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July 31, 2009

The Louisiana Innovation Coalition awards five grants; ULM’s Shah included

The University of Louisiana at Monroe is among five entities to receive life sciences grant funding for research and development through the Louisiana Innovation Coalition.

Professor Girish Shah, Ph.D., endowed chair of pharmacology at ULM, received a $25,000 LINC Phase I grant for continued work on his novel Immunosensor Test for cancer diagnosis.

The marker appears to be “very sensitive and particularly appropriate” for early detection of prostate cancer.

Shah joined other grant recipients who won awards by submitting competitive proposals that met technical merit and commercial opportunity criteria. LINC will administer approximately $380,000 in grant awards over the next 12 months.

The LSU System Research & Technology Foundation, with initial funding provided by Louisiana Economic Development, manages the LINC Pilot Grant Program.

“This grant recognizes the potential economic impact of the research done in the ULM College of Pharmacy,” said Interim Dean of the College of Pharmacy W. Greg Leader.

“Patented and marketed intellectual property created on this campus may assist the University in attracting scientific related businesses to the area as well as provide a revenue stream for future scientific developments,” Leader said. “Dr. Shah and the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences in the College are to be commended for their activities.”

LINC unites Louisiana universities through their Intellectual Property Offices to create greater awareness of the research available for commercialization. The grants are designed to move ideas forward and produce intellectual property with a viable opportunity for commercialization.

Shah earned his Ph.D. from the University of Bombay, India, and received post-doctoral training at the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden and at the Max Planck Research Unit for Reproductive Medicine in Muenster, Germany.

He has authored over 80 original, peer-reviewed research articles, several book chapters and review articles, and mentored more than 30 post-doctoral fellows, residents and graduate students.

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