Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center Launches Wake Forest Innovations

Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center has created a new operating division to translate its academic and clinical research and discoveries into marketable products and services that will benefit patients. The new enterprise, Wake Forest Innovations, is being led by Chief Innovation Officer Eric Tomlinson, DSc, and Ph.D., who is also President of the Piedmont Triad Research Park.

The new division provides the institution with several new services:

Product Innovation & Commercialization Services is responsible for supporting the creation of innovative technology and products and commercializing these through licensing to existing and startup companies.

Scientific Business Services is a newly-formed business support group that helps to structure, promote and contract our research assets to external partners.

Park Development Services is focused on the growth of the Piedmont Triad Research Park –home for 10 Wake Forest Baptist departments and 30 companies – as a vibrant, knowledge-based community.  More.

Wake Forest's Atala Named to Power List

Anthony Atala, MD, director of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine, has been named to AARP Magazine’s “Power List – 50 People Who Make Your Life Better.”

Atala is one of 10 people over age 50 recognized for “Moving Us to a Healthier Future” for his team’s work to engineer replacement organs in the lab. AARP is one of the top-circulation magazines in the U.S., with more than 23 million readers.  More.

Wake Forest Scientists Develop Alternative to Fluorescent Bulbs

Wake Forest University scientists have developed a flicker-free, shatterproof alternative for large-scale lighting.

The lighting, based on field-induced polymer electroluminescent (FIPEL) technology, also gives off soft, white light – not the yellowish glint from fluorescents or bluish tinge from LEDs.

“People often complain that fluorescent lights bother their eyes, and the hum from the fluorescent tubes irritates anyone sitting at a desk underneath them,” said David Carroll, professor of physics and director of the Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials. “The new lights we have created can cure both of those problems and more.” 

The team uses a nano-engineered polymer matrix to convert the charge into light. The technology allows the researchers to create an entirely new light bulb – overcoming one of the major barriers in using plastic lights in commercial buildings and homes.  See more.

Inmar CIO named to list of top 100 IT leaders

Mark Wright, chief information officer at Inmar Inc. in Winston-Salem, has been named to Computerworld's Premier 100 IT Leaders list for 2013.

Computerworld, an IT news magazine, says the 100 leaders on the list display exceptional technology leadership and envision innovative approaches to business solutions. The honorees will be featured in the Feb. 25 issue of the magazine.

Wright joined Inmar in 2010 and has since led the company’s growth as a retailer software and service provider. The company’s client base of 1,700 retailers, manufacturers, health care companies and government agencies utilize Inmar for management of e-commerce networks and cloud-based systems.

Inmar is preparing to relocate its 900 workers to two former R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. buildings in Winston-Salem’s Piedmont Triad Research Park by next December, a move that will cost more than $100 million in redevelopment and renovation. Read more.

Wake Forest University, Ameritox Team Up

Wake Forest University and Ameritox Ltd. said Tuesday they have formed a partnership aimed at furthering university chemistry research in developing technologies for medication monitoring and toxicology testing.

Ameritox provides laboratory services and management tools under the RxGuardian brand. The service helps assess whether patients are taking their pain medication consistent with the dosage prescribed by their doctors. It provides individual results by using the patient's height, weight, gender, age and prescribed dosage.

The main focus of the partnership is on the science behind the mapping of the human genome to create a new standard in toxicology testing.

Christa Colyer, chairwoman of the university’s chemistry department, said having access to the Ameritox laboratory “will make it that much easier to collaborate and exchange ideas to realize testing breakthroughs.”  Read more.

WFU Cancer Research Sparks Cover Story

The work of a team of Wake Forest University researchers developing a novel drug for prostate cancer treatment is featured on the cover of the Nov. 26 issue of the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.

George Kulik, an associate professor of cancer biology, Mark Welker, the William L. Poteat Professor of Chemistry, and Freddie Salsbury, an associate professor of physics, led an interdisciplinary team with expertise in computational physics, synthetic chemistry and cancer biology.

All cells, both normal and diseased, rely on the PI3K cell signaling pathway for growth, so inhibiting the pathway selectively for cancer cells has long been a challenge for scientists in the fight against cancer. While turning PI3K inhibitors loose in the body would prevent the spread of cancer, doing so would also inhibit growth in lots of cells.

To effectively use this strategy in the treatment of cancer, the Wake Forest team had to target these inhibitors to specific kinds of cells. Using prostate cells as the target, they selected a protein that is specifically recognized by prostate cells and attach that protein to a PI3K inhibitor. Read more.

Tech Speaker Series Returns! New Technology Resources to Grow Your Business

“New Advanced Technology Resources to Grow Your Business”

Tuesday, December 11

8:30 - 9:30 a.m. (networking & refreshments follow)

Did you know that within Winston-Salem’s Piedmont Triad Research Park some of the most advanced equipment and resources in the Southeast are now being made available to entire community? Our next Tech Speaker Series event on Tuesday, December 11 at 8:30 a.m. in Wake Forest Biotech Place will tell you all about it! Do you quickly need a prototype for a new product? Or access to cutting-edge medical research equipment? Come learn about what is available and how these items can help take your business to the next level.

Speakers

• Eric Tomlinson, DSc, PhD; President, Piedmont Triad Research Park and Chief Innovation Officer, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center
• Luke Burnett, PhD; Chief Science Officer, Keranetics
• Tom Clarkson, Associate Director, Entrepreneurship; Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center
• Carol Strohecker, PhD; Director, Center for Design Innovation

Wake Forest Biotech Place

575 N. Patterson Avenue

Winston-Salem, NC 27101 Map

Hosted by the Tech Council of the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce.  Free and open to the public though registration is required.  Learn more and register.

Title Sponsor

·               Cook Medical

Series Sponsors:

·               B/E Aerospace
       Kilpatrick Townsend
    Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center

Food Sponsor  

          Gallins Foods