Seven universities and two research institutes in the Philadelphia area received 11 grants totaling $1.1 million as part of 27 grants totaling $2.5 million handed out by the state of Pennsylvania Thursday.
The grants were made under two programs designed to encourage economic development around research institutions in the state.
Four Philadelphia-area institutions received grants of $100,000 apiece under the Keystone Innovation Starter Kit program, which is meant to enable grant recipients to recruit top researchers and develop labs, staff and equipment to leverage private funding for research.
- The Institute for Hepatitis and Viral Research got a grant to recruit a scientist who will also be an adjunct at Drexel University researching nanotechnologies and the life sciences.
- The University of Pennsylvania received a grant to recruit a faculty member to support nanotechnology and energy initiatives.
- University of the Sciences in Philadelphia received a grant to recruit a faculty member who will research renewable fuel production and sustainable green chemistry.
- Villanova University got a grant to recruit a faculty member to develop a master’s program in sustainable energy and engineering and undergraduate courses in sustainable energy.
Seven Philadelphia-area institutions received grants of $100,000 each under the Innovation Grant program, which is designed to help universities and other research institutions commercialize the discoveries of their researchers.
- Drexel University will support two translational projects it is doing with Penn.
- The Institute for Hepatitis and Viral Research will start a program to identify biomedical research technologies at universities and other research institutions that it thinks can be commercialized.
- Salus University will partner with Fox Chase Cancer Center, Lankenau Institute for Medical Research and Temple University to create a fund that will develop commercialization plans for research projects that have commercial potential but don’t yet have licensable technology.
- Thomas Jefferson University will expand its Buddy-Mentor program to provide technology-transfer outreach services to Cheyney University.
- Temple will partner with Fox Chase, Lankenau, Salus and Biostrategy Partners on a technology-transfer effort.
- Penn will support nontraditional technology development efforts, including partnering with businesses, on discoveries by its researchers.
- The Wistar Institute will advance its early-stage drug discovery efforts and work with the Wharton Small Business Development Center’s commercialization program.
