91��ɫ had several different presentations at Discovery 2010. Professors , George Zhu, , Costas Armenakis, , Hugh Chesser and Baoxin Hu from the Department of Earth & Space Science & Engineering had several displays, including an underwater robot, a nanosatellite, computer vision and a Mars rover.

Professor Regina Lee and her students, also from the Department of Earth & Space Science, showed off their Mars rover and the massive trophy they won for placing first in the 2009 University Rover Challenge in Utah (where the land apparently resembles the surface of Mars — who knew?). The group also placed second in the 2010 competition this month.

Professor kept crowds happy playing his iPhone app, “” which debuted at . 91��ɫ’s digital media display also featured the projects funded by the Ontario Media Development Corporation (, led by Professor Nell Tenhaff in the Faculty of Fine Arts) and the Ontario Research Fund (the , led by Professor John Tsotsos in the Faculty of Science & Engineering).

Meanwhile, , a partner in the 91��ɫ-led 3D FLIC project, drew crowds who didn’t mind sharing 3D glasses to experience their stunning 3D television footage.

, a Regional Innovation Network for biotechnology in 91��ɫ Region for which 91��ɫ is a founding partner, was also represented by Janet Leclair and Sana Mulji Dutt.

Among the event’s highlights were the awards ceremonies, including the , innovation awards and many awards for Ontario’s best researchers, students and companies.  Amongst these was the award for . The winning team, lead by Armen Bakirtzian, included a 91��ɫ MBA candidate, Ara Hasserjian.

Discovery 2010 provided an excellent introduction and overview for Sarah Fuller who joined 91��ɫ May 17 as associate director, research agreements and intellectual property where she

will lead 91��ɫ’s technology commercialization group. If your research involves non-academic partners (such as community, government, industry) or if you are required to transfer research funding, information or materials to another institution, Sarah can be reached at extension 20579 or by e-mail at sfuller@yorku.ca.

So what’s next for now? 91��ɫ is actively supporting industrial collaborations for faculty and students. Through expert services, industry liaison and technology commercialization under the Office of the Voce-President Research & Innovation, 91��ɫ will help connect your research to industrial partners. Companies can also explore working with 91��ɫ researchers and grad students.

For more information, contact David Phipps, director, Research Services and Knowledge Exchange at 416-736-5813 or dphipps@yorku.ca.

By David Phipps, director, Research Services and Knowledge Exchange.

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, along with the Regional Municipality of 91��ɫ, the Town of Markham and YRDSB organized the tour to educate students about the potential of medical and biotechnology research and development in the region. As part of their day, the students also visited IBM, Estée Lauder, Apotex, AMD Markham, MDS Sciex, Dalton Pharma Services, sanofi pasteur, 91��ɫ Central Hospital, Markham Stouffville Hospital and Seneca College at 91��ɫ, to see how successes of scientific and health innovation contribute to the quality of life of Canadians.

During their visit to 91��ɫ's Keele campus, the students, led by Emmanuel Matiya, a 91��ɫ student ambassador for the University's Recruitment Division, had the opportunity to tour the new Sherman Health Sciences Research Centre. The building, which is set to open this fall, is home to researchers in the health, science and engineering fields. Students toured the future labs of the Centre for Vision Research and learned how biomedical and assistive technology experiments will be conducted. With support from the Faculty of Health, the high-school students also visited the School of Nursing's resource centre to watch how nursing students can run clinical simulations on low- to high-fidelity mannequins.

“Setting the foundation for future entrepreneurship and scientific innovation is an important role that YORKbiotech plays in the growth of the bio-economy in the 91��ɫ Region,” said Janet LeClair, chief administrative officer of YORKbiotech Inc. “Through programs like the Science in Action tour we are able to demonstrate the value of collaboration by bringing students closer to research and business in various sectors.”

91��ɫ Region is in the heart of a hub of Ontario's innovative technology sector with over 120 companies involved in producing medical devices, biopharma and medical assistive devices. In addition, more than 900 companies in the information and communications technology, digital media, software and manufacturing sectors reside in the region.

YORKbiotech is a regional innovation network for biotechnology-related industries at the centre of the Greater Toronto Area. The mission of YORKbiotech is to act as a catalyst, harnessing the wealth of intellectual and technical resources to promote economic success and growth of the biotechnology and related industries as a key component of regional economic development. Read their about this event.

By Sana Mulji Dutt, research communications specialist, YORKbiotech.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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What do you get when you match an inventor with a business student? Among many things, you get a commercialization plan for a new product or discovery that could potentially transform health care.

That was the case in YORKbiotech's sanofi pasteur Healthcare and Biotechnology Venture Challenge 2009 competition, which matched students enrolled in the MBA Program in 91��ɫ's Schulich School of Business with inventors of viable health-care inventions to devise market strategies and goals to commercialize new products. Industry mentors were on hand to offer teams advice and guidance. Each team consisted of two students working with product inventors and a mentor for a chance to win more than $17,000 in prizes.

Above: From left, Gavin Zealey (contest judge), scientist Arjen Bogaards and MBA students Dilip Chary and Saif Mohamed

The project, which started last fall, saw teams work with the inventors to learn about the product and then create a commercialization plan before Nov. 29, 2009.

In the final stage of the competition, three shortlisted teams pitched their invention commercialization plans to a panel of judges in a session that resembled an episode from “Dragons' Den”, the popular CBC Television venture-capitalist show. Industry experts Gavin Zealey, executive director of corporate development for sanofi pasteur Ltd.; Borys Chabursky, founder and president of SHI Consulting Inc.; and Janet Lambert, president & CEO with Lambert BioConsulting, served as the competition's judges.

The winners of the 2009 sanofi pasteur Healthcare & Biotechnology Venture Challenge are:

Sono Pharmaceuticals Inc., which placed first for its venture involving photodynamic therapy and sonodynamic therapy to produce an immune-therapeutic response to treat certain cancers. The team includes scientific entrepreneur Arjen Bogaards and MBA students Dr. Dilip Chary (who is also a family practitioner) and Saifuddin Tajuddin Mohamed. The team was awarded $7,500 and a business advisory package provided by MaRS Business Services, valued at $2,500.

Above: From left, Schulich Professor Amin Mawani, MBA students Aravind Petlu and Nilotpala Jena, and scientist Herman Lo

The second place award of $5,000 went to ViewsIQ Inc. for its real-time slide-scanning system for digital pathology. The product, named EyesIQ, is a diagnostic tool for scanning, storing and retracing pathologists' image data. The team included scientist Herman Lo and MBA students Aravind Petlu and Nilotpala Jena.

The team awarded third place and a cash prize of $2,500 was J. Strupat Technologies Ltd. for a portable pandemic ventilator life-critical system that provides mechanical assistance to individuals who are unable to breathe properly due to infection or physical damage. The team was comprised of scientist John Strupat and MBA students Darryl Baptiste and Akyljan Noupbaev.

Above: From left, Janet Lambert (contest judge), MBA students Akyljan Noupbaev and Darryl Baptiste, and scientist John Strupat

Fostering an entrepreneurial culture is integral to this competition, says Janet LeClair, chief administrative officer of , who organized the competition along with Schulich Professor Amin Mawani. “Such collaboration between scientific, business and academic communities is essential in connecting concept to commerce,” LeClair says. “The competition helps in identifying investment opportunities critical to move the economy forward.”

sanofi pasteur was the gold sponsor for the competition, MaRS and the Town of Markham were silver sponsors, while bronze sponsors were the Health Technology Exchange and 91��ɫ Region District School Board.

About YORKbiotech Inc.

YORKbiotech is a growing cluster of public- and private-sector members that promotes the convergence and commercialization of research and development in information & communications technologies and biomedical technologies.

Its members include biotechnology-related companies from Toronto through 91��ɫ Region to Simcoe County, along with service providers, industry associations, research and educational institutions, municipalities, hospitals and government.

It is one of 12 active clusters in , which supports partnerships among business, institutions and local governments to promote innovation. 91��ɫ is a founding member of YORKbiotech.

By Sana Mulji Dutt. Republished courtesy of YFile – 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

Thanks also to the .

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