Awarded Projects

Dr. Stephanie Richards and team developed a cost- and time-efficient device and method to test pesticide effectiveness against the world’s deadliest animal: mosquitoes. The process utilizes a compact wind tunnel (patent pending) to assess insecticide effectiveness, obviating the need for more expensive and lengthy field tests. The technology has applications for local governments, public health agencies, and agriculture, and will result in the creation of a new contract research organization based in eastern North Carolina.

Dr. Patrick Briley and team developed a platform technology to help speech language pathologists and their patients treat stuttering through a digital platform that can carry on conversations, recognize speech patterns, and recommend specific lessons based on those patterns. The platform also addresses social anxiety by providing immersive VR practice environments and AI-driven customized treatments plans, and it includes case management tools.

Dr. Shirley Lee Chao and team patented two organic pesticides derived from industrial hemp that compare favorably with more toxic pesticides in early tests. The goal is to replace insecticides that harm pollinators and are associated with increased cancer risks in humans. The initial focus is on treating poultry houses (a major industry in NC), which often rely on toxic chemicals to control bugs, as well as post-harvest food-storage facilities.

Dr. Amay J. Bandodkar and team invented an inexpensive bandage with an embedded battery and electrodes that produce an electric field to facilitate rapid wound closure, including in irregularly shaped and deep wounds. Studies indicate faster healing than the current standard of care and the bandages have a number of potential uses, including the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers, which affect nearly 750,000 Americans a year and have a mortality rate comparable to many cancers. Through this funding, the team will also pursue the bandage’s practicality in military and disaster settings.

Dr. Ericka Ford and team developed a better way to make acrylic and carbon fibers, which have a wide range of uses. Currently this industry relies on a toxic manufacturing process that hasn’t changed since the 1940s and, as a result, is mostly carried out overseas. The new process would enable re-shoring, with a lower carbon footprint.

Dr. Amanda L. Wolfe and team developed compounds that offer a promising new way to fight bacteria that resist existing drugs. There has been a sharp uptick in these multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens globally, with 3,595 recorded in 2021 in North Carolina hospitals alone, and one-in-four infections among active-duty military personnel involving an MDR pathogen. These new compounds inhibit an essential energy-producing enzyme in two bacteria designated as critical priority targets by the World Health Organization.

Dr. Ronit Freeman and team are developing a drug to treat fibrosis, which is a scarring of heart, lung, or other organ tissue. Existing treatments for common types of fibrosis have such limited effects that only a fraction of patients even receive treatment. This team envisions producing a weekly inhalant that, at a minimum, will slow the condition’s progression and may reverse fibrosis, which would be unprecedented in humans.

Dr. Susan Trammell and team developed an innovative laser technology, called Light-Assisted Drying, to enable storage of vaccines and other therapeutics at room temperature. The technology would eliminate the need for refrigeration during transport and storage, reducing costs by up to 80%. The process is faster and more versatile than other emerging methods. Key stakeholders include public health agencies, pharmaceutical companies, livestock producers, and healthcare providers.

Dr. Pinku Mukherjee, the Irwin Belk distinguished professor of cancer research at UNC Charlotte, and team are developing a novel T-cell engager derived from a patented monoclonal antibody that was also developed at UNC Charlotte. This T-cell engager has shown significant efficacy in treating chemotherapy-resistant pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer is particularly deadly because it is typically diagnosed only in late stages due to a lack of screening tools and the fact that it progresses without obvious symptoms.

Dr. Liam Michael Duffy and team are working on a better way to identify molecules, which is a crucial step in a wide range of industries, including pharmaceutical and agrochemical development. Their patented approach can radically lower the time, energy, and cost needed to distinguish molecular isomers (molecules made of the same atoms but with different physical structures) from each other, which would be revolutionary in drug and chemical industries.

Dr. Ben A. Bahr, a William C. Friday endowed chair and distinguished professor at UNC Pembroke, and team are working on a new therapeutic compound to treat Alzheimer’s disease, which affects 55 million people worldwide, as well as other brain disorders. Current treatment options are expensive, inaccessible, and/or have limited effectiveness. Bahr’s patent-pending compounds work to reduce multiple pathogenic proteins that accumulate in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients.

Dr. Lindsey H. Schroeder and team developed a new system to identify people at risk for traumatic brain injuries, whiplash, and other head and neck trauma. The device is portable and easy to use, relying on artificial intelligence and machine learning to set a new standard in neuromuscular monitoring.