Brooks Adams to Lead Collaboration To Develop State’s Nanobiotechnology Sector
Posted: 03-19-2009 : WINSTON-SALEM AND GREENSBORO, N.C.

WINSTON-SALEM AND GREENSBORO, N.C. – The group working to make nanobiotechnology synonymous with North Carolina has hired an executive director to lead its planning efforts.

The new hire, Brooks Adams, has worked for 14 years in innovation management in the life sciences. He’s held leadership roles in global business development and marketing with multinational and startup companies. It’s good training for leading the Center of Innovation in Nanobiotechnology (COIN), which is based in the Piedmont Triad but extends across North Carolina to create companies and jobs

"Our function will be to bring together the right people and organizations to put our universities' research to good use, and to take their work to the market in ways that will directly improve medicine and the life sciences and enhance the quality of life," Adams said.

“We seek to make North Carolina a hub of nanobiotech research, development and commercialization.”

As part of the Biotechnology Center’s Centers of Innovation program, the COIN was established to coordinate North Carolina research leading to commercial opportunities in nanobiotechnology. The key early partners in this effort include North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Wake Forest University.

Also included are the Joint School for Nanoscience and Nanoengineering and university and industry partners statewide. The Piedmont Triad Partnership, a non-profit, 12-county economic development corporation, is administering the grant and providing office space during this planning phase.

The core early group has expanded to include Duke University, North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The partners welcome Adams’ hiring.

“I believe Brooks will play an instrumental role in making North Carolina the global hub of nanobiotechnology products and services through his efforts at COIN,” said Jerry McGuire, director of the office for technology transfer at UNC-G.

Adams has worked on several projects involving the commercialization of nano- and micro-scale technologies including nano-aerosols for drug delivery, gene arrays, and DNA diagnostics.

“North Carolina A & T State University recognizes the unique talents Brooks Adams brings to the COIN initiative that will help shape this organization to facilitate the interaction between emerging interdisciplinary technology research and the realization of viable commercial enterprise,” said N. Radhakrishnan Ph.D., P.E., Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development at NC A&T.

Adams’ position and the planning effort is part of the first phase of Center of Innovation funding. Adams’ primary task is creation of a business plan. Its approval by the Biotechnology Center will provide $2.5 million to the COIN over four years to drive commercialization efforts. Adams will serve as its Executive Director after the formal launch of the Center.

“This background will help him to quickly position the Center of Innovation in Nanobiotechnology as a state technology resource,” said Michael Batalia, Ph.D., CLP, director of technology asset management for Wake Forest.

Added Don Kirkman, president and CEO of the Piedmont Triad Partnership: “With the Center of Innovation in Nanobiotechnology, we have an exciting opportunity in the Piedmont Triad to translate research into concrete realities that will lead to jobs for the region and state.”

The Biotechnology Center created the Centers of Innovation program to accelerate commercialization in specific sectors of the life sciences and to create companies and jobs across the state. The COIs are not research enterprises; their goal is to virtually coordinate North Carolina research and resources within their industry sector to more efficiently translate innovations into the marketplace.

Four initial COI awards have been made in addition to nanobiotechnology: marine biotechnology, advanced medical technologies, natural biotechnology and integrative medicine, and drug discovery.

“This grant is facilitating historic regional collaboration among three of the largest Piedmont Triad research universities to create the region’s first coordinated science brand, which will be nanobiotechnology,” said Gwyn Riddick, director of the Biotechnology Center’s Piedmont Triad Office.

“We expect that this combined strength will attract other university, non-profit and industry partners across the state as the COIN targets commercialization of the technology into the marketplace.”

The Biotechnology Center is a private, non-profit corporation supported by the North Carolina General Assembly. Its mission is to provide long-term economic and societal benefits to North Carolina by supporting biotechnology research, business, education and strategic policy statewide.

Contact Chris Brodie, vice president of corporate communications at chris_brodie@ncbiotech.org, 919-541-9366 or visit the Biotechnology Web site at www.ncbiotech.org.