Dr. Liam Duffy (Chemistry and Biochemistry) and Dr. Kaira Wagoner (Biology) have each received new R&D grants from NCInnovation, a public-private partnership designed to accelerate and commercialize innovative research emerging from North Carolina's universities.
Duffy is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the founder of a start-up company, Moires Instruments, LLC. Duffy and his team are developing the "Quadropole Mass Starkometer," a new type of instrument for rapidly analyzing isomers -- compounds which share the same molecular formula but display different arrangements of atoms. Analysis of these molecules is fundamental to understanding and controlling a host of chemical and biochemical processes. Since current technologies for analyzing these compounds are laborious, costly, and time-intensive, the new instrument will find use in many fields, including materials science, the pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries, and academia. NCInnovation is supporting Duffy's work with a 1-year, $253,000 grant to fund prototyping and testing of various technical elements of the instrument.
Wagoner is a Research Scientist in the Department of Biology and a co-inventor of the UBeeO Assay, a pheromone-based tool for measuring honey bee colony mite and disease resistance. She is also CEO of Optera, a honey bee health company which produces and distributes the UBeeO Assay. Honey bees are vital pollinators for many crops and natural ecosystems, but in recent decades honey bee health has dramatically declined due to the harmful parasitic mite Varroa destructor. Some honey bee colonies are resistant to mites and diseases through hygienic behaviors, especially detecting and removing unhealthy brood. The UBeeO Assay allows beekeepers to measure a colony's level of hygienic activity, which helps the beekeeper breed healthier colonies. Wagoner received a 2-year, $553,000 grant from NCInnovation to refine and optimize the existing UBeeO technology and to develop a new, hygiene-inducing probiotic.
The two grants to UNCG are among 17 projects funded by NCInnovation in its first-ever statewide RFP. (In 2024, UNCG and JSNN Professor Hemali Rathnayake received one of NCINnovation's original pilot grants for her research on lithium refining.) In May, NCInnovation's Board of Directors unanimously approved $13.6M to fund the 17 projects after a months-long review and evaluation process led by subject matter and commercialization experts. Evaluators were looking for projects that had achieved proof of concept, show commercial promise, and have the potential to drive job creation and economic growth across the state. Only university researchers, not private companies, are eligible for NCInnovation grants.
“North Carolina’s public universities are working on truly amazing technologies, from improving poultry and livestock mortality rates to treating diseases like Alzheimer’s and pancreatic cancer,” said Michelle Bolas, executive vice president and chief innovation officer of NCInnovation. “NCInnovation helps researchers advance their discoveries through the university R&D process toward commercialization, strengthening the university-to-industry pipeline that’s central to American competitiveness.”