CVM Faculty Innovations in 2021

MU College of Veterinary Medicine CVM faculty members were able to make discoveries and generate innovations in myriad areas in 2021 thanks in part to their access to a unique combination of resources and disciplines at Missouri’s largest public research university. Researchers who believe they have an innovation with commercial potential report their inventions to the Office of Technology and Advancement, which evaluates each invention for novelty, utility and market potential after discussions with contributors and an analysis of scientific and patent literature, potential competitors and other factors.

CVM Innovators with Patents, Commercial Agreements, Startup Companies and First Product Sales

Faculty and staff generate early-stage innovations that are further developed in commercial settings for the benefit of society. These innovators had patents, commercial agreements, startup companies and first product sales in 2021.

• Joan R. Coates, professor of veterinary medicine neurology and neurosurgery
  • Technology licensed by a commercial partner: small animal kennel that promotes natural eating and drinking behaviors during real-time medical imaging of swallowing function to diagnose dysphagia.
• Chris L. Lorson, associate vice chancellor for research, Curators’ Distinguished Professor of Veterinary Pathobiology
  • Gene therapy for spinal muscular atrophy (Patent No. 11,136,580): treatment enables the production of the survival motor neuron protein, which is deficient in infants with spinal muscular atrophy, an often-fatal neuromuscular disease.
• Kamlendra Singh, associate research professor of veterinary pathobiology
  • Technology licensed by a commercial partner: a biological treatment for HIV that prevents the virus from replicating.
• George C. Stewart, professor emeritus of veterinary pathobiology
  • Technologies optioned by a commercial partner: a multi-enzyme system for production of specialty chemicals, biofuels and blood type conversion; a computer-implemented 3D printing method for making enzyme-immobilized platforms for blood type conversion.
• Shuping Zhang, professor of veterinary pathobiology
  • Customizable antimicrobial therapeutics (Patent No. 11,116,817): broad-spectrum antimicrobials, an alternative to antibiotics, prevent infection, preserve food and create a stronger immune response when added to vaccines.

MU Innovators Who Disclosed Inventions in 2021

University of Missouri researchers who think they have an innovation with commercial potential submit a confidential Invention Disclosure Form to the Office of Technology Advancement team. This information helps the team evaluate inventions for novelty, utility and market potential. Mizzou researchers disclose more than 100 new inventions every year.

• Michael R. Lewis, professor of veterinary medicine and surgery
• Heidi Liu, senior scientist, veterinary pathobiology
• Chris L. Lorson, associate vice chancellor for research, Curators’ Distinguished Professor of Veterinary Pathobiology
• Wenjun Ma, associate professor of molecular microbiology, immunology and veterinary pathobiology
• Kun-Eek Kil, assistant research professor of radiochemistry and radiopharmaceutical chemistry

 

U.S. Patents Issued in 2021 for Mizzou Inventions

Patents protect intellectual property, such as inventions that result from University of Missouri faculty and staff research. Mizzou’s intellectual property is the raw material that sparks commercial ventures. The Office of Technology Advancement manages this asset, which is transferred to industry through the negotiation and execution of license agreements. Patents are an important incentive for a commercial partner to invest in developing a new product or service.

• Customizable antimicrobial therapeutics (Patent No. 11,116,817). MU inventors: Shuping Zhang and Ming Yang
  • These broad-spectrum antimicrobials, an alternativeto antibiotics, prevent infection, preserve food andcreate a stronger immune response when added to
• Gene therapy for spinal muscular atrophy (Patent No. 11,136,580). MU inventors: Chris L. Lorson and Erkan Osman
  • This treatment enables the production of the survival motor neuron protein, which is deficient in infants with spinal muscular atrophy, an often-fatal neuromuscular disease.
• Software system to assess speech and swallowing (Patent No. 10,959,661). MU inventors: Teresa E. Lever, Filiz Bunyak Ersoy, Mili Kuruvilla-Dugdale and Yunxin Zhao
  • Clinicians can use this software to measure the level of dysfunction objectively and quantitatively in patients with speech and swallowing disorders, enabling earlier diagnosis, disease progression tracking and comparison to control groups.