UT Research Foundation Honors Pioneers of Progress at 2024 Innovation Awards

Wei Li, PhD, third from right, received the Innovator of the Year award at the University of Tennessee Research Foundation's 2024 Innovation Awards. He is shown here with UTRF President Maha Krishnamurthy, PhD, second from right, and members of the UTRF Health Science Center office: Todd Ponzio, PhD, Tulika Rastogi, James Parrett, JD, PharmD, and Tinieka Thrailkill.

UT Health Science Center researchers across the state were celebrated for their pioneering discoveries and entrepreneurial excellence at the 2024 University of Tennessee Research Foundation (UTRF) Innovation Awards. The ceremonies, held November 25 in Knoxville and December 4 in Memphis, honored the brilliant and dedicated faculty whose research-to-commercialization successes are driving real-world impact to treat and prevent health issues for countless people across our region and beyond.

"The creativity, expertise, and diligence of our research faculty is essential for helping us meet our mission of 'Healthy Tennesseans. Thriving Communities.' by identifying new cures and getting them to the people who need them," said Jessica Snowden, MD, vice chancellor for Research at UT Health Science Center. "The UTRF Innovation Awards give us a chance to celebrate our faculty who take that critical step to move their discoveries from the bench to the bedside."

In Memphis, Wei Li, PhD, was named Innovator of the Year, an award that recognizes a scientist as a visionary researcher, collaborative leader, and true innovator. Dr. Li is a distinguished professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and the director of the UT Health Science Center College of Pharmacy Drug Discovery Center. He is also the founder and CSO of SEAK Therapeutics, LLC, a UT Health Science Center spin-off startup focusing on developing small molecule therapeutic agents originally invented in his lab.

Over his 25 years at UT Health Science Center, Dr. Li has received 14 U.S. patents and developed several drugs providing potential new treatments for cancer and epilepsy. In his keynote address, Dr. Li emphasized the important role of his UT Health Science Center mentors - Duane Miller, PhD, James Dalton, PhD, and Monica Jablonski, PhD - in helping him take the step from discovery in the laboratory to real world clinical use. His presentation focused on the journey of small molecule drug discovery and development, where scientists continually make tweaks to make treatments both safer and more effective. He also provided a brief overview of his current project with Francesca-Fang Liao, PhD, Julio Cordero-Morales, PhD, and Jianxiong Jiang, PhD, which involves the discovery and development of new TRPC3 ion channel inhibitors for neurological and neurodegenerative diseases.

Additionally, the Memphis ceremony celebrated four teams that licensed their research discoveries:

• Two by Michael Whitt, PhD, of the College of Medicine, for his contributions to vaccinology.
• One by Dr. Monica Jablonski, Mohamed Moustafa, PhD, and TJ Hollingsworth, PhD, of the College of Medicine, for their work developing treatments for ocular diseases.
• One by Dr. Wei Li, Dr. Jianxiong Jiang, and Zhongzhi "Jim" Wu, PhD, of the College of Pharmacy, for their work developing a novel drug that may help in the treatment of seizures.
• One by Frank Park, PhD, of the College of Pharmacy, for his work developing a vector that can be used to treat blook disorders, such as beta-thalassemia and sickle cell disease.

Eight Memphis faculty were honored for issued patents:

• Dr. Monica Jablonski and Dr. Mohammed Moustafa for "W/O/W Microemulsions for Ocular Administration."
• Ramesh Narayanan, PhD, Dr. Duane Miller, Thamarai Ponnusamy, PhD, Dong-Jim (Daniel) Hwang, PhD, and Yali He, PhD, for "Selective Androgen Receptor Degrader (SARD) Ligands and Methods of Use Thereof."
• Anne Zachry, PhD, of the College of Health Professions, for "Infant Tummy Time Kit."

In Knoxville, two UT Health Science Center teams were recognized for their discoveries that have been licensed for commercialization this year:

• Jonathan Wall, PhD, Manasi Balachandran, PhD, James Foster, Emily Martin-Shuler, PhD, Angela Williams, and Stephen Kennel, PhD, for their work on novel treatments for amyloidosis.
• Deidra Mountain, PhD, Richard Fisher, PhD, Oscar Grandas, MD, and Phillip West for their work on novel lipid nanoparticles as agents to deliver therapeutics.

"Innovative products and services can have tremendously positive impact on our community, and today we celebrate UT Health Science Center researchers disproportionately impacting our world," said Todd Ponzio, vice president of the UTRF Health Science Center office. "What a wonderful ceremony. I feel like a turkey surrounded by eagles."

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