Campus Communicators: Please assist in communicating this award 
announcement via appropriate communication channels. System-wide 
awardees include Knoxville, Institute of Agriculture, HSC and the Space 
Institute. THANK YOU.


UT Research Foundation awards $120,000 in Maturation Funds

The University of Tennessee Research Foundation (UTRF) has selected eight 
teams of inventors to receive annual Maturation Funding.  Each team will 
receive $15,000 to assist in further developing the technology to improve 
positioning for licensing and commercialization.

“UTRF is pleased to provide maturation grants to accelerate the development 
of these eight inventions,” UTRF Interim President Dick Gourley said. “The 
quality of the ideas submitted from across the state shows the vibrancy of the 
University of Tennessee research enterprise and the potential for UT 
innovations to improve the lives of Tennesseans.”
Recipients awarded by the UTRF Health Science Center office include:

•	Michio Kuroso, Ph.D. and Joy Debnath, Ph.D., UT Health Science 
Center, for novel pharmaceuticals to treat drug resistant Gram-positive 
bacteria, including Mycobacteria tuberculosis, Staphylococcus aureus, and 
Enterococcus faecalis;
•	Monica M. Jablonski, Ph.D., Mallika Palamoor, Ph.D., and Huiling Li, 
Ph.D., UT Health Science Center, for nanoparticles to provide sustained-
release drug delivery in the eye;
•	Hasaan Amoazen, Ph.D., Catherine Crill, PharmD, Gretchen Potts, 
Ph.D., and Richard Helms, PharmD, UT Health Science Center, for a 
transdermal patch to replace parenteral delivery of micronutrients;
•	Denis Diangelo, Ph.D., UT Health Science Center, for a dynamic 
brace to treat lower-back pain without restricting movement.

Recipients awarded by the UTRF Multi-Disciplinary office include:
•	Jayne Wu, Ph.D., and Shigetoshi Eda, Ph.D., UT Knoxville and UT 
Institute for Agriculture, for  a portable diagnostic that provides rapid on-site 
detection of infectious diseases and physiological conditions; 
•	Ying-Ling Ann Chen, Ph.D., Lei Shi, M.S., and J.W.L. Lewis, Ph.D., 
UT Space Institute,  for clinical trial of a low-cost, high-quality and user-
friendly, vision assessment tool for children and young adults;
•	William Hofmeister, Ph.D., Lino Costa, Ph.D., and Alexander 
Terekhov, M.S., UT Space Institute, for novel electrodes for high-energy 
density super-capacitors; 
•	Mingjun Zhang, Ph.D., Scott Lenaghan, Ph.D., and Neal Stewart, 
Ph.D., UT Knoxville and UT Institute of Agriculture, for automated high-
throughput nanoparticle manufacturing using English Ivy; the nanoparticles 
can be used for a variety of applications, such as sunscreens and high-
strength, weather-resistant adhesives.

A total of 44 proposals were submitted from the University of Tennessee’s 
four campuses and three institutes. The selection process included evaluation 
of three key areas: (1) demonstration of a path for commercial development, 
(2) market potential, and (3) stage of development.

As part of the award process, UTRF will receive interim and final reports from 
the researchers that will describe increased knowledge and improvements in 
the subject technology. This information is expected to assist UTRF in better 
positioning the technologies for licensing.

Since the Maturation Funding Program was initiated in 2007, more than 
$600,000 has been awarded to nearly 50 projects. 

A call for submissions for next year’s Maturation Funding Program will be 
announced in October 2012. For more details of the program, visit 
http://utrf.tennessee.edu/techtransfer/.

About UTRF
The University of Tennessee Research Foundation is an independent 501(c)3 
organization that promotes research and the commercialization of 
technologies from the University of Tennessee. The organization is 
headquartered in Knoxville and includes a Health Science Center office in 
Memphis.



Contacts:
Richard Magid, VP, UTRF Health Science Center (Memphis)
[log in to unmask], 901-448-1562 
David Washburn, VP, UTRF Multi-Disciplinary Office (Knoxville)
[log in to unmask], 865-974-1882 

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