Technology Advisory Boards help Eberly researchers bring their discoveries to market
Researchers from across all seven departments in the Eberly College of Science have worked with the college’s Office for Innovation to explore how their research discoveries might translate into products for the benefit of society. The college’s Technology Advisory Boards—which include volunteer alumni with broad experiences in industry, entrepreneurialism, and investment capital across a variety of disciplines, including biotechnology, physical and chemical sciences, analytics, and software—are a few of the many resources available to members of the college.
“The Technology Advisory Boards meet with Eberly researchers twice per year and ad hoc throughout the year and can provide recommendations on a variety of topics, including brainstorming utility, technology development, patenting strategies, and the regulatory environment,” said Emily Kuhns, technology innovation officer in the college’s Office for Innovation. “They also provide guidance to researchers who don’t necessarily think of their work as commercial but who might want to explore the potential applications of their work. They are a valuable resource to members of the college at any stage of their research.”
Associate Professor of Chemistry Lauren Zarzar didn’t set out to create a company, but research led her in that direction, and she says the opportunity to access resources and network with Penn State and industry experts has been very valuable since her 2019 discovery.
“The research and technology that led to the company was not intentionally developed to address any particular commercial need,” said Zarzar, cofounder of Chromatir, a Penn State–affiliated startup that produces colored materials using a simple, accessible approach to harness reflective microscale structures. “It was fundamental research that led to a discovery that we thought might have a commercial application, and we wanted to explore that.”
“I really appreciate that we have been given the chance to meet with the advisory board and various leaders in the University who might have knowledge of or connections with other advisers who have knowledge of the industries we’re interested in as well as potential investors and customers,” Zarzar said. “Networking opportunities are very important because you never know what experience someone has had in their past that might be helpful to you in your present, and you don’t get that unless you spend time talking to people.”
The Technology Advisory Boards have been assisting faculty for the past 10 years. Scott Lindner, associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, met with one of the boards in 2021 after he was awarded college funding to explore protein-based particles to display small biomolecules.
“Interactions with the Eberly College of Science’s technology board provided key guidance as we sought to commercialize our research discoveries,” Lindner said. “These partners challenged us to incorporate an entrepreneurial mindset into the scientific strengths of our products to promote industry interest and engagement.”
Lindner’s group was initially focused on the technology as a research tool for enhanced techniques using a powerful imaging tool called cryo-EM. At the end of the award, they realized that the technology could be used to display proteins for vaccine and immunology applications. Using this preliminary data, the team was awarded a $2.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to explore these uses further.
For more information about the Eberly College of Science’s Technology Advisory Boards or Office for Innovation, email innovation@science.psu.edu.
Eberly grant program helps support research commercialization
Zarzar and Lindner have both received funding support from the Lab Bench to Commercialization (LB2C) Grant Program in the Eberly College of Science, which launched the program a decade ago with endowments from several generous donors.
“The LB2C program has been crucial for implementing the advice of the Technology Advisory Boards,” Kuhns said. “What’s unique about these funds is that they are stable each year and allow faculty to explore applications that otherwise would not be permitted under typical federal funding.”
Read more about the LB2C program.