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Panthers are innovators. The proof is in the patents.
The university has become a leading patent producer. FIU is top 25 in U.S. utility patents granted among U.S. public universities, according to the National Academy of Inventors and Intellectual Property Owners Association.
In the last two years alone, FIU researchers have received nearly 180 patents. This past year, Panthers received 82 unique patents for cutting-edge research that includes a treatment for prostate cancer, dual band antenna systems, vaccines against malaria transmission and intelligent automated footwear, among other innovations.
These researchers have secured millions in funding from government and nonprofit organizations as well as philanthropists. They are also putting their knowledge at the service of society by creating solutions to complex, global problems. To celebrate these Panther researchers and their accomplishments, the university hosted a special inventor’s reception during the spring semester.
“Since the beginning of time, society has relied on the curiosity and ingenuity of inventors like you to solve problems and keep communities moving forward,” President Kenneth A. Jessell said to the researchers during the ceremony. “Your patents are making an impact on the global economy and inspiring new innovations among both your peers and our students. We honor you for creating real change with your patents, and we thank you for inspiring a new generation of inventors.”
Provost, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Elizabeth M. Béjar explained the essential role researchers play in training FIU’s budding leaders. “Because you chose to pursue your work here at FIU," she said to the researchers, "our students get to learn from experts who are making intellectual advances on some of the most pressing issues facing our world today. When our students leave FIU, they can confidently say that they worked alongside the best in their chosen fields, and that they had the chance to be part of research and discovery that is making a difference in the world.”
For their part, researchers say they are hungry to make a positive impact on the world and grateful that FIU hosted a ceremony in their honor.
“The recognition demonstrates FIU’s commitment to research innovations as an R1 university,” said Yuk-Ching Tse-Dinh, distinguished university professor in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry and founding director of the Biomolecular Sciences Institute. “It validates the value of the goals of faculty, including myself, who strive to make significant scientific advances. Having the intellectual property is a necessary step to go from scientific discovery in the lab to possible future therapeutic or preventive treatments that can save or improve our lives.”
Tse-Dinh is part of an FIU interdisciplinary team uncovering a new treatment for prostate cancer. The team utilized a novel screening procedure developed by co-inventor Yuan Liu, an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, to identify FDA-approved drugs that can accumulate DNA damage in prostate cancer cells. The team discovered that the antifungal natamycin can suppress the proliferation of malignant cells.
“We hope to have future licensing opportunities for the use of natamycin alone or in combination with other anti-cancer treatments,” Tse-Dinh said.
Below is a list of all the inventors recognized for receiving patents between Sept. 2022 and Dec. 2023
Abderrachid Hamrani, College of Engineering and Computing Abdulhadi Sahin, College of Engineering and Computing Abuzar Kabir, College of Arts, Sciences & Education Adel Nefzi, Center for Translational Science Alexander Stevenson, College of Engineering and Computing Ambreen Nisar, College of Engineering and Computing Amer Awwad, Applied Research Center Andriy Durygin, College of Engineering and Computing Anis Allagui, College of Engineering and Computing Anthony McGoron, College of Engineering and Computing Anuradha Godavarty, College of Engineering and Computing Arif Sarwat, College of Engineering and Computing Arindam Gan Chowdhury, College of Engineering and Computing Armin Mehrabi, College of Engineering and Computing Arvind Agarwal, College of Engineering and Computing Asadullah Khalid, College of Engineering and Computing Atorod Azizinamini, College of Engineering and Computing Azmal Chowdhury, College of Engineering and Computing Barry Rosen, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine Benjamin Boesl, College of Engineering and Computing Bilal El-Zahab, College of Engineering and Computing Borzooye Jafarizadeh, College of Engineering and Computing Brandon Aguiar, College of Engineering and Computing Cheng Zhang, College of Engineering and Computing Christopher Dares, College of Arts, Sciences & Education Chunlei Wang, College of Engineering and Computing Dariya Tabiatnejad, College of Engineering and Computing Darryl Dickerson, College of Engineering and Computing Dwayne McDaniel, Applied Research Center Elias Alwan, College of Engineering and Computing Fahad Saeed, College of Engineering and Computing Fenfei Leng, College of Arts, Sciences & Education Hoshang Unwalla, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine Ibrahim Tansel, College of Engineering and Computing Indranil Chakraborty, College of Arts, Sciences & Education Ioannis Zisis, College of Engineering and Computing Irina Agoulnik, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine Janki Bhimani, College of Engineering and Computing Jin He, College of Arts, Sciences & Education John Marcial, College of Engineering and Computing Joong Ho Moon, College of Arts, Sciences & Education Joshua Hutcheson, College of Engineering and Computing | Jun Li, College of Arts, Sciences & Education Justin Fuentes, College of Engineering and Computing Kathleen Rein, College of Arts, Sciences & Education Kazue Orikasa, College of Engineering and Computing Kemal Akkaya, College of Engineering and Computing Kenneth Furton, College of Arts, Sciences & Education Konstantin Bukhryakov, College of Arts, Sciences & Education Leonel Lagos, Applied Research Center Lihua Lou, College of Engineering and Computing Mackenson Telusma, Applied Research Center Manoj Saha, College of Engineering and Computing Manuel Perez Nevarez, College of Engineering and Computing Mario Milan Diaz, College of Arts, Sciences & Education Mark Finlayson, College of Engineering and Computing Markondeyaraj Pulugurtha, College of Engineering and Computing Maryna Veksler, College of Engineering and Computing Md Nazim Uddin, College of Engineering and Computing Meer Safa, College of Engineering and Computing Naphtali Rishe, College of Engineering and Computing Nezih Pala, College of Engineering and Computing Philip Stoddard, College of Arts, Sciences & Education Raphael Raptis, College of Arts, Sciences & Education Robert Sackstein, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine Santosh Khatri, College of Arts, Sciences & Education Seyed Saman Khedmatgozar Dolati, College of Engineering and Computing Sharan Ramaswamy, College of Engineering and Computing Shekhar Bhansali, College of Engineering and Computing Sohail Mazher Ali Khan Mohammed, College of Engineering and Computing Srinivasan Chinnapaiyan, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine Stanislaw Wnuk, College of Arts, Sciences & Education Stavros Georgakopoulos, College of Engineering and Computing Suprabha Das, College of Engineering and Computing Tanaji Paul, College of Engineering and Computing Tinsley Benhaddouch, College of Engineering and Computing Valentina Dargam, College of Engineering and Computing Veeru Jaiswal, College of Engineering and Computing Wenzhi Li, College of Arts, Sciences & Education Yi Xiao, College of Arts, Sciences & Education Yih-Mei Lin, College of Engineering and Computing Yuan Liu, College of Arts, Sciences & Education Yukching Tse Dinh, College of Arts, Sciences & Education Zachary Danziger, College of Engineering and Computing Zhe Cheng, College of Engineering and Computing |