate vice president for research in the Office of the Vice President for Research & Economic Development. “Once at the critical point, researchers can then try to attract the additional external investment needed to turn that innovation into a product.”
Funding from organizations like the National Institutes of Health or the National Science Foundation provide money for basic research, while the TAF puts researchers in a better position to attract the money needed to turn their breakthrough into an actual product, according to Tramposch.
Research might point to a concept for a product, but there is no working prototype. The TAF can help create that model. This type of funding often is needed in the pharmaceutical industry to move a potential treatment beyond the discovery stage.
“In the case of a new drug, the promise realized by research is only the beginning,” notes Tramposch. “In fact, the money spent on discovery is small compared to what is needed to conduct the clinical trials required for that drug to get FDA approval.”
Tramposch explains that the TAF fills a funding gap, allowing existing companies or venture capitalists to see that an invention has a chance of working. The investor’s risk is lowered and the researcher, now with additional money, is able to continue the process of commercialization.
In TAF’s first round of funding last year, a research team led by Thomas Szyperski, UB Distinguished Professor in the Department of Chemistry, received funding for a screening test for early detection of ovarian cancer.
The Research Foundation for SUNY now is seeking applications for 2012 funding; each SUNY campus is allowed a maximum of two proposals for consideration. Awards of up to $50,000 will be funded.
Tramposch says UB has a committee of business and faculty experts that will determine which two funding proposals will go forward to the Research Foundation.
Members of the university community who are interested in receiving funding must submit the required documents to Tramposch at ovpr.limitedsubmission@research.buffalo.edu by June 21. The full proposal deadline is Aug. 1. Complete guidelines are online.
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