As we reflect on Vanderbilt’s many accomplishments over the past year, the Center for Technology Transfer and Commercialization extends our gratitude for your engagement with us. We genuinely appreciate the opportunity to serve our Vanderbilt community. Thank you for your commitment and contributions to building Vanderbilt’s innovation ecosystem on campus and beyond.

We hope you have a joyful holiday season with your loved ones, and we look forward to continuing this journey of innovation together in the coming year.
 
Warm regards,

Alan Bentley - Assistant Vice Chancellor for Technology Transfer

The sentiment captures what many inside Vanderbilt’s research community experienced in FY25: rapid growth in innovation, increased engagement from first-time inventors, and a coordinated effort to help more ideas reach the people who can benefit from them.  Read how CTTC is driving innovation forward.

In FY25, VU and VUMC launched 16 startups with faculty and staff across diverse disciplines, dedicated to the further development of Vanderbilt-invented technology assets, and setting a new benchmark for campus faculty entrepreneurship. 

Congratulations to Vanderbilt University School of Engineering’s Robert J. Webster III, who has been elected Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) as well as elevated to IEEE Fellow, a prestigious title awarded by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers to members who have made significant contributions to the fields of engineering, science, and technology. Read More

The Greater Nashville Tech Council has announced the finalists for the 2026 GNTC Awards, highlighting exceptional talent from the Vanderbilt faculty, staff and alumni community. These awards honor innovation and excellence within Middle Tennessee’s the technology sector. 

January 27, 2026  • 12:00–1:00 p.m. • Vanderbilt Alumni Hall Memorial Room

View Lunch & Learn Key Insights: “Can Patents Block My Research? Navigating Innovation and Intellectual Property" led by Alan Bentley, assistant vice chancellor of technology transfer and IP development. 

Over the past six months, our interns supported the Licensing Team’s technology evaluation efforts, helping us expand our market analysis, integrating AI tools into our diligence workflows, and supporting with industry–academic matchmaking.

* includes end-user software and materials licenses along with conventional technology licenses 

Chris leads Vanderbilt's efforts to create and expand mutually beneficial industry research collaborations that advance strategic scientific programs, solves industry-relevant research and development challenges, and provides channels to deploy and commercialize new technologies of substantial societal impact. View his leadership profile

January 7, 2026  • 12:30–1:30 p.m. • RSVP Here

The Brock Family Center for Applied Innovation will be hosting a lecture to celebrate Dr. Michael Golinko, one of their 2025 Innovators of the Year.

Eligible candidates include current Vanderbilt School of Medicine Basic Sciences Ph.D. students and VUMC postdocs, available to start by March 1, 2026. Learn more and apply by January 19.

Questions? Please contact Ashley Brady, 
Assistant Dean of Biomedical Career Engagement and Strategic Partnerships, and George Wilson, CTTC Assistant Director, New Venture Programs.

12,496,336 – “Peptide Vaccine Based on a New Universal Influenza A Hemagglutinin Head Domain Epitope and Human Monoclonal Antibodies Binding Thereto” (James Crowe, Jr., Xiaozhen Hu, William Schief)

12,507,679 – “Engineered Catfish and Uses Thereof” (Rex Dunham, Michael Coogan, Roger Cone, Veronica Alston)

12,507,944 – “Combined Fluorescence and Laser Speckle Contrast Imaging System and Applications of Same” (Emmanuel Mannoh, Anita Mahadevan-Jansen)

12,508,233 – “Graft Copolymers, Methods of Forming Graft Copolymers, and Methods of Use Thereof” (John Wilson, Daniel Shae, Dinh Chuong Nguyen)