Hear from members of the first cohort of this new program from the Harbert Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Then check out the beta versions of their software tools for better workplace communication and AI-powered research summaries. 

Forty UAB inventors were named on 17 patents in fiscal year 2024. Through the new patent coin recognition program from UAB’s Harbert Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, these faculty and staff, along with patent holders moving forward, are receiving special tokens honoring their hard work and dedication.

John F. Kearney, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor and Endowed Professor in Immunology in the Department of Microbiology, will be honored for five decades of service to UAB on April 8.

Kathy Nugent, Ph.D., executive director of the UAB Harbert Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, will lead efforts to advance and align biotechnology research, innovation and commercialization, driving economic development and job creation in Birmingham and across Alabama. 

After studying thousands of hours of data from heart rate monitors, UAB clinician-researchers developed algorithms to predict when a baby’s heart rate will drop to unsafe levels in the NICU. With funding from UAB’s Harbert Institute, they will now conduct a clinical trial of a device they have created to intervene automatically.

Charles Elson, M.D., has developed an “antivaccine” that could remove the faulty memory cells that drive this autoimmune disorder. He launched ImmPrev Bio, Inc., in order to reach a first-in-human clinical trial.

Lori Edmonds, Ph.D., assistant professor in the School of Education, has an idea to combat teacher burnout as it becomes a major issue in classrooms nationwide.

Anath Shalev, M.D., did everything she could to change treatment for Type 1 diabetes from her lab, but getting to first-in-human trials meant taking a step she had always resisted. The most surprising thing about launching a startup, though? “I have enjoyed it.”

Five years after he retired from the OR, cardiothoracic surgeon James K. Kirklin, M.D., is starting a new company that will leverage his team’s research on advanced statistics and machine-learning algorithms to track and predict outcomes for high-risk patients.