The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade has awarded its 2009-2010 research grants totaling $352,000 to seven Colorado State University bioscience professors, including Dr. Ron Tjalkens, an Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences.
Dr. Tjalkens will study neurological protection compounds for treating Parkinson’s disease. Current Parkinson’s disease treatments only control the symptoms, while the neuroprotective compounds could stop the degeneration of neurons in the brain and potentially slow down progression of the disease.
The Colorado Legislature created the Bioscience Discovery Evaluation Grant Program in 2006 to increase the research and development of new bioscience technology in Colorado research institutions. The grants are intended to accelerate commercialization of new discoveries and support new business development. The program has since been amended to also expedite the research and production of biofuels.
Colorado State University must match the state funds through institutional and private sources.
The Technology Transfer Office of the Colorado State University Research Foundation, or CSURF, accepted the awards on behalf of Colorado State University. The CSURF Technology Transfer Office and CSU Ventures, which includes MicroRx, NeoTREX and Cenergy, manage the intellectual property, licensing and commercialization process for CSU.
