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Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Sohyung Cho, PhD, associate professor of industrial engineering in the School of Engineering, has received the University’s inaugural Concept Commercialization Award in conjunction with a corresponding School of Medicine Concept Development Award, both aimed at supporting innovation and encouraging industry investment.

The winning project, “Novel Syringe System for Isolation of Lipoaspirate,” is a collaborative effort between Cho and co-researchers from SIU School of Medicine, including Ashim Gupta, PhD, director of the Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine and research assistant professor in the Institute for Plastic Surgery, and Michael Neumeister, MD, FRCS(C), FACS, professor and chair of the Department of Surgery and Elvin G. Zook Endowed Chair of the Institute for Plastic Surgery.

The researchers propose their innovative syringe device has a unique feature to separate fat from oil and blood more conveniently and quickly. They assert that their syringe system is simpler and more efficient than current methods, and therefore will reduce procedure time necessary for such processes as fat grafting, a widely used breast reconstruction technique.

“Granting the inaugural SIUE Concept Commercialization Award is exciting, because it highlights the research at SIUE that has the potential of making a practical impact for the public good,” said Jerry Weinberg, PhD, associate provost for research and dean of the SIUE Graduate School.

“The multidisciplinary nature of this particular project emphasizes the importance of reaching across the borderlines of academic disciplines,” he continued. “Projects such as this showcase that SIU as a system has the ability to contribute to the marketplace of ideas.”

“This joint award highlights a growing number of collaborations between School of Medicine and SIUE faculty,” said Linda Toth, PhD, DVM, associate dean of research at the SIU School of Medicine. “In particular, this project’s integration of expertise in engineering and surgery exemplifies our commitment to the School of Medicine mission of assisting the people of central and Southern Illinois in meeting their health needs through research and patient care, as well as through our mission areas of education and community service.”

The award includes a $15,000 prize, which will be granted jointly by the SIUE Graduate School and SIU School of Medicine. The SIUE Graduate School will fund the Concept Commercialization Award granted to Cho, while SIU School of Medicine will fund the complementary Concept Development Award granted to Gupta. Research will be conducted from April 2016 through April 2017.

The purpose of both the Concept Commercialization Award and the Concept Development Award is to promote interest in and involvement with intellectual property development and commercialization in order to benefit the health, safety and welfare of the community. The awards target for patentable inventions or discoveries, but can also support trade secrets and copyright materials.

SIUE Graduate School: By preparing the next generation of leaders in a knowledge-based economy, SIUE’s Graduate School fulfills the region’s demand for highly trained professionals. Graduate school offerings include arts and sciences, business, education, engineering, nursing and interdisciplinary opportunities. SIUE professors provide students with a unique integration of theoretical education and hands-on research experiences. Students can obtain graduate certificates or pursue master’s degrees, and be part of a supportive learning and rich intellectual environment that is tailored to the needs of adult learners. The Graduate School raises the visibility of research at SIUE, which ranks highest among its Illinois Board of Higher Education peers in total research and development expenditures according to the National Science Foundation. Doctoral programs are available in the Schools of Education (Ed.D.) and Nursing (DNP). The School of Engineering and the Department of Historical Studies feature cooperative doctoral programs (Ph.D.).

Southern Illinois University School of Medicine: SIU School of Medicine is dedicated to improving the health of the people of central and southern Illinois through its four-fold mission of education, patient care, research and community service. The School aims to fulfill the triple aim plus one – medical education and health care that are more effective, more efficient, more equitable and more enjoyable. Since 1970,  SIU School of Medicine has educated more than 5000 physicians in its medical school and residency training programs. It offers the medical degree (MD), a dual medical and law degree (MD/JD), a dual medical and public health degree (MD, MPH), a degree in physician assistant studies (MSPA) and graduate degrees (PhD) in many sciences basic to medicine.