Tulsa Innovation Labs unites Oklahoma universities through new virtual health commercialization program

STILLWATER, Okla., Jan. 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Oklahoma State University, the University of Oklahoma, the University of Tulsa and Tulsa Innovation Labs have introduced the launch of Canopy Healthtech, a new multi-year initiative to speed up the commercialization of virtual health improvements from Oklahoma universities.

The program will catalyze start-up progress and enhance health care outcomes by supporting the event of vital virtual health applied sciences that handle regional health care supply gaps. 

This distinctive multi-university partnership leverages the strengths of every establishment to develop applied sciences which can develop health care entry to historically underserved affected person populations, reminiscent of rural, indigenous and inner-city communities. 

“Oklahoma innovators have developed technologies with the potential to positively impact human health via emerging virtual and hybrid in-person care models,” stated Shawna Khouri, director of the Virtual Health portfolio at Tulsa Innovation Labs and architect of the Canopy Healthtech program. “To reach their potential, these technologies need business, regulatory and marketing expertise. Canopy will surround clinical and technical faculty members with the necessary funding as well as the expertise that’s critical to bridging these innovations from bench to business.” 

The partnership among the many universities is a key function of the program. 

“Through the vision and leadership of OSU’s Center for Health System Innovation, OU’s Tom Love Innovation Hub and the University of Tulsa — as well as the support of the George Kaiser Family Foundation — we will catalyze startup formation across the state,” Khouri stated. 

“We are excited to see where this new partnership will take us,” stated Ron Van Der Busche, senior affiliate vp for analysis at OSU. “OSU’s land-grant mission means serving our communities in the state and Canopy will be a catalyst to move OSU virtual health technology into the real world.”

The program is modeled on the rules of the Coulter Translational Program and contains three arms: 

1. Canopy PREP, a collection of instructional workshops on the commercialization pathway for virtual health applied sciences and curated conversations round pertinent medical challenges and alternatives; 
2. Canopy FUND, $400,000 for aggressive non-dilutive awards to translate educational mental property on the seed and idea degree into commercially viable virtual health applied sciences; and 
3. Canopy COMMENCE, which presents unique entry to trade specialists and ecosystem help to speed up the translational success of Canopy Fund awardees. 

The program is led by Executive Director Rachel Lane, Ph.D., R.D., a senior employees member of the University of Oklahoma Price College of Business Tom Love Innovation Hub and former CEO of BIO Alabama. 

She earned her doctorate diploma in biochemistry and molecular biology from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Lane started her profession in medical dietetics, working carefully with clinicians to supply evidence-based vitamin to acute care sufferers. 

She has a observe document of success in founding and main organizations, together with the Oklahoma Association for Women in Science Affiliate Group, which she established to advertise the skilled success of girls in STEM. 

Lane has the medical, analysis and entrepreneurship expertise to facilitate seamless collaboration between educational labs, health care techniques and trade to rework Oklahoma analysis into virtual health firms that may create jobs and enhance equitable health care entry throughout the state. 

“The funds and mentoring Canopy provides inventors will support startup formation from Oklahoma ideas. As these companies choose to stay and grow in Oklahoma — fortified by a supportive environment that Shawna Khouri, Tulsa Innovation Labs and the George Kaiser Family Foundation have built — we will gain a critical mass of business and workforce that uniquely differentiates and desirably distinguishes our industry with a competitive economic edge,” Lane stated. 

Faculty, researchers, post-docs, college students and all clinicians, reminiscent of nursing, allied health and veterinary professionals, are invited to use for this opportunity to rework analysis into clinic-ready applied sciences. Applications for challenge proposals are reside and should be submitted by 5 p.m., March 1. 

To be taught extra in regards to the utility course of, click here. Canopy Healthtech will meaningfully influence health and financial outcomes in Oklahoma and past. For extra information about Canopy Healthtech, go to www.canopyhealth.tech or contact [email protected]. 

PHOTO: https://flic.kr/p/2occYwN 

MEDIA CONTACT: Mack Burke | OSU Associate Director of Media Relations | 405.744.5540 | [email protected] 

About Oklahoma State University  

Oklahoma State University is a contemporary land-grant college that prepares college students for achievement. OSU has greater than 33,000 college students throughout its five-campus system and greater than 25,000 on its mixed Stillwater and Tulsa campuses, with college students from all 50 states and greater than 100 nations. 

Established in 1890, OSU has graduated greater than 275,000 college students to serve the state of Oklahoma, the nation and the world. 

For extra information go to https://go.okstate.edu. 

About the University of Oklahoma 

Founded in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a public analysis college positioned in Norman, Oklahoma. OU serves the academic, cultural, financial and health care wants of the state, area and nation. 

For extra information go to www.ou.edu. 

About The University of Tulsa  

Founded in 1894, The University of Tulsa is Oklahoma’s top-ranked personal faculty. TU offers instructional alternatives to 4,000 college students within the arts and humanities; social and pure sciences; enterprise; engineering and expertise; nursing and utilized health sciences; and regulation. 

For extra information, go to https://utulsa.edu. 

About Tulsa Innovation Labs 

Recognizing that the roles of the longer term are rooted in a thriving innovation financial system, the George Kaiser Family Foundation pioneered Tulsa Innovation Labs (TIL) to develop a city-wide technique that positions Tulsa as a tech hub and chief in the way forward for work. Through a various coalition of private and non-private companions, TIL creates financial and workforce growth initiatives inside 4 trade areas — Virtual Health, Cyber and Data Analytics, Advanced Mobility, and Energy Tech — to make Tulsa the nation’s most inclusive tech neighborhood.

For extra information go to www.tulsainnovationlabs.com. 

SOURCE Oklahoma State University