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Research@KU

Updates on the Lawrence campus from the Vice Provost for Research — May 2007

KU Receives BIG Award from KansasBIO for Growth in Academic R&D in the State

The University of Kansas was recognized recently by KansasBIO with a BIG Award, “honoring growth in academic research and development” at the Lawrence and Medical Center campuses.

The award was presented May 7 in Boston during the 2007 BIO International Convention, the world’s largest assembly of bioscience-related companies, state economic development groups, venture capitalists, and others with an interest in the biosciences industry.  More than 22,000 people attended this year’s convention.

The 100-member Kansas delegation at BIO 2007 included Val Stella, distinguished professor of pharmaceutical chemistry; Scott Weir, director of the Office of Therapeutics, Discovery, and Development; Carey Novak, director of business and industry outreach; and David Adkins, vice chancellor for external affairs at the KU Medical Center. 

Also present were three KTEC PIPELINE participants with KU ties: Lisa Friis, associate professor of engineering; Debra Ellies, formerly with the Stowers Institute and now associated with the Higuchi Biosciences Center; and George Laurence, who is working with Cory Berkland on a commercialization project.

KansasBIO is the biosciences trade association in the state.  It presented seven “BIG Awards” in Boston.  Recipients in other categories with KU connections were:

  • Heartland BioAgro Consortium: Chancellor Hemenway is a member of the task force working to convince the Department of Homeland Security to choose a Kansas site for the $451 million National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF).
  • CyDex, Inc.:  The company was founded in 1993 to commercialize a drug formulation technology—Captisol®—developed by scientists at KU’s Higuchi Biosciences Center.
  • KTEC PIPELINE: Lisa Friis is the only faculty member in the state chosen for the charter class of a program that mentors and supports new entrepreneurs as they establish a start-up company in Kansas.

Val Stella was given special recognition in Boston by KansasBIO as one of its seven “Big Thinkers.”  Stella’s research at KU resulted in three start-up companies in Kansas:  CyDex, Crititech, and ProQuest.