UIC DPI Cycle 1 Seed Funding Program Awards

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce the winners of the UIC Discovery Partners Institute (DPI) Cycle 1 Seed Funding Program. The number and quality of proposals submitted by UIC faculty demonstrated the enthusiasm for research that supports the DPI mission, and promotes commercialization and entrepreneurship within our research enterprise.

A total of 88 proposals were submitted for UIC DPI Cycle 1. All proposals were reviewed by at least three UIC faculty, with proposals scoring in the top 30 percent advancing to a second round of review conducted by the Office of Technology Management to assess intellectual property and commercialization potential. A final review committee selected the awardees based on the combination of exceptional intellectual merit and research excellence, as well as potential for commercial impact. These 10 selections include 20 faculty from five colleges; four of these are collaborations between colleges.

We extend our gratitude to everyone who participated in this process, to those who submitted proposals and especially to the more than 50 faculty who conducted the first round of peer review. The combined contributions of many faculty and staff have made this a successful program that will advance the DPI mission and research at UIC.

Sincerely,

Joanna Groden, PhD
Vice Chancellor for Research
Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research

Anthony (TJ) Augustine, PhD
Vice Chancellor for Innovation
Office of the Vice Chancellor for Innovation

UIC DPI Cycle 1 Seed Funding Program Awards

Biologic Inhibitors of Immune Checkpoint Proteins
Brian K. Kay
Department of Biological Sciences
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Cell Targeted Nanoparticle-Mediated Delivery of Novel Compounds Identified via High Throughput Screening: Treating Heart Failure and Tissue Remodeling
Asrar B. Malik
Department of Pharmacology
College of Medicine

Kurt Bachmaier
Department of Pharmacology
College of Medicine

A Contextualized Dialogue Agent to Address Health Disparities among Urban African Americans and Latinos with Heart Failure
Andrew D. Boyd
Department of Biomedical and Health Information Sciences
College of Applied Health Sciences

Paula Allen-Meares
Department Medicine
College of Medicine

Barbara Di Eugenio
Department of Computer Science
College of Engineering

Carolyn Dickens
Department of Medicine
College of Medicine

Olga Garcia-Bedoya
Department of Medicine
College of Medicine

Control of High-Speed Autonomous Vehicles in Complex Environments Using Onboard Computing
Shuo Han
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
College of Engineering

Milos Žefran
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
College of Engineering

Evaluation and Optimization of the Toxicity and Metabolism of NAMPT Inhibitors to Identify a Novel Therapeutic for the Treatment of Proliferative Diseases
Tom G. Driver
Department of Chemistry
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Jason Hickok
Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy
College of Pharmacy

Molecular Design of Electroactive Liquids for Batteries
Neal P. Mankad
Department of Chemistry
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

MY-AIR: Monitoring Your Air-pollution Risk A Mobile App
Jane Lin
Department of Civil and Materials Engineering
College of Engineering
Institute for Environmental Science and Policy

Ouri Wolfson
Department of Computer Science
College of Engineering

Robert Molokie
Division of Hematology and Oncology
College of Medicine

A Novel Biomarker for TTC352 Cancer Therapy Development
Stephen G. DiMagno
Departments of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy & Chemistry
College of Pharmacy and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Debra A. Tonetti
Department of Biopharmaceutical Sciences
College of Pharmacy

Novel Injectable Nanocrystal Drug to Treat Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)
Yulia Komarova
Department of Pharmacology
College of Medicine

Richard Gemeinhart
Department of Biopharmaceutical Sciences
College of Pharmacy

Ubiquitous Radar Systems for Autonomous Vehicles and Advanced Safety in Urban Environments
Mojtaba Soltanalian
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
College of Engineering

Amit Ranjan Trivedi
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
College of Engineering

For more information, please contact:
Maryfrances Miley
rds@uic.edu