| The AgBioscience Centers of Innovation
OARDC and OSU Extension research, development and education programs have generated significant economic impact for Ohioans. Studies by Battelle Memorial Institute show such contributions annually range into the billions of dollars, fueling Ohio's $90-plus billion food and agriculture industry.
But the potential for translating research into economic opportunity is greater today than ever before, as we live in an economy driven by the generation and transfer of knowledge.
To further enhance and accelerate the process of knowledge generation and implementation in Ohio, OARDC and OSU Extension have partnered to create the AgBioscience Centers of Innovation - an initiative designed to transform discovery and knowledge into innovations that have positive economic, social, and environmental impacts, while contributing to local and state economies and promoting an entrepreneurial culture within The Ohio State University.
The AgBioscience Centers of Innovation develop and support interdisciplinary research teams that:
- Commercialize discoveries.
- Create start-up companies.
- Expand existing companies.
- Create public-private partnerships.
At the core of the Centers of Innovation is the concept of AgBioscience. This term not only reflects the broad range of academic disciplines involved, but it also represents a new paradigm in the way research is conducted and discoveries are delivered.
The primary drivers in the AgBioscience paradigm are societal needs (economic, environmental, quality of life, etc.) and a focus on end-products and impact. These drivers have existed in isolation before, but combined they result in:
- Research programs that cross disciplines (agricultural, biological, and social sciences; engineering; business; and many more).
- Actively identifying discoveries that have commercial potential.
- Linking fundamental and translational research.
- Leveraging and combining resources (funding, facilities, people).
- Overcoming barriers to commercializing agbioscience discoveries.
The following centers have been created:
Diagnostic tests for infectious pathogens are essential for the health of food-producing animals and plants, and for the safety and security of our food supply.Center scientists are developing molecular-based diagnostic assays for diseases such as infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) of poultry, crop-damaging phytoplasma bacteria, and E. coli.
Food safety and security are high national priorities with major local impact.This center brings advances in food safety to commercial applications, including novel processing techniques that eliminate dangerous bacteria (e.g., ozone and UV radiation for Salmonella in eggs), tamper-proof caps for food packages, and rapid tests to diagnose foodborne pathogens such as noroviruses.
Aging Americans are suffering epidemics of chronic illnesses, including obesity, diabetes, vascular diseases, and cancer. This center is addressing such serious societal issues by developing functional foods - including berry compounds that fight cancer, heart-healthy soy bread, and a soy-tomato drink to combat cholesterol and cancer.
This center focuses on the development and commercialization of a series of new organic and biological products to meet the fertility, pest control, and pollution mitigation needs of rapidly expanding urbanized landscapes - including pest-killing nematodes, biocontrol-amended soils, and techniques for reclamation of urban brownfields.
This center was established to provide the necessary expertise to address barriers to product commercialization by providing cutting-edge research into entrepreneurship, contract design, finance, marketing, and risk management for innovation-based and start-up AgBioscience enterprises.
The focus of OBIC is to develop specialty chemicals, polymers, and industrial products from renewable plant sources. For example, OARDC plant breeders are creating high-yield, disease-resistant varieties of soybeans, wheat, and corn, combined with value-added traits specifically targeted toward industrial applications such as biodegradable plastic and packaging.
Contact Information:
Bill Ravlin
Associate Director, OARDC
The Ohio State University
209H Research Services Building
1680 Madison Ave.
Wooster, Ohio 44691
(330) 263-3705
ravlin.1@osu.edu
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