A New Frontier For Entrepreneurship

The University of Memphis FedEx Institute of Technology and Epicenter Memphis created a program in 2017 designed to hire post-doc fellows to start for-profit businesses, utilizing patented intellectual property developed both in Memphis and across the United States, to turn great ideas into successful companies. The Patents2Products Post-Doc program creates a funded position for research entrepreneurs and provides them with the necessary tools for a launching a successful startup in Memphis.

Program

This program establishes funded positions for research entrepreneurs within the university, offering salaries, state benefits, and startup funds. P2P Fellows will be hired in a university position with the UofM and provided with a salary and state benefits, plus funds for initial startup costs, as well as licensing rights to intellectual property. Participants will have access to the researchers and labs where the University intellectual property was developed, and will be provided office space in either the University of Memphis Research Park or downtown at Epicenter Memphis. The fellow positions will be appointments to the FedEx Institute of Technology, and will also work closely with community mentors and advisors as they develop their company and business plans. Through the partnership, the fellows will be made aware of and deliberately prepared for funding opportunities as appropriate for their industries of focus.

Entrepreneurship Curriculum Powered by Epicenter

The entrepreneurial curriculum will be custom-built around the post-doc's experience and startup opportunity. It will comprise components from NSF's I-Corps, Kauffman Foundation's FastTrac TechVenture, and other proven startup methods. In addition, we will provide mentors and coaches from across our extensive network of CEOs, investors, domain experts and executives.

How To Apply

The next cohort will begin September 2024. The positions are open until filled. Interested candidates should complete the initial questionnaire and then apply directly with the university. For more information, email p2p@memphis.edu. *Questionnaire not official application to program; applicants should submit the questionnaire in advance of completing the official application.

To complete official application, go to WORKforUM.
Create an account, click on Full-Time Faculty Positions, and complete application for Postdoctoral R&D Entrepreneurship Fellow.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

Curriculum Vitae (CV)
Cover letter
Reference list (3)
Unofficial transcript
Supplemental Questions – Required are indicated with an asterisk (*) and outlined on the application link.

OPTIONAL DOCUMENTS

1-2 papers, reports, or the representative works
Research proposal

Available Patents for Commercialization

**(*For full list of IP available, contact Dr. Hai Trieu at hhtrieu@memphis.edu)**

Technology: Controlling biofilms with cyclopropanated fatty acids

Summary: This technology is about compositions and methods for using cyclopropanated structural analogs of fatty acid biofilm dispersal agents characterized by superior biofilm dispersion. When used in combination with antimicrobials, these analogs decrease the minimum inhibitory concentration of antimicrobial agents required for eradication of the biofilm and/or treatment of infection.
U.S. Patent 11,311,506: Controlling biofilms with cyclopropanated fatty acids
Inventors: Dr. Jessica Amber Jennings and Dr. Daniel Lee Baker. Both inventors is still on campus and very active in the same areas. Potential applications in antimicrobial coatings.

Technology: Ultrasonic dispersion of cohesive powders

Summary: This technology is about systems and methods for preparing and dispersing dry powders are disclosed herein. The system includes a powder feeder, a rotating holder or disc configured to receive an input powder from the powder feeder, and one or more ultrasonic transducers. The ultrasonic transducer is configured to create standing waves, which suspend the input powder within a space above the rotating holder disc for collection and subsequent processing and/or use.
Patent Applications: US and international patent applications filed with US patent recently allowed (US patent application 20200139336).
Inventor: Dr. Ranganathan Gopalakrishnan. Primary inventor is still on campus and active in the same areas. Applications in additive manufacturing and pharmaceutical industry such as devices producing high and steady concentration of aerosol particles for aerosol based additive manufacturing, inhalation studies, etc.

Technology: Bone-regeneration guiding biomaterials

Summary: This technology is about electrospun chitosan nanofibers reversibly acylated to enhance structural integrity and promote healing and the formation of tissues. The invention also includes compositions and methods for producing a modified chitosan material having anti-inflammatory and pro-healing characteristics and methods of using the modified chitosan materials in a film, a gel, a membrane, microfibers, nanofibers, nano- or micro-particles/spheres and/or sponges.
U.S. Patent 11,229,721: Chitosan nanofiber compositions, compositions comprising modified chitosan, and methods of use.
Inventor: Dr. Joel Bumgardner: Primary inventor is still on campus and very active in the same areas with some animal data. US & PCT Patent applications were filed in February 2015 (20160367722) with one US patent issued to date. Potential applications in hard and/or soft tissue regeneration.

Technology: Multi-user permission strategy to access sensitive information (Cybersecurity)

Summary: A system and related methods for providing greater security and control over access to classified files and documents and other forms of sensitive information based upon a multi-user, multi-modality permission strategy centering on organizational structure, thereby making authentication strategy unpredictable so to significantly reduce the risk of exploitation.
U.S. Patent 10,671,747: Multi-user permission strategy to access sensitive information
Inventor: Dr. Dipankar Dasgupta. Primary inventor is still on campus, very active in the same areas, and well known for his expertise in this area. The patent issued with initial prototype developed by the inventor. There are various potential applications in a variety of areas including banking, healthcare, internet-of-things, government agencies, etc.

Technology: Biomaterials for anti-inflammatory wound healing

Summary: The invention features compositions and methods for inhibiting inflammatory in connection with an acellular template such as an electrospun fiber mesh template. The template is impregnated with a bioactive agent such as PAD4.
U.S. Patent 11,202,850: Compositions and methods for inhibiting inflammation
Inventor: Dr. Gary Bowlin. Primary inventor is still on campus and very active in the same areas. Potential application in various areas of wound healing.

Technology: Light Weight Flexible Temperature Sensor Kit

Summary: A thin sensor film that is capable of indicating temperature and an associated sensor readout kit that illuminates the sensor film and detects the return fluorescence for analysis to determine temperature. The sensor film may be detached and reattached in order to be reused. The initial design achieves high sensitivity and accuracy in the range of interest to biologistics and can potentially address temperatures ranging from -200 to 300.degree. C. A variation allows for the use of optical fibers for measurements of surfaces inside enclosures.
U.S. Patent 11,047,747: Light Weight Flexible Temperature Sensor Kit
Inventor: Dr. Firouzeh Sabri. Primary inventor is still on campus and very active in the same areas. Potential application in temperature monitoring for shipment of biological or pharmaceutical products.

Technology: Liquid biopsy for cancer diagnostics

Summary: The present invention features compositions and methods related to the detection and profiling of extracellular vesicles using either Raman Extracellular Vesicle Assay or fluorescent probes. The first method involves the use of highly sensitive and specific surface enhanced Raman scattering nanotags to detect and quantify surface proteins on membrane bound vesicles that are captured on a substrate. The second method leverages the unique optoelectrical properties of quantum dots and fluorescently labeled nanoparticles. Assay methods can be developed for research tools or clinical testing using various biological samples.
Patent Applications: Two US patent applications related to compositions and methods for detection and molecular profiling of membrane bound vesicles (20200191778 and 20210190774)
Inventors: Dr. Xiaohua Huang and Dr. Thang Hoang. Both inventors are still on campus and active in the same areas. Potential applications in liquid biopsy for cancer diagnostics.

Technology: Chitosan sponges for wound dressing

Summary: The invention provides improved methods for generating biodegradable chitosan compositions in film or sponge form, and therapeutic methods of using such compositions to deliver therapeutic agents.
U.S. Patent 9,662,400: Methods for producing a biodegradable chitosan composition and uses thereof
Inventor: Dr. Jessica Amber Jennings. One of the inventors is still on campus and very active in the same areas. There is one issued patent on the technology with a fairly developed patented process. Potential applications in wound dressings and delivery of therapeutic agents.

Technology: Wireless compact radar

Summary: The technology is about a compact, wireless, low-cost radar and sensor mote system with a suite of integrated capabilities. Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) sensor nodes have been integrated with wireless technology, aiming at surveillance and tracking of moving targets. This work presents a distributed intelligent decision support system and demonstrates its effectiveness in identifying unique but similar events.
U.S. Patents: 9,733,351 and 9,557,413
Inventors: Dr. Robert Kozma and Dr. Lan Wang. Primary inventors are still on campus and/or actively involved with this technology.
Potential applications include:
- Surveillance and tracking of moving targets
- Detection, ranging, and velocity estimation capabilities integrated with wireless nodes
- Incorporates additional sensors for acoustic, vibration transducers, and infrared sensing
- Long range passive infrared sensor that detects moving vehicles up to a 50 meter range
- Detecting moving humans up to a 10 meter range
- Effectively classify different types of objects and events

Technology: Directed cell growth using Aerogel materials

Summary: This technology is about a cell growth apparatus, particularly neuronal printed circuit board apparatus comprising an aerogel base and a pre-printed cellular growth pattern. The cellular growth pattern is comprised of combinations of layers of cellular adhesion promoting materials, cellular adhesion inhibiting materials, and/or cellular signal promoting materials. This invention is useful for regeneration and precise guidance of cells, particularly nerve cells, when used as an implant.
U.S. Patent 9,962,468: Cell growth apparatus and use of aerogels for directed cell growth
Inventor: Dr. Sabri Firouzeh. Primary inventor is still on campus and active in the same areas. There is one issued patent on the technology with early research results. Potential applications in nerve tissue regeneration.

Technology: Biomedical sensor technologies

Summary: Three different biomedical sensor technologies: 1) Method is disclosed in which an analog sensor receives an electromagnetic (EM) wave from an interrogation device; 2) An electrode including a substrate and a plurality of carbon nanotube pillars disposed on the substrate, wherein at least two of the carbon nanotube pillars are disposed at a predetermined distance from each other; 3) A system including one or more electroencephalography (EEG) sensor nodes in a fully reconfigurable sensor network configured to detect electrical signals indicating activity of a brain of a subject.
U.S. Patent 10,405,746: Wireless analog passive sensors.
Inventor: Dr. Bashir Morshed. Primary inventor is currently at another institution but still active in the same areas. Other pending applications include patterned carbon nanotube electrode (20150367122); Fully reconfigurable modular body-worn sensors (20160128596). Potential application in various areas that utilize biomedical sensors

Technology: Method for detection of circulating tumor cells

Summary: A method for detecting a circulating tumor cell (CTC) in a sample, the method comprising: contacting the sample with a Raman reporter coated iron oxide-gold core-shell nanoparticle conjugated to a specific binding pair capable of specifically binding with the CTC; and detecting the presence of the Raman reporter coated iron oxide-gold core-shell nanoparticle bound to the CTC by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, thereby detecting the CTC.
U.S. Patent 9,952,209: Iron oxide-gold core-shell nanoparticles and uses thereof
Inventor: Dr. Xiaohua Huang. Primary inventor is still on campus and active in the same areas. One issued patent on the technology with early laboratory data. Potential applications in cancer testing.

Technology: Battery energy storage system for hybrid microgrid system

Summary: An improved “3-in-1” BESS that performs three functions: (1) improving the transient stability in a hybrid AC/DC microgrid (HMG) system during any fault; (2) improving power quality in the HMG during any sudden load change; and (3) mitigating power and frequency fluctuations due to variations in wind speed and solar irradiance in the HMG.
U.S. Patent 11,862,979: Triple-function battery energy storage system for hybrid microgrid system
Inventor: Dr. Mohd Hasan Ali and Morteza Davirankeshararzi. Primary inventor is still on campus and active in the same areas including renewable energy systems.

Technology: Power electronic control-based capacitor for wind generator system

Summary: A power electronic control-based capacitor to be used at the terminal of a grid-connected wind generator system for improving the transient stability of the generator following a fault in the network. This eliminates the need of adding auxiliary control devices at the grid side.
U.S. Patent 11,509,138: System and method for improving transient stability of grid-connected wind generator system
Inventor: Dr. Mohd Hasan Ali. Primary inventor is still on campus and active in the same areas including renewable energy systems.

Technology: Decentralized public key management system

Summary: A decentralized public key management system for named data networks based on blockchain, which solves the Compromised Certificate Authority (CA) Problem. The system divides the power of an individual CA among multiple Public Key Miners (PKMiners) that maintain the public key blockchains. The majority rule in name-principal validation allows the present invention to tolerate compromised PKMiners without causing any damage.
U.S. Patent 11,582,024: Blockchain-based decentralized public key management system
Inventor: Drs. Kan Yang and Lan Wang. Primary inventors are still on campus and active in the same areas.