AFRL’s Human Effectiveness Directorate wins three regional awards for 2007 technology transfer

  • Published
  • By John Schutte
  • Human Effectiveness Directorate
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  The Air Force Research Laboratory's Human Effectiveness Directorate (AFRL/HE) brought home three regional awards from the 2007 Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer Midwest/Southeast Joint Regional Conference held August 22-24 in Cincinnati. 

The FLC Midwest Region Partnership Award went to AFRL/HE and the University of Cincinnati for their extensive collaborative efforts involving UC's Genome Research Institute, the university's Laboratory Animal Medical Services and the molecular genetics and psychology departments. 

This structured partnership positions the Air Force to accomplish its mission while giving an academic institution unparalleled insight into, and hands-on experience with, a federal laboratory. 

"We're very pleased to be teamed with one of this region's top research universities for important R&D programs and we're certainly proud that our partnership with the University of Cincinnati is viewed by others as an excellent example of technology transfer," said Dr. Jim Kearns, technology transfer manager for AFRL/HE.
 
Scientists plan to advance the knowledge of operational concerns (medical, toxicological, and biological) involving Air Force personnel and apply this knowledge to the general public and the environment, where appropriate.

One goal is to identify protein expression patterns that can indicate degenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease), allowing for early diagnosis and treatment. 

"Our focus on ALS is a prime example of how these military/academic partnerships can address pathologies that are relevant to both military personnel and the general public," added Dr. Ken Greis, associate professor and director of proteomics at UC's Genome Research Institute. 

Researchers also hope to learn more about the impact of environmental and other stress factors on disease processes such as cancer and the related protein patterns that are produced, with an eye towards developing future prevention and treatment approaches. 

"Understanding how genetic and environmental factors initiate the progression into a disease state will likely provide us with the means to take corrective action, thus we may be able to head off a disease before it fully develops," added Greis.
 
The FLC Midwest Region presents the Partnership Award annually to recognize collaborations between a federal laboratory and a non-federal organization that have significantly affected regional and national technology transfer programs. 

The Biomarker Discovery and Biomonitor Device Development project being conducted in AFRL/HE's Biosciences and Protection Division, Applied Biotechnology Branch (HEPB) under the leadership of HEPB Branch Chief Dr. John Schlager, was selected as a winner of the 2007 FLC Midwest Region Excellence in Technology Transfer Award.

This award goes to laboratory employees who have accomplished outstanding work in the process of transferring a technology developed by a federal laboratory to the commercial marketplace. 

In this biosciences-based program, a team of researchers is condensing a complex, laboratory-based detection and diagnostic capability into a palm-sized device that warfighters and emergency first-responders can carry into the field. It would be used to check for critical changes in their biochemical makeup following exposure to chemical or biological agents. The United States surgeon general has expressed interest in the device for Homeland Defense. 

AFRL/HE leveraged multiple and varied technology transfer agreements to accelerate technology development, including at least seven Small Business Innovative Research grants, collaborations with the Ohio Supercomputing Center, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, and several universities including Wright State University, The Ohio State University, and Indiana University. 

The 2007 FLC Midwest Regional Coordinator's Excellence Award went to Dr. Kearns in recognition of his outstanding work in the process of transferring technology developed by a federal laboratory to the commercial marketplace. 

As chief technology transfer representative for AFRL/HE, Dr. Kearns helped set the stage for several highly successful programs involving multiple transfer mechanisms, some of which are considered landmark examples of technology transfer.
 
Dr. Kearns is currently president-elect of the Ohio Society of Professional Engineers which, through its not-for-profit educational arm, the Engineers Foundation of Ohio, promotes excellence in Ohio engineering education and maintains important ties between government, industry and academia in terms of fostering the ethical practice of engineering.