News

December 23, 2014 at 11:49 am

Kieliszewski Named Fellow by National Academy of Inventors

Dr. Marcia Kieliszewski, Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry, has been named a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors for her development of an innovative suite of drug delivery technologies based on the glycoproteins in plants.

Dr. Marcia Kieliszewski

Dr. Marcia Kieliszewski

The academic innovators elected to the rank of National Academy of Inventors Fellow are named inventors on U.S. patents and were nominated by their peers for outstanding contributions to innovation in areas such as patents and licensing, innovative discovery and technology, significant impact on society and support and enhancement of innovation.

During her 19 years as a faculty member in Ohio University’s College of Arts & Sciences, Kieliszewski has received seven U.S. patents, five international patents and has 13 patents pending on her research, which could significantly enhance medical treatment options for a wide variety of ailments.

Kieliszewski’s technologies improve on existing research into plant-based drug delivery by increasing the yield of glycoproteins from plants. In addition, her work has significantly increased the half-life of the drugs in the body, which will make them more effective and more potent—without increasing negative side effects.

“Marcia Kieliszewski is a role model for interdisciplinary research, as she has developed these drug delivery innovations by partnering with scientists in the areas of molecular and cellular biology, plant biology and medicine,” said Joseph Shields, vice president for research and creative activity and dean of the Graduate College.

Kieliszewski said she has benefited from the support of Ohio University’s research and technology commercialization administration, as well as several excellent graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who turned ideas into practice. The success of the work also is due in part to John Kopchick and Shigeru Okada, scientists with Ohio University’s Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine and Edison Biotechnology Institute who were collaborators for some of the work.

“I suspect that Ohio University is quite unique among universities in its support of innovative research,” she said. “For the duration of my patenting experience, the Technology Transfer Office and Vice President for Research and Creative Activity have worked hard to support and enable me. Overall the whole experience has been interesting and enjoyable, imparting a new aspect to research.”

Kieliszewski will be inducted during the 4th Annual Conference of the National Academy of Inventors on March 20, 2015, at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif. Fellows will be presented with a special trophy, a medal and a rosette pin.

Kieliszewski is the fourth Ohio University faculty member to be named a National Academy of Inventors fellow. The previous recipients are David Bayless, Russ College of Engineering and Technology (2013), John Kopchick, Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine and Edison Biotechnology Institute (2012), and Gerardine Botte, Russ College of Engineering and Technology (2012).

The National Academy of Inventors is a non-profit member organization composed of U.S. and international universities and governmental and non-profit research institutions, with more than 3,000 individual inventor members and fellows spanning more than 200 institutions. It was founded in 2010 to recognize and encourage inventors with patents issued from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, enhance the visibility of academic technology and innovation, encourage the disclosure of intellectual property, educate and mentor innovative students and translate the inventions of its members to benefit society.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*