The U recently hired two prominent scientists in the field of nanotechnology as part of the state’s new Utah Science Technology and Research initiative.
Marc Porter from Arizona State University and Hamid Ghandehari from the University of Maryland start at the U within the next few weeks and bring with them research programs, private and public research funding and promising innovative technology for business commercialization in Utah. The USTAR initiative provides funding for the U to hire more scientists.
“With the USTAR initiative and partnered funding strategy from the state, Utah can now hire hotshots who have a history of producing outstanding research, new patents and novel technology,” said David Grainger, chair of the department of pharmaceutical chemistry at the U.
USTAR was created in March 2006 by the Utah State Legislature to stimulate economic development, recruit world-renowned researchers and produce new research and technology development teams at Utah State University and the U. USTAR’s long-term goal is to produce technology that creates new businesses in Utah and bolsters the state’s economy.
“Not only is the university’s job to provide students with quality educational and research experiences, but also to enhance the supply of opportunities for students to work on exciting new technologies by developing new businesses from university ideas,” Grainger said.
The state wants USTAR to provide funding to hire those faculty who have proven records of creative technology development that could lead to new businesses in Utah, Grainger said.
Richard Brown, dean of the College of Engineering, says that the exciting part of Porter and Ghandehari coming to the U is their research in the field of nanomedicine.
“Their research is focused on detection and therapy for serious diseases using nanotechnology,” he said.
Porter brings two businesses to Utah with him, related to his work on new nanosensors that can detect cancers, viruses and other diseases at earlier stages. The nanosensors are able to detect when the body first attempts to fight a virus, an important early step in fighting disease.
A company Porter co-founded, Nanoparts, manufactures gold nanoparticles, which are increasingly used for nanotechnological, chemical and biomedical purposes. The company is moving with him to Salt Lake City, bringing a new and promising business to Utah, Brown said.
Ghandehari, who received his bachelor’s and doctorate degree from the U’s School of Pharmacy, returns to the U as a professor in the School of Pharmacy and department of bioengineering. His work on therapeutic nanoparticles — tiny particles that can be injected into the bloodstream to attack tumors and cancerous cells — is well known in the scientific community.
“We’re very excited to have both Ghandehari and Porter on our staff for this next year — they are both very promising and successful scientists,” Brown said.
Grainger, who knew both Ghandehari and Porter before they were hired and assisted in the process of choosing them, is positive about the effect their arrival to the U will have on Utah’s economy and business development.
“Dr. Ghandehari will lead the new Utah Nanomedicine Initiative, where nanotechnology is combined with clinical medicine to provide therapeutic innovation,” he said.
“Dr. Porter’s history of scientific creativity and technology commercialization should keep spawning new businesses in Utah in nanotechnology.”