Faculty, staff, student and community innovators were recognized for their 2019 contributions to research, innovation and entrepreneurship on campus during the annual UAB Innovation Breakfast presented by The Bill L. Harbert Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Oct. 10. Each winner received a glass plaque in honor of their win.
Awards were presented in six categories:
Student Innovator of the Year
Zahrah Abdulrauf, College of Arts and Sciences
Abdulrauf is completing an individually designed major in cognitive science minoring in economics and media sciences. She also is executive creative director at a Birmingham-based tech startup Fledging. Fledging provides software and hardware replacement solutions to upgrade storage capabilities for Apple computers. Abdulrauf is a Stanford University innovation fellow, a writer and an illustrator.
Keyani McNeil, Collat School of Business
McNeil participated in the UAB Student Accelerator program and has launched her own retail beauty company called CHAT Nature’s Skin and Hair. She is a business management student, a Navy veteran, an author, a licensed cosmetologist and an entrepreneur with a passion for making beauty products and health foods.
Staff Innovator of the Year
Manager Julie Price, Ph.D., Coordinator Bambi Ingram and intern Nick Ciancio, UAB Sustainability
Under Price’s leadership of UAB Sustainability, UAB has earned the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories Sustainability Procurement Award and is the first and only institution to develop a Green Labs program led by an undergraduate student. The program helps UAB conserve an average of 30,000 kWh of energy per lab per year. UAB Sustainability Ambassadors implement educational programming tailored to the needs of the units they serve. With their guidance the college has been recognized as a Tree Campus USA by the National Arbor Day Foundation and is home to more than 4,400 healthy trees.
Faculty Innovator of the Year
G.M. Anantharamaiah, Ph.D., School of Medicine
For nearly 50 years, Anantharamaiah has been committed to driving innovation that affects society. He is among UAB’s most patented inventors, holding 19 issued U.S. patents and 45 issued foreign patents in the field of peptide synthesis.
Student Startup of the Year
TruSpin
Anthony Brayer, College of Arts and Sciences
Robert Agnew, Collat School of Business
TruSpin is working to revolutionize the catalytic converter market through the use of nanofiber material.
Faculty Startup of the Year
Yuva Bioscience
Keshav Singh, Ph.D., School of Medicine
Yuva is using cutting-edge science to develop cosmeceuticals and pharmaceuticals based on Singh’s breakthrough research on the role of mitochondrial function in reversing skin aging and hair loss. The company will be located in Birmingham and leverage a national leadership team.
Business Community Supporter of the Year
Sanjay Singh, Ph.D., Pack Health
As a dedicated community partner, Singh has served on boards focused on innovation and entrepreneurship for years, both on campus and across Birmingham. Singh is on the board of directors at Pack Health, a digital health-coaching platform for chronic disease management.
