The University of Tennessee-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute, or UT-ORII, has selected circular bioeconomy systems and radiopharmaceutical therapies as its two newest Convergent Research Initiatives (CRIs), areas of joint research for UT and 91做厙. Over the next five years, UT and 91做厙, or ORNL, will invest $40 million$20 million per initiativeand work jointly to accelerate world-leading innovation and establish UT and ORNL as national leaders in these areas.
These two new convergent research initiatives along with an additional CRI next year will bring more than 100 new UT and ORNL researchers together across our state to tackle some of our nations biggest challenges while also bringing in new funds to Tennessee, said Randy Boyd, UT System president. That means more opportunities for graduate students and more opportunities for Tennesseans.
ORNL Director Stephen Streiffer said, For decades, ORNL and UT have come together to leverage their complementary capabilities and produce leading innovation. In standing up these two new initiatives through UT-ORII, we are again bringing our expertise to bear for critical advancements.
The new CRIs were chosen from 54 proposals submitted by UT and ORNL joint research teams.
There was an outstanding response to the call for proposals from ORNL and UT researchers, said David Sholl, UT-ORIIs interim executive director. We had 54 teams of ORNL and UT researchers come together and say, We have a big idea. Were ready to work together. Thats powerful and demonstrates the tremendous potential we have to solve some of our nations toughest problems and make a huge impact across the state and around the world, when we combine our resources.
UT-ORIIs new circular bioeconomy systems CRI team will leverage the strengths of ORNL and the UT Institute of Agricultures long-established work across the state to partner with two crucial Tennessee industries: auto manufacturing and agriculture/forestry to create a circular bioeconomy systems testbed. The group aims to use emerging science to produce materials from sustainable carbon sources, pioneering the shift toward low-energy and low-carbon-intensity circular agriculture, and manufacturing.
The core technical leadership group for UT-ORIIs new circular bioeconomy systems CRI will be the proposals leads: Erin Webb, lead for the Bioresource Science and Engineering group and relationship manager for the DOE Bioenergy Technologies program at ORNL, and Niki Labbe, a professor and assistant director of the UT Institute of Agricultures Center for Renewable Carbon. Supporting subject matter experts are Gerald Tuskan, the director of the Department of Energys Center for Bioenergy Innovation at ORNL and an ORNL Corporate Fellow, and Alexei Sokolov, UT-ORNLs Governors Chair for Polymer Science.
UT-ORIIs new radiopharmaceutical therapies CRI will benefit from the combined talents and resources of ORNL, UT Knoxville (UTK) and the UT Health Science Center. The teams goal is to develop the next advance in precision cancer medicine by focusing its research on a new generation of theranosticsa combination of therapy and diagnostic imaging drugsthat utilizes targeted alpha-emitting radioisotope constructs to precisely kill cancer cells with minimal side effects. The team also will work to establish the education framework and workforce pipeline needed to attract radiopharmaceutical companies to Tennessee.
The core technical leadership group for UT-ORIIs new radiopharmaceutical therapies CRI will be the proposals anchor researchers: Sandra Davern, ORNLs section head for radioisotope research and development and initiative lead for the accelerating radiotherapeutics through Advanced Molecular Constructs Initiative and the Accelerating Radiotherapeutic Innovations and Applications Initiative at ORNL; Rachel Patton McCord, associate professor of biochemistry and cellular and molecular biology at UTK; Junming Yue, associate professor in pathology in UT Health Science Centers College of Medicine; and Dr. Gabor Joseph Tigyi, associate vice chancellor and a Harriet Van Vleet Endowed Professor in Basic Oncology at UT Health Science Centers College of Medicine.
With the addition of these two new CRIs, UT and ORNL researchers will be directing their joint attention to advancing research in four important areas:
- Clean manufacturing and advanced materials
- Energy storage and transportation
- Circular bioeconomy systems
- Radiopharmaceutical therapies
to learn more about the UT-ORII selection.
