The University of Tennessee Research Foundation (UTRF) recently recognized some of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center’s innovators, whose research is generating new intellectual property, licenses, and startup companies, reflecting the depth of discovery at the university and the growing momentum behind its innovation portfolio.
The 2025 Innovation Awards luncheon for UT Health Sciences was held in the Mooney Library on the Memphis campus. The event celebrated research achievements that are advancing solutions to improve lives while driving economic growth in Tennessee and beyond.
UTRF President Maha Krishnamurthy, PhD, University of Tennessee System President Randy Boyd, and UT Health Sciences Chancellor Peter Buckley, MD, offered opening remarks before the presentation of awards recognizing startups, licensed technologies, and issued patents.
This year’s honorees included one startup launched by two researchers, 12 inventors awarded eight new patents, and six researchers who secured six new licenses.
UTRF supports the commercialization of discoveries made throughout the UT System, helping faculty, staff, and students protect their ideas, develop partnerships, and bring new technologies to market. Its work spans all UT campuses and institutes: UT Health Sciences, UT Knoxville, UT Chattanooga, UT Martin, UT Southern, the UT Institute of Agriculture, and the UT Institute for Public Service. Through these efforts, UTRF helps strengthen the state’s innovation ecosystem and contribute to long-term economic growth.
“UTRF’s Innovation Awards recognize UT’s innovators and entrepreneurs whose work exemplifies the power of ideas translated into impact,” Dr. Krishnamurthy said. “These innovations reflect our mission to move discoveries from UT into the marketplace, where they can improve lives and advance economic development. We are proud to celebrate the creativity, persistence, and collaboration that make these achievements possible.”
James B. Dale, MD, Professor Emeritus and former chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the UT Health Science Center College of Medicine, was honored as Innovator of the Year. Dr. Dale has devoted his career to understanding and preventing infections caused by Group A streptococcus, the bacterium responsible for strep throat and severe complications such as rheumatic heart disease.
Building on decades of research into immune responses and protein structure, Dr. Dale and his team have developed multiple vaccine candidates targeting Group A streptococcal (GAS) infections. Among these is StrepAnova, the most complex GAS vaccine candidate to enter clinical trials.
“In the journey of academic innovation, the lab is where discovery is born, but the market is where its impact is realized,” said Todd Ponzio, vice president of UTRF’s Health Sciences office. “Our commitment at UTRF is to be the essential catalyst, the bridge that transforms UT Health Science Center research into licensed technologies and thriving startups. When we look at Dr. Dale’s decades-long pursuit of a vaccine against Group A streptococcus, we see our mission clearly: fueling the engine of economic growth by ensuring these life-saving breakthroughs reach patients and partners who need them most.”
The 2025 UTRF Innovation Awards reflect both the depth of discovery at UT Health Sciences and the momentum behind its growing innovation portfolio. As researchers continue to generate new ideas and technologies, UTRF’s support will help ensure those breakthroughs reach patients, partners, and markets where they can make the greatest difference.
More information about the 2025 Innovation Awards is available on the UTRF website.