KU News Release

KU to collaborate on planning grants for Kansas Bioscience Authority centers

TOPEKA — The Kansas Bioscience Authority today announced funding of three planning grants for collaborative research Centers of Innovation. The University of Kansas is a participant on two of the three planning teams, each of which will receive up to $200,000 to develop full proposals for KBA action this summer.

KU is involved with centers for drug delivery and biomaterials for medical devices. KU is the lead institution on drug delivery and a partner on biomaterials for medical devices. Both the Lawrence and KU Medical Center campuses will participate in launching the proposed centers.

“KU is pleased to be working with the authority and Wichita State on projects that are extremely important to the future of our state,” said Steve Warren, interim vice provost for research and graduate studies. “KU brings a lot of resources — great researchers and research facilities — to these teams. Each funded center will be a major investment in productive research, and will have a significant economic impact in Kansas.”

KBA announced the Centers of Innovation process last summer. Funding can be used for a number of purposes, with the expectation that the resulting research can be readily applied to commercial products and processes. A unique feature of the program is the close collaboration required between Kansas companies and Kansas research universities.

Last summer, KBA President Tom Thornton described the process this way: “We’re going to bring scientists, eminent scholars, engineers and business entrepreneurs together, let them all do what they do best and then help them keep that success going on their own. When we do that everyone benefits, and our state further develops as an international leader in research and bioscience business.”

More information about the KBA Centers of Innovation is available online.

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The University of Kansas is a major comprehensive research and teaching university. University Relations is the central public relations office for KU's Lawrence campus.