Ching-Shih Chen and Subha Raman Named 2010 Innovators of the Year as OSU Kicks Off “Celebration of Research” Month

November is “Celebration of Research” month at Ohio State. On Wednesday, Dr. Caroline Whitacre, vice president for research at Ohio State, kicked off the month-long commemoration by opening the annual “Celebration of Research” Expo.

As part of the celebration, Dr. Whitacre announced Dr. Ching-Shih Chen and Dr. Subha Raman as the first recipients of two new university-wide awards established to recognize outstanding accomplishments in promoting commercialization of university intellectual property.

Dr. Chen, professor in medicinal chemistry and phamacognosy, was named the university's 2010 Innovator of the Year. Dr. Chen holds 11 US patents and has 17 US patents pending. He has been instrumental in the development of a new class of cancer therapeutic agents and has licensed two new anti-cancer drugs to Arno Therapeutics Inc.

Dr. Raman, associate professor of internal medicine and medical director of the CMR/CT, was named the 2010 Early Career Innovator of the Year. Dr. Raman has leveraged her background in electrical engineering and her expertise in cardiac imaging to build an extraordinarily exciting and impactful commercialization portfolio including the treadmill CMR technology that forms the basis for the university sipinoff, EXCMR.

These awards, established to support and stimulate entrepreneurial activity at Ohio State, recognize researchers working actively to promote commercialization of university intellectual property, through invention disclosures filed, patents filed or issued, technologies licensed, or spinoff companies formed.

The Expo was just the first of many events the Office of Research is sponsoring in November to highlight the innovative research taking place at the university and the wide range of commercialization support services available to researchers. As Ohio State seeks to expand its role in commercialization of research, more emphasis is being placed on creating an environment that facilitates and rewards research creativity and entrepreneurship.

During the month, researchers can learn how:

• To identify sources of funding for research projects

• To administer sponsored projects – from proposal submission through project completion

• To ensure the safety and welfare of human subjects and/or animals involved in research

• Connect with industry partners looking for specific expertise.

For more information on the Innovator of the Year Awards, see the release from OSU.

For additional information and the “Celebration of Research” events planned, click here.