Innovation Impact Case Awards 2022

The Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) has announced the winners of the first annual Innovation Impact Case Award. This new award recognizes University of Minnesota research that has led to significant impact outside of academia. Two MSI PIs were among the winners of the prize of $10,000:

• Swati S More (associate professor, Center for Drug Design) and Robert Vince (director, Center for Drug Design)

  • Eye Imaging for Early Detection of Alzheimer’s DiseaseProfessor 

  • More uses software packages available through MSI for several projects related to enzyme inhibitors for drug development, including those requiring computational analysis and screening for ligand-protein interactions.

• Sayan Biswas (assistant professor, Mechanical Engineering)

  • Plasma Technologies for Clean Transportation

Professor Biswas leads the Plasma, Power, Propulsion (P3) Lab, which uses MSI’s computational resources to support research for the lab’s mission of developing technologies for reliable, robust, and sustainable clean energy.

Three MSI PIs received Honorable Mentions for their projects:

• Nicholas Phelps (associate professor, Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology; director, Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center) and Amy Kinsley (assistant professor, Veterinary Population Medicine)

  • Developing Data-Driven Decision Support Tools to Prevent the Spread of Aquatic Invasive Species in Minnesota

  • Professor Phelps is using MSI resources to discover novel viruses from invasive fish and zebra mussels as well as pathogens associated with fish-kill events in Minnesota. Professor Kinsley is developing quantitative models to understand the spread of pathogens, pollutants, and invasive species. 

• Emilie Snell-Rood (associate professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior)

  • Investing in Minnesota Roadsides as Infrastructure: Maximizing Benefits to Pollinators and Native Plants

  • Professor Snell-Rood uses MSI resources for RNA sequencing to determine the genetic reasons why some insects are specialized while others need specialized environments. The group also uses RNA-seq to study monarch butterflies.

The complete award list and project descriptions appears on the OVPR website: Innovation Impact Case Award: 2022 Awardees. A story also appears on the U of M News site: OVPR Announces Recipients of the Innovation Impact Case Award.