The 2026 Blazer Bridge Fund winners include seven innovative projects from across UAB.In its fourth year, the Blazer Bridge Fund will provide support to seven innovative projects from University of Alabama at Birmingham inventors, including a novel way to prevent the BK virus from becoming active again after a kidney transplant, a method of targeting select lipid signaling to counter Type 1 diabetes and an app designed to support parents from before conception through toddlerhood.
The Blazer Bridge Fund, launched in spring 2023 by UAB’s Harbert Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, is intended to identify and assist in the development of promising ideas, discoveries, innovations and/or technologies from UAB faculty and staff that have commercial potential.
Since the program’s inception, HIIE has invested $1.2 million in 28 projects.
The seven projects selected for this funding round are:
- Proof of efficacy of a new saponin adjuvant with salmonella poultry vaccine, invented by Pengfei Wang, Ph.D., of the Department of Chemistry.
- Ventilator integrated-Speaking valve Adapter for Feedback and Evaluation, or V-SAFE, an in-line speaking valve adapted by adjustable pressure release and flow monitoring capabilities, invented by Ryne Simpson, M.D., of the Department of Pediatrics, and Andres Morales of the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering.
- A mechanism to prevent BK polyomavirus reactivation following kidney transplant, invented by Sunnie Thompson, Ph.D., of the Department of Microbiology.
- PVSync, a novel method of creating heart pressure-volume loops for clinical diagnosis and research investigations, invented by Steven Lloyd, M.D., Ph.D., of the Division of Cardiovascular Disease.
- Bump2Tots, a digital health platform and mobile app designed to support parents from preconception through the first three years of a child’s life, invented by Vivek Shukla, M.D., of the Department of Pediatrics.
- VentInsights, which provides intensive care units remote monitoring and real-time quality metrics for mechanical ventilation, invented by Abdulhakim Tlimat, M.D., of the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine.
- Method of targeting select lipid signaling to counter Type 1 diabetes, invented by Sasanka Ramanadham, Ph.D., of the Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology.
The Blazer Bridge Fund brought in 40 applications for the 2026 funding round, representing 54 inventors in 37 academic departments and divisions across seven UAB schools and Southern Research.
Funding from the Blazer Bridge Fund supports:
- Prototype or software development
- Contract work with CROs
- Wages for consultants, students, postdocs and staff
- Humanization of antibodies
- Research that leads to enhancing existing IP, including lead optimization, toxicity studies, etc.
“This year’s Blazer Bridge Fund applicants brought an incredible range of innovative ideas, and our reviewers had some very difficult decisions to make,” said Karthik Gopalakrishnan, Ph.D., HIIE senior director. “We are proud to support inventors from three different UAB schools, including the Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine, the School of Engineering, and the College of Arts and Sciences. These projects reflect UAB’s commitment to advancing scientific discovery, and we are excited to help move them forward at this early stage.”
Learn more about the Blazer Bridge Fund here.