Five grants to help MU research accelerate to market

The Coulter Translational Partnership Program at the University of Missouri recently awarded five grants, totaling $500,000, to help accelerate biomedical research discoveries from experimental research projects to health products that can improve patient care. MU’s Coulter Program provides annual awards to researchers whose projects demonstrate great scientific potential and meet a logical health care need. These grants were awarded to five teams with a total of 11 researchers. The five interdisciplinary research teams that received these grants include faculty members from the MU College of Engineering and the MU School of Medicine.

The grants will fund various developed research projects, including a product featuring intelligent oxygen control for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit patients. Three associate professors, Roger Fales, John Pardalos and Ramak Amjad, are collaborating to create a device that automatically varies oxygen levels for premature infants. This device uses feedback from multiple sensor measurements to increase the amount of time babies spend in the desired range of oxygen saturation.

MU Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin believes MU’s partnership with the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation benefits patients’ lives.

“Our partnership between the University of Missouri and the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation is based on our common goal of transforming research discoveries into health care innovations that improve patient’s lives,” Loftin said. “At MU, we are known for working across disciplines to solve complex problems and make important discoveries.”

Jerry Parker, Ph.D., associate dean for research at the University of Missouri School of Medicine, gives a speech at the Coulter Translational Partnership Program grant ceremony on September 24, 2015.

Since its inception in 2011, the Coulter program has created 10 startups and has helped MU research projects generate more than $10 million in new government grants. In addition to providing funding, the program also supports scientists by connecting them with research and development experts.

The director of MU’s Coulter Program, Cynthia Helphingstine, said, “The awards we announced are designed to bridge the funding gap for promising research projects that have excellent market potential but require more investment to advance through the research and commercialization process.”

Photo provided by MU.