Rice University innovators claim prizes across health care, energy research

big wins

Rice researchers are cleaning up when it comes to grants and competitions. Photo via Rice.edu

Undergraduate students from Rice University were awarded the top prize in a health innovation challenge.

Design by Biomedical Undergraduate Teams (DEBUT) Challenge, which is organized by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the non-profit organization VentureWell, selected medical device team UroFlo as its winner, claiming the $20,000 prize. The technology, a continuous bladder irrigation system, was recognized for its potential to revolutionize post-operative care and improve patient outcomes.

The winning team from Rice consists of 2024 bioengineering graduates Anushka Agrawal, Sahana Prasanna, Robert Heeter, Archit Chabbi, Kevin Li, and Richard Chan. The UroFlo system provides care to patients after surgery and reduces the burden on health care professionals by implementing state-of-the-art sensors and machine learning algorithms with a touchscreen user interface. This helps with data collection, processing and visualization. UroFlo promises to enhance the management of urinary tract infections (UTIs) and help prevent blood clots.

“We have learned so much from this process and we are really proud of what we have accomplished,” says Chabbi in a news release. “It’s truly rewarding to know that our work can impact patients’ experience and help improve quality of care. Over the many hours we spent working in the Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen (OEDK) at Rice, we’ve not only developed an amazing set of skills, but have also forged really strong connections with one-another and the nearby medical community at the Texas Medical Center.”

The award will be presented on Oct. 25 in Baltimore during the annual Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) conference.

UroFlo was also with first place in the Johns Hopkins Healthcare Design Competition in the Post-Surgical Infection Management category; first place in the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs Student Design Competition; “Best Medical Device Technology Award” in the 2024 Huff Engineering Design Showcase and competition held by the OEDK; “Outstanding Bioengineering Design Project,” Rice Department of Bioengineering; “Best Presentation” in the Texas Children’s Hospital Surgical Research Day; finalist and “Best Engineering Project” in Rice’s 2024 Shapiro Research Showcases; and semi-finalist in the H. Albert Napier Rice Launch Challenge. UroFlo will continue after Rice, as the project will be developed further.

“We are all very passionate about biomedical engineering, and dedicated and committed to making a difference” Chan said in a news release. “We actually decided to continue to develop UroFlo after our graduation from Rice a few months ago with the hope of improving our innovative solution for urological care.”

In other news, Rice University’s Naomi Halas won $7.5 million over five years from the United States Department of Defense (DOD) Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) with her project proposal Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) for her project titled “Combining Nonequilibrium Chemistries with Atomic Precision,” which competed in the category “plasmon-controlled single-atom catalysis.”

“Combining Nonequilibrium Chemistries with Atomic Precision” addressed the need for more energy-efficient and less protocol-intensive chemical processes that involve using light to drive chemical reactions and single-atom “reactors” to catalyze chemical reactions that are nearly 100 percent specific in terms of reaction products.

Plasmons work when they make metal nanoparticles act like antennas, and certain designed reactor sites on their surfaces can then carry out chemical reactions at a fraction of the “energy expenditure of conventional industrial catalysts” according to a news release.

Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine have also received $2.8 million in funding from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) for their research on reducing inflammation and lung damage in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) patients.

“Cell Based Immunomodulation to Suppress Lung Inflammation and Promote Repair,” will be co-led byRice’s Omid Veiseh, a professor of bioengineering and faculty director of the Rice Biotech Launch Pad, and professor of surgery at Baylor Ravi Kiran Ghanta. They will develop a new translational cell therapy platform “ to allow a better local administration of cytokines to the lungs in order to suppress inflammation and potentially prevent lung damage in ARDS patients” according to a news release.

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A Rice University team of engineers designed a low-cost ventilator, and now the device, which has been picked up for manufacturing, has received approval from the FDA. Photo courtesy of Jeff Fitlow/Rice University

Ventilator designed by Rice University team gets FDA approval

in the bag

A ventilator that was designed by a team at Rice University has received Emergency Use Authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ApolloBVM was worked on March by students at Rice's Brown School of Engineering's Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen, or OEDK. The open-source plans were shared online so that those in need could have access to the life-saving technology. Since its upload, the ApolloBVM design has been downloaded by almost 3,000 registered participants in 115 countries.

"The COVID-19 pandemic pushed staff, students and clinical partners to complete a novel design for the ApolloBVM in the weeks following the initial local cases," says Maria Oden, a teaching professor of bioengineering at Rice and director of the OEDK, in the press release. "We are thrilled that the device has received FDA Emergency Use Authorization."

While development began in 2018 with a Houston emergency physician, Rohith Malya, Houston manufacturer Stewart & Stevenson Healthcare Technologies LLC, a subsidiary of Kirby Corporation that licensed ApolloBVM in April, has worked with the team to further manufacture the device into what it is today.

An enhanced version of the bag valve mask-based ventilator designed by Rice University engineers has won federal approval as an emergency resuscitator for use during the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo courtesy of Stewart & Stevenson

The Rice team worked out of OEDK throughout the spring and Stewart & Stevenson joined to support the effort along with manufacturing plants in Oklahoma City and Houston.

"The FDA authorization represents an important milestone achievement for the Apollo ABVM program," says Joe Reniers, president of Kirby Distribution and Services, in the release. "We can now commence manufacturing and distribution of this low-cost device to the front lines, providing health care professionals with a sturdy and portable ventilation device for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic."

Reniers continues, "It is a testimony to the flexibility of our people and our manufacturing facilities that we are able to readily utilize operations to support COVID-19 related need."

The device's name was selected as a tribute to Rice's history with NASA and President John F. Kennedy's now-famous speech kicking off the nation's efforts to go to the moon. It's meaningful to Matthew Wettergreen, one of the members of the design team.

"When a crisis hits, we use our skills to contribute solutions," Wettergreen previously told CultureMap. "If you can help, you should, and I'm proud that we're responding to the call."

A Houston-based team of scientists and students have developed a low-cost ventilator. Photo courtesy of Rice University

Rice University students and staff team up with Canadian company to make low-cost ventilators

hi, tech

As the COVID-19 case numbers continue to grow, hospitals around the world are either experiencing or expecting a shortage of ventilation units. In Houston, a team of students and staff at Rice University have designed a solution.

Along with Canadian global health design firm, Metric Technologies, the Rice team has developed an automated bag valve mask ventilator that can be crafted for less than $300. Moreover, the team expects to share the designs so that these low-cost machines can be produced everywhere.

The project is being called Take a Breatherand was inspired by an early prototype that a group of engineering seniors developed in 2019 at Rice's Brown School of Engineering'sOshman Engineering Design Kitchen, or OEDK. The idea was to take a bag valve mask, which medical professionals use manually by squeezing with their hands, and create a device that can instead compress the bag automatically.

The parts of the device are largely created via 3D printing and laser cut, according to a press release from Rice, and only took around a week to prototype. While the original project was created to help emergency medicine professionals using a manual ventilator, the device is very relevant in the current coronavirus crisis.

"The immediate goal is a device that works well enough to keep noncritical COVID-19 patients stable and frees up larger ventilators for more critical patients," says Amy Kavalewitz, executive director of the OEDK, in the release.

As principal at Metric Technologies, Dr. Rohith Malya, who is assistant professor of emergency medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and an adjunct assistant professor of bioengineering at Rice, saw the growing need for for automated ventilator masks in emergency medicine.

"This is a clinician-informed end-to-end design that repurposes the existing BVM global inventory toward widespread and safe access to mechanical ventilation," Malya says in the release.

According to Malya, more than 100 million bag valve masks are produced annually. The designed device, which can work with these bags, has been named the ApolloBVM — a nod to when President John F. Kennedy announced from the Rice campus that it was his mission to get America to the moon.

"This project appeals to our ingenuity, it's a Rice-based project and it's for all of humanity," he says in the release. "And we're on an urgent timescale. We decided to throw it all on the table and see how far we go."

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Rice University opens biotech venture studio in TMC

rapidly scaling

In its mission to amplify and advance biotech innovation, Rice University has announced its latest initiative — a new lab focused on bringing life-saving medical technologies to commercialization.

Established to rapidly build companies based on Rice University's portfolio of over 100 patents, RBL LLC is a new biotech venture creation studio based in Texas Medical Center Helix Park. RBL comes on the heels of establishing the Rice Biotech Launch Pad, a biotech innovation accelerator that opened last year.

Paul Wotton, executive director of the Rice Biotech Launch Pad, co-founded RBL with his colleagues Omid Veiseh, Rice professor of bioengineering and faculty director of the Rice Biotech Launch Pad; Jacob Robinson, Rice professor of electrical and computer engineering; and Dr. Rima Chakrabarti, a physician scientist and venture capital investor with KdT Ventures.

“This is a pivotal moment for Houston and beyond,” Wotton, who serves as RBL’s managing partner, says in a news release from Rice. “Houston has rapidly emerged as a global life sciences powerhouse, blending cutting-edge research with early clinical applications at Rice and the city’s world-renowned hospital systems.

"Investors from across the nation are recognizing Houston’s potential, and with RBL, we’re building on that momentum," he continues. "We’ll not only amplify the work of the Rice Biotech Launch Pad but expand our reach across Texas, creating opportunities for biotech ventures statewide and driving growth for the biotech industry as a whole.”

Strategically located in TMC, RBL will collaborate with medical leaders, investors, corporations, and other players both in the same building and on the greater TMC campus.

“Leveraging Rice University’s Biotech Launch Pad breakthroughs and pairing it with the world-class translational infrastructure of TMC Helix Park well positions RBL to drive unprecedented advances in patient care,” William McKeon, president and CEO of the TMC, says in the release. “This partnership between academia, industry and health care is exactly what’s needed to transform medical discoveries into real-world solutions that improve lives globally.”

RBL is Rice's latest effort to bridge the gap between academia and biotech innovation, an effort led by Paul Cherukuri, Rice’s chief innovation officer, who reportedly spearheaded development of the new initiative.

“RBL is a game-changer for Rice, Houston and the global biotech community,” Cherukuri adds. “This venture not only accelerates the commercialization of our innovations but also sets a blueprint for other universities looking to maximize the real-world impact of their discoveries. By combining scientific expertise with entrepreneurial support from Day Zero together with strategic clinical partnerships in the TMC, we’re creating a model for driving large-scale biotech innovation that universities everywhere should aspire to replicate.”

Since the Rice Biotech Launch Pad was established, Motif Neurotech closed its series A round with an oversubscribed $18.75 million, the hub secured a $34.9 million grant, and a “living pharmacy” founded at the Launch Pad received industry validation.

“RBL provides a powerful platform to translate high-impact scientific discoveries into therapies that will dramatically improve patient outcomes,” Veiseh says. “Our goal is to rapidly bring Rice’s pioneering research into the clinic, delivering life-saving solutions to patients around the world.”

Houston hospital named among smartest in the nation

hi, tech

Houston hospitals are chock-full of smart people. But they’re also equipped with lots of “smart” technology. In fact, five local hospitals appear on Newsweek’s new list of the world’s best “smart” hospitals.

To compile the list, Newsweek teamed up with data provider Statista to rank the world’s top 330 hospitals for the use of smart technology. The ranking factors were electronic functionality, telemedicine, digital imaging, artificial intelligence (AI), and robotics.

The highest-ranked Houston hospital is the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, appearing at No. 6. The hospital was recognized for advancements in electronic functionality, AI and robotics.

“MD Anderson has a significant opportunity and a responsibility to our many stakeholders to create a digital ecosystem that promotes collaboration and advances scientific discovery to enhance patient outcomes,” David Jaffray, the cancer center’s chief technology and digital officer, said in a 2021 news release.

“Through our ongoing focus on enabling the use of new technologies to place quantitative data in context for our researchers,” Jaffray added, “we foster cutting-edge oncology data science to inform our cancer discovery research and to accelerate translation of our research findings into benefits for cancer patients.”

Ahead of MD Anderson on the list are:

  1. Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
  2. Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland.
  3. Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
  4. Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.
  5. Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.

Other Houston hospitals on the list are:

  • Houston Methodist Hospital, No. 11.
  • Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, No. 105.
  • Texas Children’s Hospital, No. 197.
  • Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, No. 266.

Expert: How to best repurpose Houston’s infrastructure for a clean energy future

guest column

Houston, often dubbed the “Energy Capital of the World,” is at a pivotal moment in its history. Known for its vast oil and gas reserves, the city is now embracing a new role as a leader in the clean energy transition. This shift is not just about adopting new technologies but also about creatively repurposing existing infrastructure to support sustainable energy solutions.

Houston’s offshore oil wells, many of which are old or abandoned, present a significant opportunity for carbon capture. By repurposing these wells, we can sequester carbon dioxide, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating climate change. This approach not only utilizes existing infrastructure but also provides a cost-effective solution for carbon management. According to the Greater Houston Partnership, initiatives like these are crucial as Houston aims to lower its climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions. Exxon estimates that just their proposed CCS hub could capture and store 50 million metric tons of CO2 annually by 2030 and 100 million metric tons by 2040.

The proximity of abandoned offshore platforms to the coast makes them ideal candidates for renewable energy substations. These platforms can be transformed into hubs for wind, solar or tidal energy, facilitating the integration of renewable energy into the grid. This repurposing not only maximizes the use of existing structures but also minimizes environmental disruption.

Decommissioned pipelines, which are already in place, offer a ready-made solution for routing renewable energy cables. By using these existing rights of way, Houston can avoid disturbing additional seafloor and reduce the environmental impact of new cable installations. This strategy ensures a smoother transition to renewable energy infrastructure. The U.S. Energy Information Administration notes that Texas, including Houston, leads the nation in wind-generated electricity, highlighting the potential for further renewable energy development.

Onshore oil and gas facilities in Houston also hold potential for clean energy repurposing. Wells that were drilled but never used for oil or gas can be adapted for geological thermal energy storage. This process involves storing excess renewable energy in the form of heat, which can be retrieved when needed, providing a reliable and sustainable energy source. This innovative use of existing wells aligns with Houston’s broader energy transition strategy, which aims to leverage the city’s industrial expertise for a low-carbon future.

Once the land has been remediated, old and abandoned oil fields can be converted into solar farms. This transformation not only provides a new use for previously contaminated land but also contributes to the generation of clean, renewable energy. Solar farms on these sites can help meet Houston’s energy needs while supporting environmental restoration. The Environmental Protection Agency in recent years recognized Houston as the top city in the U.S. for green energy usage, with annual green power usage topping 1 billion kilowatt-hours in 2021.

Houston’s journey towards a clean energy future is a testament to the power of innovation and adaptability. By repurposing existing infrastructure, we can create a sustainable energy landscape that honors the city’s industrial past while paving the way for a greener tomorrow. These strategies highlight the potential for Houston to lead in the clean energy transition, setting an example for cities worldwide.

———

Tershara Mathews is the national offshore wind lead at WSP.

This article originally ran on EnergyCapital.


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