Through support from the CTNext Higher Education Fund, the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) has been able to administer the START Preliminary Proof-Of-Concept (PPOC) Fund to help advance promising technologies towards commercialization. The OVPR has recently finalized award decisions for the first three quarters funding rounds of the program.
START recipients are awarded up to $10,000 to move their projects forward. Recipients come from Central Connecticut State University (CSCU), Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU), University of Bridgeport (UB), and UConn. The goal of this program is to foster and bolster the initial validation of innovative early stage technologies that have possible commercial potential and is designed to bring those technologies to a stage that may be more attractive for additional later stage translational funding support.
START 2020 Q1 Awardees:
Jemel Aguilar, Southern Connecticut State University, Department of Social Work – $10,000
Inside the energy envelope: Health promotion among people with mild to moderate Myalgic encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Co-PIs/Team: Romi Khan, Fiverr Consulting
Khaled Elleithy, University of Bridgeport, Department of Computer Science and Engineering – $10,000
HomeLock
Co-PIs/Team: Thomas Arciuolo, University of Bridgeport; Kosaraju Venkata Uday Shankar, University of Bridgeport
Julia Irwin, Southern Connecticut State University, Department of Psychological Sciences – $15,000
Hearing Assessment in Response to Noise Screener (HeARS)
Co-PIs/Team: Jessica Sullivan, Hampton University; Barbara Fernandes, Smarty Ears
Yusuf Khan, UConn Health, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery – $10,000
Polymer-coated Allograft for Large Scale Bone Defect Repair
Ruth Lucas, University of Connecticut, Department of Nursing Instruction and Research – $8,199.99
Breastfeeding Diagnostic Device Intraoral Sensor Testing in the Lab
Co-PIs/Team: Thanh Nguyen, Department of Mechanical Engineering; Eli Curry, Department of Mechanical Engineering; Megan Jalbert, Allied Health; Jimi Francis, University of Texas at Tyler
Beth Taylor, University of Connecticut, Department of Kinesiology – $9,035
Development and Validation of a Clinical Prediction Mobile Application Tool for the Diagnosis of Statin-Associated Muscle Symptoms
Co-PIs/Team: Amanda Zaleski, Department of Kinesiology; Paul Thompson, Hartford Hospital
START 2020 Q2 Awardees:
Krystyna Gielo-Perczak, School of Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering – $10,000
Mobile Application in Rehabilitation
Co-PIs/Team: Alexandros Mathioudakis, Department of Biomedical Engineering; Jeren Koh, Department of Mathematics
Ausif Mahmood, University of Bridgeport, Department of Computer Science and Engineering – $10,000
AI based Online Customer Assist and Social Media Response Handling Application for Small to Medium Businesses
Co-PIs/Team: Sushant Singh, University of Bridgeport
Eugene Pinkhassik, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Department of Chemistry – $10,000
Integration of homogeneous catalysts entrapped in nanocapsules in flow processes
Co-PIs/Team: Sergey Dergunov, Department of Chemistry
Frank Torti, School of Medicine, Department of Medicine – $10,000
Sideroflexin 4: A Novel Target for Cancer Therapy
Co-PIs/Team: Lia Tesfly, UConn Health
For more information about the competition, visit the program website.
START 2020 Q3 Awardees:
Carl Coelho, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Science – $10,000
Digitalized Executive Functioning Rehabilitation Application
Alaa Sheta, Southern Connecticut State University, Department of Computer Science and Engineering – $10,000
Diagnosis of Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Computer-Aided Tool Based on Deep Learning
Lawrence Silbart, College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources, Department of Allied Health Sciences – $10,000
Development of a Therapeutic Bandage to Treat MRSA Skin Infections
Young Tang, College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources, Department of Animal Science – $10,000
Evaluating the In Vitro Effect of STAT3 Inhibitors to Block the Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (PRRSV) Infection
Madhur Upadhyay, School of Dental Medicine, Community Medicine and Health Care – $10,000
Artificial Intelligence Powered Orthodontic Diagnosis (AIPOD)
Miaowei Weng, Southern Connecticut State University, Department of Literature, Cultures, and Languages – $10,000
Mysteries of History/Misterios de la historia: Game-Based Virtual Immersive Spanish Learning
