KU researchers invited to medical device summit

Mon, 12/15/2014

Joe Monaco

LAWRENCE — The medical device industry incorporates research from dozens of academic areas, ranging from engineering and medicine to pharmacy and industrial design.

With that in mind, University of Kansas researchers who are interested in translating their research into the medical device industry are invited to attend the “Medical Devices: From Research to Patients” Summit on Feb. 2 at KU Medical Center.

The summit will feature speakers from all aspects of the medical device research-to-products continuum in a TED-like forum. Participants will hear perspectives from entrepreneurs, intellectual property experts and others, including Cory Berkland, engineering professor and entrepreneur, who will discuss his experiences with venture capital and the pathway from research to new consumer products.

The summit will also feature a medical device commercialization plan competition, which is designed to help challenge participants and provide a network for brainstorming, feedback and future business opportunities. Abstracts for the competition are due Jan. 5.

The summit and the commercialization plan competition are open to all KU faculty, staff, students and post-docs. There is no charge to attend.

“Researchers from across KU are doing amazing work that has value in the medical device industry,” said Julie Nagel, interim president of KUIC and interim associate chancellor for innovation & entrepreneurship. “The goal of this summit is to help our researchers learn how they can be part of region’s medical device industry by translating their research into new products, services and startup companies that help patients and grow the economy.”

Entrepreneurship and the commercialization of KU research remain a key focus for KU. There are currently 28 active startup companies based on KU technologies. KU has 100 active license agreements with companies using KU technologies as well as collaborative research projects with hundreds of companies covering a variety of KU schools and departments.