Having granted 25 awards under the Accelerating Innovation Research - Research Alliances (AIR-RA) and Partnerships for Innovation: Accelerating Innovation Research - Research Alliances (PFI:AIR-RA) grant programs, NSF was interested to gather all grantees for a workshop. The objectives of the PFI:AIR-RA Grantees Workshop were:

1. To offer the first opportunity since the program's inception to gather the grantees together and share lessons learned, challenges overcome, and successes achieved.
2. To afford NSF the opportunity to brief and get feedback from the grantees on program-related issues and information, including suggestions for improvements.
3. To discuss the development and sustainability of an academic based innovation ecosystem catalyzed with PFI:AIR-RA funding, including funding models and future opportunities.

More information about the workshop as well as copies of the presentations are available at the following link:

PFI:AIR-RA Grantees Workshop

The EBI-2 program underwent its midterm review at NSF in August 2014. The following attended the review meeting, to represent EBI-2:

• Dennis Matthews, PhD, PI
• Steven Currall, PhD, Chair of the BOD
• Meg Arnold, MBA, CEO of SARTA, BOD member
• Tom Hobday, President, Tahoe Institute for Rural Health Research (TIRHR), BOD member
• Gabriela Lee, MBA, MS, Chief Knowledge Transfer Officer, Center for Biophotonics, EBI-2

The midterm review was successful and EBI-2 is now continuing its activities for the second year of the grant.

New collaborative projects enabled by this NSF supplement and industry collaborations:

1. Microscopy with UV-Surface Excitation (MUSE) - PI: Richard Levenson, MD
2. Immunohistochemical Panel Optimization Comparing Multiplexed Ion-beam Imaging (MIBI) Technology with Standard Chromogenic Approaches - PI: Richard Levenson, MD
3. Tissue Characterization via Vibrational and Atomic Spectroscopy - PI: Sebastian Wachsmann-Hogiu, PhD
   

The EBI-2 Board of Directors met in Sacramento on March 31, 2014. The meeting included project updates, Med Zone project updates (Cary Adams, MedStart, and Meg Arnold, SARTA), a presentation about the Venture Catalyst Program (Dushyant Pathak, Office of Research), and discussions about EBI financial sustainability (all).

On September 25, EBI hosted the Innovation Ecosystems Symposium in Sacramento at the Shriners Hospital for Children.  The Symposium featured panels on roles in innovation ecosystems and on the handling of intellectual property.  The featured speakers were Greg Horowitt, author of The Rainforest: The Secret to Building the Next Silicon Valley, Dr. Barbara Kenny, Program Director for the NSF Accelerating Innovation Research Program, and Michael Cohen on University-driven Hyper-local Innovation Ecosystems.  More information on the very successful event can be found at the event webpage, including a report on the panels and discussions.

The funding for the Ecosystem for Biophotonics Innovation - Building Sustainability (EBI-2) program has officially been allocated by the NSF with a start date of October 1.  This second award to UC Davis and the Center for Biophotonics Science and Technology (CBST) under what is now the Partnerships for Innovation: Accelerating Innovation Research program is a testament to strong innovation ecosystem that was created under the first EBI grant.  EBI-2 will continue to grow the ecosystem, accelerate the commercialization of four technologies developed at CBST, and continue and improve the program's education component, aimed at preparing young researchers to work with and in industry in the future. 

There will be an All Hands Meeting for the Ecosystem for Biophotonics Innovation on Tuesday, September 3, 2013 from noon until 4 pm.  The meeting will include updates from the eFellows, discussion about the status of the second EBI grant, and opportunities for networking and mentoring.  We look forward to seeing everyone.

On September 25, 2013, the Ecosystem for Biophotonics Innovation will host a symposium on the building and sustaining of innovation ecosystems.  Innovation thought leaders from industry, government, and investing will share their experiences and explore new ideas on structuring partnerships, fostering innovation and creativity, and sustaining ecosystems beyond support from government funding.  Please save the date.  Registration information will be posted here soon.

The EBI Board of Directors will meet from noon to 4 pm on Wednesday, August 28, 2013.  This will be the final BOD meeting for the initial EBI grant.  On the agenda will be further discussion of sustainability, as well as an update on the status of the second EBI grant application and funding status.