MONTANA SBIR/STTR MATCHING FUNDS PROGRAM (MSMFP)
Funded Projects
NanoValent Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Jon Nagy, Bozeman
NanoValent Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an early-stage biotechnology company with an interest in developing new drug delivery systems for cancer treatment and vaccines against infectious agents. The MSMFP Stage 1 funds will be used to assist in accomplishing the goals of this National Science Foundation funded SBIR project. In this work, NanoValent will be exploring a novel, nanoscale particle technology to ultimately treat and monitor the efficacy of treatment of adult leukemia. Traditional and exploratory cancer therapy drugs will be encapsulated in tumor-targeted nanoparticles and tumor size and number will be monitored as a result of particle uptake by the cancerous cells. With this demonstration, NanoValent will seek additional investment in the research and development of this nanoparticle platform technology to broaden the applicability to many different cancer types.
S2 Corporation
Kris Merkel, Bozeman
S2 Corporation received a Stage 1 grant for $15,000 from the Montana SBIR/STTR Matching Funds Program in conjunction with a Phase 1 SBIR contract from the United States Air Force entitled, "Hardware Based Broadband Ultra High-Speed Digital Signal Processor", with funding level totaling $149,852. The project aims to develop S2 Corporation's extreme bandwidth photonic signal processor in working hardware that will generate digital signal streams representing broadband RF spectrum captures, and algorithms in software to analyze and characterize these signals in real time. The company plans to pursue a follow-on Phase II SBIR.
For the MSMFP Stage 1 funding, the primary objective is to extend the performance of the technology and to pursue the Phase II SBIR award. Funds will be used on salaries and associated costs to facilitate Phase II proposal writing efforts and a presentation of technical results. Funds allocated to travel will be used to brief U.S. Government contract representatives on technical findings of the SBIR effort.
Applications of S2's technology include both commercial and military sectors, with the baseline capacity of wideband monitoring of the radio frequency spectrum with high performance and low latency. Commercial applications are test and measurement and civilian (not military) radio frequency surveillance. This is applicable for communications activity monitoring as well. For military applications, wideband RF coverage for surveillance and signal's intelligence can apply to radar signal detection and cueing, electronic warfare, order of battle determination for targeting and for use in waveform detection, classification and measurement.
Bridger Photonics
Peter Roos, Bozeman
Under this effort, Bridger Photonics (BP) will investigate the use of super-resolution techniques for compressive imaging sensors. Under a current U.S. Army Phase I STTR, BP has developed and demonstrated a compressive imaging architecture that enables image reconstruction and object recognition tasks to be performed efficiently using very few pixels. The system operates in the visible and near-infrared spectral bands simultaneously. This is in contrast to a conventional system which would require both expensive image sensors with a large number of pixels in both bands and increased post-processing and data collection over the compressive architecture. In order to overcome limitations in compressive imaging architectures, BP has proposed to develop and prove the feasibility of super-resolution techniques for those systems to achieve image reconstructions with up to mega-pixel resolution. This effort will enable high-resolution compressive imaging systems, which are especially advantageous in the short-wave and mid-wave infrared bands where conventional image sensors are very costly.
Montana Microbial Products
Clifford Bradley, Missoula
Montana Microbial Products (MMP) has received a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award from the National Science Foundation to develop effective biological insecticides to control bark beetles that are devastating forests in Montana and the west. The grant from the MSMFP supports a key element of this project. Bark beetles are very difficult to control because their life cycle occurs inside trees. MMP is working with University of Montana scientists to develop methods to increase exposure of bark beetles to a naturally occurring fungus that infects bark beetles. The fungus infects only for certain insects and is not harmful to animals or humans. Success with this project will provide government agencies and private land owners with a cost effective, safe and environmentally friendly product to protect trees from bark beetles.
Good Nutrition Ideas
Dr. Kathleen Humphries, Missoula
[December 2011] Good Nutrition Ideas LLC, Missoula, Montana, has received a $30,000 matching funds grant from MSMFP. This grant compliments a $75,000 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) from the U.S. Department of Education and the National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation Research to commercialize the nutrition intervention, MenuChoice. MenuChoice is an innovative web-based product that will improve the food systems in group homes leading to better weight management, better gastrointestinal health and better dietary intake for the residents.
According to Dr. Kathleen Humphries, founder and president of Good Nutrition Ideas, "The grant for MenuChoice will enable us to extend the program to 84,000 group homes for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities across the nation providing a dietary guide that works for the residents, their families, and the care providers".
The company creates research-based novel nutrition products and training services. Dr. Humphries founded the company to improve the nutritional health of people with disabilities and to create innovative health promotion products based on scientific evidence.
Dr. Humphries has a doctorate in Nutrition Science from University of California Davis, and has been conducting nutrition research at the University of Montana for 10 years. She is the author of 20 scientific papers in the area of nutrition and community health.
