The Blazer Bridge Fund encourages discovery among the UAB community by providing financial support to innovative ideas and inventions.Nine innovative projects at the University of Alabama at Birmingham are the 2025 recipients of The Blazer Bridge Fund. The projects range from development of a novel antibody to target cancer to a web-based AI communication coaching app.
The Blazer Bridge Fund, an initiative of the Harbert Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, was launched in 2023 to identify and assist in the development of promising ideas, discoveries, innovations and technologies from UAB faculty and staff that have commercial potential. Since the program’s inception, the HIIE has invested $900,000 in 21 projects.
Nine projects were selected out of a pool of 41 applications representing 98 inventors in 45 academic departments and divisions across four schools.
“This year’s Blazer Bridge Fund cycle was our biggest yet — we were able to support nine projects, the most we’ve ever funded in a single round,” said HIIE Senior Director Karthik Gopalakrishnan, Ph.D. “What’s especially exciting is that this support reached teams from across UAB’s campus. It’s a great example of how innovation thrives when we invest in a broad range of ideas and collaborators.”
The nine projects selected for the 2025 funding round are:
- Development of a novel inhibin alpha targeting antibody for cancer and other applications, invented by Mythreye Karthikeyan, Ph.D., of the Department of Pathology, and James Kobie, Ph.D., of the Division of Infectious Diseases.
- Novel vaginal orthosis for post-surgical healing after vaginal reconstructive surgery for pelvic organ prolapse (NOVa Study), invented by Holly Richter, M.D., and Max Cadena, M.D., of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
- Glycoengineering of IgA1 for protection against bacterial proteases and enabling biomedical applications, invented by Todd Green, Ph.D., Jan Novak, Ph.D., and Janet Yother, Ph.D., all of the Department of Microbiology.
- Development of novel Gd3+ free protein-based MRI contrast agents, invented by Jenny Yang, Ph.D., of the Division of Hematology and Oncology.
- Triosteo matrix: advanced membranous bone regeneration, invented by Kyounga Cheon, DMD, of the School of Dentistryand Ho-Wook Jun, Ph.D., of the Department of Biomedical Engineering.
- AI-accelerated translational development of natural product or small molecule analogs as PHGDH inhibitors for Alzheimer’s disease treatment, invented by Jake Chen, Ph.D., and Sixue Zhang, Ph.D., of the Department of Biomedical Informatics and Data Science.
- IRB Assistant – generative AI for accelerated, compliant human subject research protocol development, invented by Ryan Melvin, Ph.D., and Ryan Godwin, Ph.D., of the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine.
- Precision Brain Health companion hybrid application, invented by Kristine Lokken, Ph.D., in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology.
- DISCovery: Bringing DISC to Life – web-based AI communication coaching app, invented by Cori Perdue, Ph.D., and Shivani Palaparthi of the Collat School of Business.
“This year’s Blazer Bridge Fund applicants brought forward some truly brilliant ideas. We’re proud to have funded so many of them,” Gopalakrishnan said. “We were especially proud to have funded inventors from four different UAB schools — the Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine, the School of Engineering, the School of Dentistry and the Collat School of Business. These projects reflect the potential of cross-campus collaboration and the shared commitment to turning bold ideas into real-world impact.”