Rutgers Inventors Receive Edison Patent Awards for Their Innovations

A team of researchers at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School has developed an antibody that could revolutionize the treatment of tuberculosis.

Another team has created a device that turns industrial waste into renewable energy, curbing the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Both have been named as recipients of Edison Patent Awards, New Jersey’s highest recognition of innovation. They and other award winners will be recognized during a ceremony in November.

This marks the third straight Edison Patent Awards in which two Rutgers teams have been honored.

“The Edison Patent Award is very special to me personally, insofar as (inventor Thomas) Edison’s legacy of innovation has been an aspirational goal of mine for many years and is what brought me to Rutgers in 2009,” said G. Charles Dismukes, Rutgers Distinguished Professor in the School of Arts and Sciences Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology.

He and his team of Anders Laursen, Martha Greenblatt, and Karin Calvinho received the Industrial Processes award for their innovative electrocatalytic process. Their technology – called eCUT Electrocatalytic Carbon Utilization Technology – is the basis for the Rutgers startup RenewCO2, which uses water and electricity to convert greenhouse gas emissions into chemical products.

In 2022, Carbon dioxide (CO2) accounted for 80% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from human activities, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. RenewCO2 believes eCUT can be used in existing industrial chemical processes and is low-cost, energy-efficient, and carbon-negative.

The second team of researchers was led by Abraham Pinter, a professor in the Department of Medicine, and Alok Choudhary, an assistant professor of microbiology, biochemistry, and molecular genetics at the Public Health Research Institute (PHRI) within Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. They were honored with the Medical Diagnostics award.

Their team isolated novel human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against a significant component of the bacteria that causes tuberculosis (TB).

“Tuberculosis remains a major health problem in most of the world, infecting an estimated 25% of the world’s population,” Pinter said. “TB disease occurs mainly in developing countries, where access to affordable diagnostics is limited.”

Millions of people worldwide are infected with the bacteria that causes TB – called mycobacterium tuberculosis, or M.tb for short – and approximately 10% of them develop active tuberculosis. If left undiagnosed and untreated, a person with active disease can spread the infection through the air. Despite the availability of an effective treatment, TB remains the second deadliest infectious disease and a major contributor to death in HIV-1 infected patients. The conventional method of diagnosing TB in HIV-1 infected patients is not very effective, highlighting the need for a faster and more readily available point-of-care test for M.tb that can be administered anywhere so that patients can be identified and treated with TB drugs as soon as possible.

“This will allow early treatment and help eradicate the world’s most lethal infectious disease,” Pinter said.

Choudhary added, "I am honored that our invention is aiding high-burden countries, particularly my home country India, and contributing to a TB-free world."

The Office for Research at Rutgers has supported both research teams through its Technology Transfer and New Ventures units. Technology Transfer worked with the researchers to patent the technologies and ensure intellectual property protection. The New Ventures team has collaborated with RenewCO2 through its launch, and now as the company is looking for funding, investors, and research collaborators.

“The Edison Patent Awards honor innovations that can make a difference in the world, so it is no surprise that these two teams have been recognized,” said Michael E. Zwick, senior vice president for research. “Their discoveries are fantastic examples of the work Rutgers researchers do to address worldwide issues. The Office for Research is proud to support all research being conducted within our four chancellor-led units at Rutgers University.”

The Edison Patent Awards, now in their 45th year, are named for inventor Thomas Edison who established his first laboratory facility in New Jersey. The awards include 14 categories, including pharmaceutical, consumer and animal health, and are presented annually by the Research & Development (R&D) Council of New Jersey to recognize and highlight the “broad array of research conducted in the state.”

A group of R&D Council researchers selects the winners after evaluating nominated patents “based on the significance of the problem addressed, its utility/socioeconomic value, [and] novelty and commercial impact.” The Technology Transfer team within the Office for Research nominated the two Rutgers teams. The 45th annual Edison Patent Awards Ceremony and Reception will take place on Thursday, Nov. 21, at Bell Works, Holmdel.