Biosciences

Venture Partners at CU Boulder has announced the first recipients of a new translational funding program designed to advance promising, early-stage therapeutics with strong commercial potential. The program provides up to $50,000 per project to help CU Boulder researchers generate critical validation data or develop new intellectual property, bringing new treatments a step closer to patients in need.

The Conversation—Over the past several months, universities have lost more than $11 billion in funding. Research into cancer, farming solutions and climate resiliency are just a few of the many projects nationally that have seen cuts. The Conversation asked Massimo Ruzzene, senior vice chancellor for research and innovation at CU Boulder, to explain how these cuts and freezes are impacting the university and Colorado’s local economy.

CU Boulder College of Engineering and Applied Science—Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder have created a new way to build and control tiny particles that can move and work like microscopic robots, offering a powerful tool with applications in biomedical and environmental research.

CU Boulder College of Arts and Sciences—Edward Chuong, a University of Colorado Boulder assistant professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology and a BioFrontiers Institute scientist, has been awarded $1.25 million by the New York City-based Cancer Research Institute (CRI) to pursue his cancer immunotherapy research.

Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF)—According to a new report, American research universities like the University of Colorado in recent decades have become engines of innovation for state and regional economies, thanks in large part to the federal Bayh-Dole Act, which incentivizes technology commercialization.

CU Connections—The University of Colorado has secured the No. 18 position on the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) 2024 Top 100 U.S. Universities Granted U.S. Utility Patents list, reinforcing CU’s standing as a national leader in research, innovation and real-world impact. At CU Boulder, 53% of the campus’s patents have been licensed commercially.

CU Boulder College of Arts & Sciences—Ivan Smalyukh, professor of physics, and Thomas Blumenthal, professor emeritus of molecular, cellular and developmental biology (MCDB), are among the 471 scientists, engineers and innovators who have been recognized for scientifically and socially distinguished achievements by the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the Science family of journals, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

FY 2023-24 was another tremendous year for innovation and entrepreneurship at the CU. University researchers, inventors and creators began working with Venture Partners at CU Boulder to advance 144 breakthrough innovations, and 36 CU startups were launched through Venture Partners based on campus discoveries.

New CU Boulder research suggests a surprising tool that could help with weight loss: Exposure to beneficial bacteria. With assistance from Venture Partners, a new startup Kioga will pursue new microbe-based ingredients for preventing weight gain and promoting health.

Colorado Bioscience Association—Colorado's life sciences ecosystem raised $1.47 billion in 2023, demonstrating the resilience of life sciences companies and organizations in the state during a challenging year for U.S. life sciences fundraising.