Striking Gold More on the Cardiac Path Widening Vision

SBIR Grants Help Emory Entrepreneurs I read with interest your excellent lead article on Emory's biotech entrepreneurs in Momentum, Vol. I, # 3. Actually, despite the lack of a biotech center, Emory has not entirely missed out on SBIR [NIH's Small Business Innovation Research program] funding. My own small business, not mentioned in the article, was incorporated in 1997 as Circular Solutions, Inc., with the intention of obtaining funds for the development of a new (and now patented) fluid sampling system for small animals that allows them to move freely in their cages. Last year, CSI was awarded a phase I SBIR grant for this purpose, and the maximum allowable amount of the project was subcontracted back to Emory. This benefitted both parties, but the lack of leased laboratory facilities and the high indirect rate levied by Emory on the subcontract were frustrating. A biotech center and more support from Emory should make SBIR funding much easier in future. Bob Bonsall Associate Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences President, Circular Solutions, Inc.   Your "Mind to Market" story says that without small businesses to partner with, Emory has missed out on SBIR opportunities. More than two years ago, I came to Emory with a phase I SBIR grant in hand. I am research director at AyurCore, Inc.'s developmental neuroscience research laboratory at Emory West. AyurCore has a patent pending on use of naturally occurring compounds that seem to control development of hippocampal disorders such as brain trauma, stroke, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and (yes!) Alzheimer's disease. I have applied for phase II support, which includes a substantial subcontract to Emory. Departmental work at Emory on prevention of glutamate excitoxicity, which underlies those intractible brain disorders, is coordinated closely with the SBIR project. Abraham Rosenberg Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences   Striking Gold As part of my role to bring industry's best practices to public health at CDC and Emory, I was preparing for my course on health care marketing in the School of Public Health when I struck gold: Momentum. The cover story, "Mind to Market: Delivering Good Ideas," represents a best practice. Writer Holly Korschun unearthed some of Emory's split personalities - scientists who are also entrepreneurs. The "Emory Start-Up Companies" and "Companies Licensing Emory Technology" sidebars are informative and inspirational. I assigned Holly's story as a reading in my class and encouraged students to select one of the scientist/entrepreneurs as a case study for the marketing plan they must develop. I also will share Momentum with contacts in the Goizueta Business School who may use it as a case study source. Your work is exceptional. It raises the profile of the Woodruff Health Sciences Center and brings attention to some of Emory's best and brightest. Paul Kuzniar Visiting Fellow, CDC, National Center for Infectious Diseases Atlanta Co-Director, The Competitive Edge, Santa Monica, CA

More on the Cardiac Path In your informative article, "Problem Solvers: Taking a New Cardiac Surgery Path," the perfusion department was overlooked in your mention of the heart team. We service five Emory-affiliated hospitals, providing extracorporeal circulatory support to over 3,000 patients annually. We are active on the cardiac surgery pathway committee, are vital members of the thoracic surgery team, and also provide the leukocyte filtration service you reported on. We are proud of our role in the successful implementation of fast-tracking and helping make Emory a leader in cardiac surgery. Kathy Spitzer Chief Perfusionist, Egleston Children's Hospital   Widening Vision I am consciously not a magazine person, but Momentum has my attention. In order to plan for the future of my career at Emory and to understand the goals of the Woodruff Health Sciences Center, I needed a more complete rendering of the direction we are going. I heard about Momentum from a frequent telephone contact. Bingo! My vision is widened. Lee Merrick Hart Senior Secretary, Graduate Division, Biological and Biomedical Sciences   Having just read the Winter 1998 issue of Momentum, I wanted to tell you what a superb publication I found it to be. It is really first-rate from its layout, graphics, and design to its writing and editorial focus. You all should be proud to have produced such a fine magazine. Good work! Bob Carpenter Executive Director, Association of Emory Alumni

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