Inventor of the Year Award 2023 : Deepak Shukla
2023 Inventor of the Year: Dr. Deepak Shukla Heading link
The Office of Technology Management is honored to present the 2023 Inventor of the Year award to Dr. Deepak Shukla for the development of the viral and immunological basis of ocular diseases, herpes simplex virus (HSV) pathogenesis, and the development of new anti-viral agents and vaccines. He is a fellow of American Academy of Microbiology over 25 years’ experience in ocular virology, 200+ scientific publications on herpes.
Most recently, Dr. Shukla developed a Drug Encapsulated Carbon (DECON), a novel platform for enhanced antiviral drug delivery that extends drug availability time, reduces dosing frequency, reduces systemic toxicity, minimizes drug-drug interaction. Drugs that use DECON technology can be self-administered and demonstrate higher efficacy overall. This work has received support from a major industry partner that invested $200,000 to advance the development. This work also has been supported by the UIC Proof of Concept Award, as well as by a newly awarded National Eye Institute (NEI) R01 grant.
Dr. Shukla’s contributions in antiviral research are pivotal, especially in addressing the limitations of current herpesvirus treatments that are limited by frequently developed viral resistance. Dr. Shukla and his research team significantly advanced the body of fundamental knowledge and basic understanding of new pathways that can be targeted that led to identification of therapeutic candidates as alternative to nucleoside drugs.
Dr. Shukla’s contribution and commitment to translational research make him well deserving of the Inventor of the Year Award!
The Inventor of the Year Award honors an outstanding inventor at the University of Illinois Chicago who has contributed to the development of intellectual property that significantly impacts their field and society. The award is given based on the criteria of creativity, novelty, and the commercial benefit to society.
The UIC OTM continues to rank in the top 10 U.S. universities for licensing revenue. Last fiscal year, UIC recorded over $35 million in royalty revenue, a portion of which went directly to Colleges/Departments. Royalty revenues are reinvested in faculty research at UIC with a portion of royalty revenue distributed to fund initiatives like the Chancellor’s Translational Research Initiative (CTRI) and the Proof-of-Concept (POC) Award Program.
The OTM works closely with researchers to protect their ideas, negotiates licenses on their and the University’s behalf, and provides education on the commercialization process. In addition to these services, OTM administers funding programs like CTRI, POC and DPI. OTM hosts workshops on how to protect your research and written works, SBIR/STTR funding, and the startup development process.
For more information on OTM, the Inventor of the Year, and past Inventor of the Year Awardees visit the OTM website at otm.uic.edu.