In the year since I joined Indiana University, I have met many of IU’s incredible researchers and faculty who are pursuing innovative discoveries and leaving their mark on our state and world. I am excited to meet with more of you in the months ahead and learn about the remarkable innovation taking place across our campuses.

Nick Hammond. Photo by Liz Kaye, Indiana University At the IU Innovation and Commercialization Office, we work with IU innovators to translate their groundbreaking research to solutions on the market. Uniquely positioned as a resource for faculty, we help researchers understand their technologies’ potential impact, protect their innovation through patents or copyrights, and evaluate the commercial potential of the technology. Finally, because it is crucial to cultivate relationships with industry for licensing opportunities, we help researchers identify potential partnering companies and navigate those licensing relationships.

Throughout the year, we have also streamlined the processes within our office to better serve our researchers and make the path to commercialization easier. In addition, we have increased collaboration with the Office of Research Administration to support multiple industry master agreements and the establishment of the Joint Center of Excellence for Point of Care Precision Medicine.

We have also updated the intellectual property policies: UA-23 for copyrightable works and UA-24 for inventions and patents. UA-23 clarifies ownership and rights associated with works created by faculty, staff and students, while UA-24 clarifies procedures associated with ownership, protection and commercialization of inventions. With these changes, the inventor’s share allocation from revenue distribution has increased to 50%, up from 35% under the previous policy. In addition, two intellectual property councils are being established to advise on these policies and review any issues.

Faculty innovation is central to the IU 2030 strategic plan, particularly in terms of advancing transformative research to the marketplace for lasting social and economic impact. Our office is making strides in pushing innovation to benefit Indiana and beyond. From FY23 to FY24, we saw an increase of 28.5% in invention disclosures and an increase of 52.3% in license agreements.

In the last fiscal year alone, our office:

• Received 153 new invention disclosures.
• Received 107 patents from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and foreign organizations.
• Generated $4.2 million in revenue from licensing.
• Launched three startups.
• Filed 305 new patent applications.

I enjoy learning about our faculty’s groundbreaking innovations that are making a big difference not only in Indiana but worldwide. One example is Molly Scheel, who developed a genetically based RNA interference insecticide to combat mosquito-borne diseases. Scheel is collaborating with industry partners to bring her research to the market so her discovery can be used across the globe to reduce disease incidence. Meanwhile, Jean Camp, who is seeking industry partners, has developed a method to identify misleading URLs to decrease the incidence of phishing and other cybersecurity attacks.

Getting IU technology to market is an important goal of the Innovation and Commercialization Office. We were excited to award $25,000 to three faculty from our Gap Fund to help derisk their innovations while overcoming commercialization barriers. Our office also supported MBX Biosciences — an IU faculty startup that develops peptide therapies for the treatment of endocrine and metabolic diseases — leading up to its U.S. initial public offering.

In the past few months, several patents have been awarded to IU innovators. We’re thrilled their research is being recognized at a national scale, as it shows the importance of disclosing new innovations to our office.

Finally, we launched our Faculty Innovation Ambassador Program last month, which will help IU researchers identify and cultivate opportunities for translating their research to the market. Through a series of workshops, the faculty ambassadors will learn more about the commercialization process, intellectual property assessment, industry partnering and more. If you are interested in applying for this program, please visit the Faculty Innovation Ambassador Program website or contact ico@iu.edu.

To learn more about how the Innovation and Commercialization Office can support you, please visit one of our monthly office hours or reach out to me directly.

Nick Hammond is the associate vice president for innovation and commercialization at Indiana University.