The Harbert Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (HIIE), a campus entity tasked with commercializing innovations developed by scientists, faculty and staff at UAB, recently collaborated with students in Dr. Douglas Ayers' Start-Up Planning and Pitching class in the Collat School of Business MBA program to develop business plans for two UAB technologies. This partnership culminated in presentations to a panel of local business leaders on April 20, 2022.

Joseph Palmer pitches a plan for Dr. Melissa Harris' topical solution to prevent hair graying. MBA students Cailin Kellum and Harris Miller created a business plan for inventor Dr. Kenneth Unger's innovative offloading boot designed to accelerate the healing of foot ulcers in diabetic patients, while students Joseph Palmer and Genevieve Curtis-Smith pitched a plan for inventor Dr. Melissa Harris' topical solution to prevent the graying of hair.

Dr. Karthik Gopalakrishnan, Director of Licensing and New Ventures with HIIE, said this collaboration is beneficial for both students and inventors, as students engage with science-oriented inventions while inventors gain valuable feedback from the students’ analyses.

“The commercially-focused questions researched by the students and perspective provided to our inventors allows us to hone our pitch as we seek to commercialize these inventions,” he said.

Cailin Kellum presents during the Start-Up Planning and Pitching class.Kellum said using an existing UAB technology for her project afforded her the opportunity to work with the inventor when creating her team’s pitch.

“I was able to see how much work goes into translating medical devices to a commercial company,” she said. “The expertise and background of a podiatrist actually working in the field was critical for the business plan.”

Kellum said the project taught her how important financial forecasting is when deciding whether to back an invention for commercialization.

“Some patents or devices are unique ideas, but if the market demand isn’t present, those ideas shouldn’t be pursued,” she said.

Gopalakrishnan said cooperative efforts between HIIE and the School of Business play to both organizations’ core strengths. The Harbert Institute is actually located within the School of Business. “Such collaborations leverage our proximity to Collat, and will contribute to the growing profile of both institutions,” he said.

For more information on HIIE, visit www.uab.edu/innovation.

To find out more about the Collat College of Business, visit www.uab.edu/business/home.