Two UAB inventors named National Academy of Inventors fellows

Cynthia Owsley, Ph.D. and Michael Niederweis, Ph.D.Two University of Alabama at Birmingham Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine faculty members, Michael Niederweis, Ph.D., and Cynthia Owsley, Ph.D., have been named fellows of the National Academy of Inventors for their innovation in creating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact. 

Niederweis, a professor in the Department of Microbiology, and Owsley, a professor in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, were nominated by the Harbert Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship for their innovative products and procedures.

“To have one inventor chosen as an NAI fellow is a high honor,” said HIIE Executive Director Kathy Nugent, Ph.D. “To have two chosen in one year is a testament to UAB’s innovative culture. Dr. Niederweis and Dr. Owsley have made discoveries that have had a real-world impact. Our team is here to support them — and all UAB inventors — in any way possible.”

It is the first time in over a decade that this highest professional distinction awarded to inventors has been bestowed on two UAB faculty in the same year.

The 2024 class of fellows boasts 170 inventors across 135 research universities, and governmental and nonprofit research institutions, collectively holding over 5,000 issued patents.

Niederweis, who holds 12 patents, discovered the channel protein MspA, which can be modified to sequence DNA quickly and inexpensively. His technique received Method of the Year 2022 by Nature Methods, and to date, the MspA nanopore is the most efficient nanopore in existence for DNA sequencing.                                                                        

Owsley, who holds 11 U.S. patents, invented a dark adaptometer, a method and apparatus that detects impaired dark adaptation, commonly used in the study of age-related muscular degeneration. 

“We are so proud of Dr. Niederweis and Dr. Owsley for their incredible contributions at UAB, and are extremely pleased that the NAI recognizes the depth and impact of their inventions,” Nugent said.

The awardees will be presented with their NAI fellow medals at the NAI 14th Annual Meeting in June 2025 in Atlanta.

The NAI was founded in 2010 as a member organization comprising U.S. and international universities, and governmental and nonprofit research institutes. Its 4,000 members and fellows span more than 250 institutions worldwide.