UMass seed-funding program awards grant to UMMS tech development project

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	Javed Mannan, MD, MPH


	Lawrence Rhein, MD, MPH

A promising research project at UMass Medical School designed to protect premature infants from developing heart problems during jaundice treatment has received a $25,000 grant from the University of Massachusetts Technology Development Fund.

Javed Mannan, MD, MPH, assistant professor of pediatrics, and Lawrence M. Rhein, MD, MPH, associate professor of pediatrics, are developing a noninvasive chest shield that will protect premature infants undergoing light therapy for jaundice from developing enlarged hearts or heart failure, common side effects of the treatment.

“I’m proud to invest in our faculty, who are engaged in cutting-edge research with the power to bolster the economy and improve lives,” UMass President Marty Meehan said. “These awards will help bring promising and potentially life-changing research to market for the benefit of the commonwealth and beyond.”

This year’s eight recipients of the UMass Technology Development Fund awards, selected from a field of 35 applicants, were chosen for the commercial viability of their projects, in hopes that development of the technologies will lead to startup companies or licensing agreements. Since 2004, UMass has invested more than $2.75 million in faculty research and development projects, leading to $22.6 million in follow-on investment, generating 10 commercial licenses and patents, and resulting in six startup companies.

Funding for the annual awards comes from commercial licensing income on previous faculty discoveries. UMass has a strong record of generating income from the commercialization of its academic research and typically places among the top 25 universities in a national survey of income generated by technology transfer.

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