FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                              

For more information, contact:

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center

Sheila Champlin – (901) 448-4957, schampli@uthsc.edu or

Dena Owens – (901) 448-4072, dowens10@uthsc.edu

The University of Tennessee Research Foundation

and the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance

Hosts Technology and Life Sciences Entrepreneurship Workshop

___________________________________________________________

‘Invention to Venture’ features AutoZone Founder Pitt Hyde

___________________________________________________________

Memphis, Tenn. (October 14, 2011) – The University of Tennessee Research Foundation (UTRF) along with the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA) proudly announce “Invention to Venture,” a one-day workshop on technology-based entrepreneurship with emphasis on life sciences and medical devices.  The workshop, which features keynote speaker Pitt Hyde, Founder of AutoZone, will be held on Friday, November 11, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), 800 Madison Ave., in the Student-Alumni Center Schreier Auditorium.

“Invention to Venture” is designed for university faculty and students, the Mid-South business community, and anyone interested in learning more about technology-based life sciences entrepreneurship, which may involve biomedicine, biotechnology and biomedical devices, pharmaceuticals, cosmetic product development, life systems technology, food processing, and institutions focused on research, development, technology commercialization.

  Presentations will focus on topics such as idea validation and assessments, building the team, business plan modeling, and intellectual property.  Workshop speakers are experts and entrepreneurs drawn from the entire region.

“At all universities, including the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, there is an increased emphasis on converting academic discoveries into products and services that benefit the public.  By hosting educational events like Invention to Venture, the UT Research Foundation is helping educate faculty, staff, and students who want to better understand the commercial potential of their work,” said Richard Magid, vice president of the UT Research Foundation.  “Our goal is to increase the rate at which university breakthroughs make it to the marketplace, create jobs, and improve people’s lives.” 

For more information about Invention to Venture or to register, please visit www.invention2venture.org/tennessee2011, or contact Dee Helton, president of the UTHSC Student Government Association Executive Council, by email dhelton5@uthsc.edu, or by phone, 317-698-5583.

The University of Tennessee Research Foundation, founded in 1935 and reorganized in 2003, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that promotes the commercialization of UT intellectual property, encourages an entrepreneurial culture, contributes to state and regional economic development, and promotes research and education to benefit the people of Tennessee and beyond. For more information, please visit www.utrf.tennessee.edu.

The National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance, established in 1995 by The Lemelson Foundation, is dedicated to supporting technology innovation and entrepreneurship in universities and colleges to create experiential learning opportunities for students, and successful, socially beneficial businesses. For more information, please visit www.nciia.org.

As the flagship statewide academic health system, the mission of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) is to bring the benefits of the health sciences to the achievement and maintenance of human health, with a focus on the citizens of Tennessee and the region, by pursuing an integrated program of education, research, clinical care, and public service.  In 2011, UT Health Science Center celebrates its centennial: 100 years advancing the future of health care.  Offering a broad range of postgraduate training opportunities, the main UTHSC campus is located in Memphis and includes six colleges: Allied Health Sciences, Dentistry, Graduate Health Sciences, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy.  The UTHSC campus in Knoxville includes a College of Medicine, College of Pharmacy, and an Allied Health Sciences unit.  In addition, the UTHSC Chattanooga campus includes a College of Medicine and an Allied Health Sciences unit.  Since its founding in 1911, UTHSC has educated and trained more than 53,000 health care professionals on campuses and in health care facilities across the state.  For more information, visit www.uthsc.edu.

###