Boston University Professor Mark W. Grinstaff has won the inaugural Innovator-of-the-Year Award from BU’s Office of Technology Development (OTD), recognizing a faculty member who translates research into innovations that benefit humankind. It was awarded at OTD’s first annual networking event, “Tech, Drugs, & Rock ‘n Roll,” the unofficial kickoff of a University-wide commitment to establish Boston University as the new hub of entrepreneurship in Boston.
A professor of chemistry in the College of Arts & Sciences, and of biomedical engineering in the College of Engineering, Grinstaff co-founded three companies now commercializing his research ideas: Hyperbranch Medical Technology, Flex Biomedical, and start-up Accuity Bio. His current work includes research into new macromolecule and amphiphile syntheses, self-assembly chemistry, tissue engineering, and drug delivery.
“Professor Grinstaff is an entrepreneurial scientist, whose practical approach to science has led to the formation of three companies producing beneficial products,” said BU President Robert Brown, who presented the award. “His accomplishments in the past year include nine peer-reviewed papers published, two invention disclosures, a patent filing, and more than $1 million invested in his companies.”
Grinstaff received a PhD from the University of Illinois and was an NIH postdoctoral fellow at the California Institute of Technology. His honors include the ACS Nobel Laureate Signature Award, NSF Career Award, Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences, Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar, and Edward M. Kennedy Award for Health Care Innovation.
The BU Innovator-of-the-Year Award seeks to highlight translational research at BU by recognizing an entrepreneurial faculty member and the potential for commercialization and/or wider adoption of their inventions. It also encourages faculty to become entrepreneurial while promoting role models who can inspire graduate students to pursue entrepreneurial careers.