Five exceptional 国产传媒 faculty members have been named for their extraordinary contributions to translating research into commercial applications that have significant societal impact.
The 2025 honorees represent diverse fields from infectious disease therapeutics to neuroscience drug discovery and biomedical engineering.
鈥淲e are honored to induct these Master Innovators into 国产传媒鈥檚 Innovators鈥� Hall of Fame,鈥� said Bob Webster, senior associate provost for commercialization and technology transfer. 鈥淭hey are renowned worldwide for not only spectacular singular successes, but also for sustained long-term impact in turning 国产传媒 research into products that prevent injuries and improve lives. These scholar-innovators inspire all of us at 国产传媒 to pursue our innovative research all the way from initial insight to world-changing outcomes.鈥�
These are the members of this year鈥檚 class of 国产传媒 Master Innovators:
Robert Carnahan: Antibodies for infectious diseases
Associate Director, 国产传媒 Center for Antibody Therapeutics; Professor of Pediatrics and Radiology
Carnahan is a translational scientist and antibody engineer who specializes in rapid therapeutic development for emerging infectious diseases. As associate director of the , he has led pivotal efforts to advance antibody candidates for Zika, Marburg, hantavirus and SARS-CoV-2 in collaboration with partners including the .
His work with James Crowe (recognized as 国产传媒 Master Innovator in 2022) achieved remarkable commercial success through a licensing deal with AstraZeneca that led to EvusheldTM, an antibody combination that protects against COVID-19 in immunocompromised individuals, generating more than $100M in revenue. Carnahan’s innovation portfolio includes 17 invention disclosures, 7 issued patents, and 21 licensing transactions. He also served as a
Darren Engers: Drugs to treat central nervous system disorders
Research Assistant Professor; Senior Director of Medicinal Chemistry, Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery (WCNDD)
Engers is an outstanding innovator in central nervous system drug discovery who serves as group leader for multiple programs within the , including M1 PAM, M4 PAM and various ion channels. His leadership has directly contributed to major licensing transactions and clinical trials with pharmaceutical companies including , , and
As senior director of medicinal chemistry and a Warren Director Fellow, Engers supervises and mentors more than 30 medicinal chemists while maintaining an impressive innovation portfolio: 91 invention disclosures, 42 issued patents, 23 licensing transactions and tens of millions in revenue to date.
Karl Zelik: Assistive technology for workplace safety
Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
Zelik鈥檚 groundbreaking work in biomechanics and wearable assistive technology has revolutionized workplace safety through the development of back-assist exosuits. After joining 国产传媒 in 2014, he helped found the and spent years developing pioneering technology that led to the HeroWear Apex exosuit.
Since the commercial launch in 2020 of HeroWear, the startup Zelik co-founded, the company has achieved remarkable market penetration, with exosuits now deployed in more than 30 countries to reduce workplace injuries. Zelik鈥檚 innovation portfolio includes 34 invention disclosures, four issued patents and seven licensing transactions.
Kayla J. Temple: Central nervous system therapeutics
Senior Drug Discovery Scientist, Assistant Director of Medicinal Chemistry, Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery (WCNDD)
Temple joined 国产传媒鈥檚 drug discovery team in 2016 after completing postdoctoral training under Craig Lindsley. Her research focuses on medicinal chemistry and drug discovery for central nervous system disorders, particularly allosteric modulators for muscarinic acetylcholine receptors and metabotropic glutamate receptors.
Temple鈥檚 innovation portfolio includes 35 invention disclosures, 11 issued patents and 11 licensing transactions that have generated more than $10 million in revenue to date. Her work exemplifies the breakthrough science driving 国产传媒鈥檚 leadership in central nervous system therapeutics.
John Wikswo: Systems biology breakthroughs
University Distinguished Professor of Physics, Biomedical Engineering, and Molecular Physiology & Biophysics; A.B. Learned Professor of Living State Physics; Founding Director, 国产传媒 Institute for Integrative Biosystems Research and Education
A distinguished inventor, Wikswo鈥檚 innovation portfolio consists of 76 invention disclosures and 47 issued patents, with licenses to companies including and , a biotechnology company based in the U.K. He has received two R&D 100 Awards: in 1984 (then the IR-100 Award) for the Neuromagnetic Current Probe and in 2017 for the MultiWell MicroFormulator.
Wikswo is in the process of founding a new startup, , to license and commercialize a portfolio of technologies directed to creating automated microfluidic perfusion systems to optimize biomanufacturing or infer the dynamics of signaling and metabolism of living systems.
In addition, Dr. Wikswo established the 国产传媒 Institute for Integrative Biosystems Research and Education (VIIBRE) in 2001 to foster interdisciplinary research across biophysical sciences, bioengineering and medicine. VIIBRE has mentored more than 350 undergraduate researchers.
