Syracuse University's Biomaterials Institute (SBI) used to be something of a drifter. Spread out across multiple campuses, it was homeless. Today that gets changed.
The institute's lab opened today at Bowne Hall, one of Syracuse University's oldest buildings. Researchers in chemistry, biology and engineering will now have a central location, as they look at how biomaterials can help repair organ tissue, facilitate drug delivery, or repair cartilage - and to figure out how to commercialize those breakthroughs.
“Everything we do heads towards something a doctor would use. The only way that’s going to happen is if a company is going to make a product out of our technology. Tech-transfer is a necessary aspect about what we do,” said Patrick Mather, director of SBI.
Mather says part of that job could be done by tapping SU to spin small companies off into the marketplace. That would isolate risky research into small firms that could be acquired by larger companies if the research yielded results.
Syracuse University funded the new lab, but the institute is a joint effort between SU, SUNY Upstate Medical University and the SUNY-College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
So what are biomaterials exactly? Check out this explainer from Mather.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xB3E-Un15Bk
