MEDIA ADVISORY: Missouri Tech Expo Connects Research, Business

Story Contact(s):
Jeff Sossamon, sossamonj@missouri.edu, 573-882-3346

By Sheena Rice

WHAT:  The sixth annual Missouri Tech Expo at the University of Missouri campus provides opportunities for researchers, entrepreneurs, investors and business professionals to interact—laying the groundwork for future commercialization of Mizzou projects while adding to the economic development of Missouri.

The all-day event features panel discussions from leaders in business and research and presentations of technologies that are ready for commercialization. In addition, two licensees of MU technology will be featured:

• Adsorbed Natural Gas Products, which is commercializing an on-board, low-pressure natural gas storage tank for small cars and trucks.
• Nanova Biomaterials Inc., which is a manufacturer of dental and orthopaedic products.

“The goal of the Tech Expo is to share the great research happening in Missouri with potential investors and entrepreneurs,” said Chris Fender, director of the Office of Technology Management and Industry Relations. “By facilitating the transfer of technologies into the marketplace, research and inventors truly can impact society.”

Examples of research from the University of Missouri system include:

• Technology that provides a new way of using laser light to create a more efficient method for tattoo removal.
• Technology that will predict mid-season crop yields.
• Technology that uses enzyme replacement as a therapeutic approach for treating retinal degenerative disorders.

Researchers and entrepreneurs from engineering, life sciences, health sciences and computer science also will provide select “elevator pitches” to connect their work with those in business who may provide the business expertise and funding needed to bring their projects to the marketplace.

WHO:  Ilan Ganot, CEO and founder of Solid Biosciences and former JPMorgan Chase investment banker, will serve as keynote speaker. Ganot left his career in banking to find a cure for Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), a disease that has affected his son since birth. His company is using a gene delivery technology and animal models from MU to develop innovative therapies for DMD.  Other speakers include:

• Alfred Botchway, president, Xenometrics and the Safety Pharmacology Society
• Joseph Hedrick, venture leader, T1D Disease Interception Accelerator
• Fred Hausheer, entrepreneur/inventor and founder/former CEO, BioNumerik Pharmaceuticals
• John K. Westwick, CEO, Resonant Therapeutics

The Missouri Tech Expo is hosted by the Office of Technology Management and Industry Relations (OTMIR) in the Office of Research, Graduate Studies and Economic Development at MU. OTMIR promotes economic development by facilitating the commercialization of intellectual property through a variety of innovative mechanisms.

WHEN:  Oct. 15, 2015, 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.

WHERE:  Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center at MU
1201 Rollins St., Columbia, Mo.

NOTE:  Registration fees vary with discounts for groups and MU students/faculty. For more information, or to register for the event, please visit http://motechexpo.missouri.edu