Identifying proteins for new drugs to treat triple-negative breast cancer. Developing an improved material for solar cells. Creating a threat-modeling system to enhance cybersecurity in manufacturing. These are among the projects funded through the latest round of UWM Research Foundation’s Catalyst Grants.
The Catalyst Grant program is designed to seed-fund research in areas where UWM has the greatest potential to impact the regional economy through commercialization. The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation has provided continued support for the program since 2007. New this year, Invenergy has provided support specifically for clean energy research.
Since its inception, the Catalyst Grant program has provided $6 million for projects that have led to 18 UWM startup companies. In addition to the Bradley Foundation support, other donors over the years include the Rockwell Automation Charitable Corporation, the Richard and Ethel Herzfeld Foundation, GE HealthCare and Clarios.
The investment has yielded 66 issued patents, 50 pending patents, 30 license/option agreements and more than $40.7 million in follow-on funding to date.
This year’s grants:
Identifying breast cancer-fighting proteins from healthy cells
Qingsu Cheng, biomedical engineering
Cheng is investigating proteins naturally secreted by human cells that inhibit the growth of triple-negative breast cancer cells. Using organoids derived from real patient tumors, he aims to identify proteins that can be developed into small-molecule drugs, offering a cost-effective treatment for this aggressive cancer.
Developing low-cost materials for better solar panels
Nikolai Kouklin, materials science & engineering, and Konstantin Sobolev, civil & environmental engineering
The researchers aim to develop a cost-effective and scalable alternative material for solar cells and other optoelectronic devices. They are using zinc oxide phosphate films to enhance efficiency and environmental sustainability, overcoming the challenges of the current material.
Improving cybersecurity for advanced manufacturing
Zhen Zeng, computer science
Zeng plans to create a threat-modeling system to enhance cybersecurity in complex advanced manufacturing systems. By automating repetitive tasks and integrating threat intelligence, this large language model-assisted tool seeks to significantly reduce the time and effort required for threat modeling.
A device to safely test anchors in concrete structures
Jian Zhao, civil & environmental engineering, and Nathan Salowitz, mechanical engineering
Joining a steel structure with concrete requires drilling a hole in the hardened concrete and inserting a metal anchor with an adhesive that forms a chemical bond with the surfaces. But improper installation or aging can lead to defects in the adhesive-concrete interface. This research team is developing a “smart cap nut” that generates and measures micro-vibrations to detect such defects that often are not visible.
Advanced computer modeling to find new treatments for skin disease and leukemia
Arjun Saha, chemistry
Abnormal protein-protein interactions (PPIs) in the body are behind many diseases. Saha aims to target these abnormalities by developing new computational methods to simulate them. His novel strategy combines machine-learning algorithms with quantum chemistry and molecular dynamics. This comprehensive software solution for examining PPIs could pave the way for novel therapeutics.
