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Office for Innovation

Lab Bench to Commercialization (LB2C) Grant Program

The Eberly College of Science is committed to supporting our researchers in translating their research for society. Translation is an early part of technology transfer where scientific discoveries are aligned to tangible solutions to societal challenges. The Lab Bench to Commercialization Program (LB2C) consists of funding and support from the office for innovation. This program provides competitive funds for researchers within the College of Science to explore translation of their research to address a specific societal problem or unmet need. 

Some examples include:

  • Therapeutics or therapeutic delivery methods

  • Functional Materials

  • Methods or Tools for Diagnostics, Detection, Sensing

  • Chemical Syntheses

  • Algorithms for AI or Machine Learning

  • In-silico methods for design, prediction, identification

  • Software

  • Devices, hardware, components

  • Educational Tools

  • Non-profit concepts

The LB2C Grant supports projects at a very early technology development stage, usually less than a Technology Readiness Level 3. This program will consider proposals to test a new idea or an existing invention. Researchers may have no previous experimental support or they may have already performed some experiments that support the invention concept, but more experiments are needed to identify a specific use or validate assumptions. The proposed technology should not have been publicly disclosed (manuscripts, abstracts, presentations) and should not be the subject of existing patents or patent applications. At the end of the funding program, the technology may be ready for disclosure and patenting, or it may still need additional development to identify a specific invention concept to protect. Exceptions regarding patenting or public disclosure will be considered with justification that explains how the invention is still protectable. 

This grant includes hands-on support to researchers to enhance the readiness of their project for translation. During the funding period, the Office for Innovation will assist grantees in evaluating their technology towards translation, engage the assistance of the Technology Advisory Board (TAB) to critically evaluate the technology, find future sources for translational funds, and create a strategy for commercialization. The intent of the program is to grow a strong pipeline of invention concepts that may progress to invention disclosures with the potential for technology transfer. If awarded, the program typically provides two awards per year of $30,000-$70,000 to the Principal Investigator (PI). Funds will be available on January 2nd 2025 and need to be expended by December 31st 2025. Any unspent funds will return to the LB2C translational program unless an extension is approved in writing. 

Participants may include Eberly College of Science researchers (faculty, graduate students, and postdoctoral scholars) and their collaborators. We strongly encourage teams to apply with graduate students and postdoctoral team members to enrich graduate student and postdoctoral career readiness, supporting Penn State’s mission.

For any questions regarding the LB2C Grant, please contact Emily Kuhns, Director of the Office for Innovation (eah193@psu.edu).

 

Eligibility

The PI must be a faculty, postdoc, graduate student with an appointment in the Eberly College of Science. IGDP students may serve as PI if their faculty advisor has an appointment within the Eberly College of Science. Graduate student and postdoctoral PI’s must have permission from their faculty advisor to be eligible. Teams may include non-Eberly College of Science participants.

 

Applications

Applications must be single-spaced and include the following components:

 

  1. Title & Participants
  • Title of Proposal
  • PI(s): including Name and Title
  • Co-PIs: including Name, Title, and Department/Unit
  • Student/Postdoctoral Participants
  • Are any participants affiliated with another unit (e.g. another college, co-hire, IGDP student)? Please list affiliations. Courtesy appointments are not necessary to list.
  • PSU Invention Disclosure Number (e.g. 2023-1234), if applicable
  • Patent status (unfiled, provisional, converted, issued?)
  • List any publications/abstracts/presentations that relate to the technology in this project, if applicable.

 

2. Proposal Narrative: The challenge to be addressed by the idea/invention (1 page maximum)

  • What societal or technical challenge are you trying to address?
  • How will your proposed idea address this challenge?
  • What product or service would come out of the proposed solution?
  • Who would have an interest in using your potential solution?

 

3. Market Research and Unknowns (1 page maximum)

  • For the following topics, please describe what you know and what additional information would be helpful towards developing your project. Note: It is NOT expected that researchers will be able to address each topic completely.  The intent of this section is to understand your current level of market knowledge and identify which market research O4I will perform to support the project & researchers during the funding period.
  • Size of the Market
  • Competing Products/Services/Companies
  • Regulatory Requirements
  • Performance criteria for people to adopt your solution
  • Intellectual Property that is expected to be generated
  • List any funding mechanisms that can enable further development of the project 

 

4. Scope of Work (3 page maximum)

  • Describe the technical scope of work for this project:
  • What experiments will be performed?
  • Who will perform the experiments?
  • How long should the experiments take to complete?
  • What are the expected results from each experiment, and how will this advance (or kill) the project?
  • Why are the proposed experiments critical/keystone for evaluating the merit of the proposed solution?

 

5. Merit & Need (1 page maximum)

  • What is your motivation to pursue this project? What does success look like?
  • Does LB2C funding allow you to pursue something otherwise not possible using existing funding sources?
  • If you have already filed patents or publicly disclosed this technology, please provide a justification for why LB2C should still consider funding this application. 
  • Are there personnel involved in the project that would benefit from this experience?
  • Describe your follow-on plans for this project, if successful. (Additional sponsored research funding, corporate sponsorship, startup formation, licensing to 3rd party, other?)

 

6. Budget & Justification (1 page maximum) 

  • How will you spend the funds?
  • If additional funds might be needed to complete the proposed work, please outline the amount and list any sources you have already identified.
  • Note: Budgets do NOT need to be prepared with the grants office. Grant funds may NOT be used as faculty supplemental salary.  If funding is used for graduate student stipend or tuition, the student must be an ECoS student, or if an IGDP student, must be mentored by an ECoS faculty member. Using grant funding towards postdoctoral salary is permitted.

 

7. References (no page limit), if applicable

Evaluation

Proposals will be evaluated by a panel of reviewers selected by the Office for Innovation, using this rubric.

 

Deadlines and Funding Dates

Proposals are due September 23, 2024, with award notices being made as soon as possible thereafter. Proposals must be submitted in a single PDF file via email to Emily Kuhns, Director of the Office for Innovation (eah193@psu.edu) Please title theemail submission as: “PI Name LB2C YEAR”. Unsuccessful proposals may be resubmitted with revision for the following funding cycle. The 2024-2025 funding will run January 2, 2025 – December 31, 2025. 

 

Reporting

Grant awardees are expected to meet monthly with the Office for Innovation and will be asked to provide a 30-minute presentation to the ECoS Office for Innovation in ~November 2024, April 2025, and November 2025. A written final report is required and will be due to the Office for Innovation by December 20, 2025. All meetings and final reports should summarize progress toward translation, advancement of the deliverables, any recent IP activities, and the status of any third-party partnerships.

 

For additional details please contact Emily Kuhns (eah193@psu.edu).

Past Recipients of the LB2C Grant

  • Marco Archetti (BIO) & John Liechty (Smeal): With contributions from the Smeal College of Business, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, and Eberly College of Science, their project will focus on advancing their COVID-19 antiviral biotechnology through critical pre-clinical studies.  
  • Ken Keiler (BMB): His project will use structure-aided design to generate improved compounds that target a ribosome rescue pathway and will result in a lead optimization campaign for a novel gram-negative antibiotic. Fund contributions came from both the Eberly College of Science and the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences.
  • Xiaojun (Lance) Lian (BIO): His project will focus on reprogramming in vivo neutrophils into CAR-Neutrophils using exosome-mediated modRNA vectors to effectively reduce tumor growth and increase survival rates in mice with glioblastoma. Fund contributions came from Eberly College of Science. 
  • Sally Mackenzie (BIO) : Her project will focus on the use of a cloud-based methylome analysis platform to support an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) early diagnostic assay and various deliverables that will bridge the gap to venture capital investments. Fund contributions came from both the Eberly College of Science and Smeal College of Business.
  • Ken Keiler (BMB): His project will focus on developing an anticancer therapeutic targeting a mitochondrial ribosome rescue pathway.  
  • Scott Selleck (BMB): His project will focus on neurological degeneration prevention by inhibition of the heparin sulfate modifying enzyme, NDST1. 
  • Joyce Jose (BMMB) and colleagues: Her project will focus on developing a rapid, cost-effective, and adaptable assay for screening antiviral drug candidates.
  • Sally Mackenzie (BIO) and colleagues: Her project will focus on establishing a technology proof of concept for increasing crop plants’ yield by altering their epigenetics.
  • Lauren Zarzar (CHEM) and colleagues: Developing a method for producing new kinds of color-shifting materials based on a recently discovered optical effect that uses reflective structures at the microscale to generate iridescent structural color. Invent Penn State IP Navigator.
  • Ganesh Anand (CHEM) and colleagues: Investigating vulnerabilities on a virus that could be tapped to design targeted antibodies for use in antiviral therapies.
  • Joseph Cotruvo (CHEM) and colleagues: Developed a method for using a biological protein to detect and selectively capture rare earth elements (lanthanides) for industrial use. Find out more from the Invent Penn State IP Navigator.
  • Paul Cremer (CHEM) and colleagues: Developed a method utilizing temperature gradients to assess protein phase behavior, which enables high-throughput testing and accurate predictions of colloidal stability for therapeutic protein formulations. Find out more from the Invent Penn State IP Navigator.
  • Kenneth Keiler (BMB), John Alumasa (BMB), Sarah Ades (BMB), and colleagues: Developed novel antibiotic compounds by exploring inhibitors of a new transcription factor target.
  • Benjamin Lear (CHEM) and colleagues: Developed a method to use thermally cured thermoset compounds (e.g., silicone, rubbers, epoxies) in additive manufacturing. Find out more from the Invent Penn State IP Navigator and research video.
  • Xin Zhang (CHEM) and colleagues: Developed novel fluorescent protein tags to facilitate the detection of misfolded proteins and insoluble protein aggregates. Find out more from the Invent Penn State IP Navigator.
  • John Asbury (CHEM) and colleagues: Developed a novel type of transient absorption spectrometer that produces a higher signal-to-noise ratio, is easier to operate, requires less physical space, and can be manufactured/sold at a lower price point compared to current state-of-the-art spectrometers. Find out more from the Invent Penn State IP Navigator.
  • James Marden (BIOL), Scott Medina (BME), and colleagues: Developed novel recombinant lectins from environmental sources for cancer diagnosis and therapy. Find out more from the Invent Penn State IP Navigator.
  • Yu Zhang (STAT) and colleagues: Created a software computational tool that uses functional maps of the human genome to predict disease-specific cell types and genes underlying disease association. Find out more from the Invent Penn State IP Navigator and research video.
  • Susan Hafenstein (BMB) and Scott Lindner (BMB): developed versatile display scaffolds for CryoEM approaches. Invent Penn State IP Navigator
  • Suvrath Mahadevan (ASTRO) and colleagues: Developed a ball lens microscope for external use with a cell phone.
  • Sarah Assmann (BIOL), Philip Bevilacqua (CHEM), and colleagues: Developed a kit to determine the 3D structure of RNAs inside the cell. Find out more from the Invent Penn State IP Navigator.
  • Frank Pugh (BMB) and colleagues: Optimized a technology that characterizes epigenetic modifications on a genome-wide scale. Find out more from the Invent Penn State IP Navigator.
  • Mauricio Terrones (CHEM/PHYS), Siyang Zheng (BME), and colleagues: Developed a diagnostic device that uses a specially tuned carbon nanotube filter to capture and enrich viruses. Find out more from the research video.
  • Yanming Wang (BMB), Gong Chen (BIOL), and colleagues: Characterized a potential pharmaceutical therapeutic that allows the body to naturally fight cancer cell growth and inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.
  • Greg Ferry (BMB), Thomas Wood (CHE), Costas Marana (CHE), and colleagues: Refined a biological process by which methane could be cleanly converted to several products including a precursor to plastic or clean fuel.
  • Scott Phillips (CHEM) and colleagues: Developed an inexpensive, easy to use, microfluidic device composed of paper useful for diagnosing a wide variety of contaminants, such as detecting lead in water or pesticides on fruit.
  • Mauricio Terrones (CHEM/PHYS) and colleagues: Developed a thin graphene film that can be woven into fabrics or chemically altered to provide a wide range of properties. Find out more from the Invent Penn State IP Navigator.
  • Stephen Benkovic (CHEM), James Marden (BIOL), and colleagues: Developed a screen for new boron compounds displaying anti-fungal activity useful in agriculture and environmental settings.