The Catholic University of America Launches New Research Innovation Fund

The Catholic University of America announced today the launch of the Innovation Fund, managed by H. Joseph Yost, Ph.D., senior vice provost for research.

Established in 1887, The Catholic University of America is the second oldest research university in the United States and one of the 187 American colleges and universities with an R1 research designation.

The Innovation Fund will assist University researchers in advancing and progressing innovations to the next level, by accelerating further investment and development by the marketplace. Seed grants provided via the Innovation Fund will assist with prototype development, regulatory compliance, feasibility analyses, and legal reviews.

H. Joseph Yost, Ph.D., a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), with more than three decades of experience in teaching, mentoring and research, was recruited for the newly created role of senior vice provost for research.

Yost is tasked with assembling a team of individuals with extensive experience and expertise in the areas of technology transfer, research commercialization, intellectual property licensing, pipeline development, and post-award processing and reporting.

“I am excited and honored to be selected by Catholic University to launch and run this prestigious and innovative position,” said Yost. “The Innovation Fund is designed to fully realize the promise and potential of its institutional research activities and positively impact the lives of our facility, students and aspiring innovators.”

The creation of the Innovation Fund – along with the potential alignment of a venture funding vehicle providing early-stage capital, strategic guidance, and industry connections – will further maximize the societal and economic impacts of the University’s research enterprise.

“University faculty efforts in research, discovery and innovation often yield promising breakthroughs. More often than not, however, these exciting discoveries are not quite ready to be translated into real world applications.” said Peter Kilpatrick, President of The Catholic University of America.

Funding also may support technical and administrative staff salaries, equipment, and supplies, but will not contribute to faculty salaries or overhead. The fund may also be used to seed research projects and sponsor faculty to participate in conferences and symposia that support their research and innovation agendas.

The Innovation Fund will be resourced through philanthropic donations along with indirect cost recovery funding provided by external agencies to the University. The fund will be housed within the office of the senior vice provost for research. Using a blind selection process, a faculty committee will oversee the evaluation and selection of projects for seed grant funding provided by the Innovation Fund. Successful projects eventually would be managed by a third-party licensee or as a portfolio of a future University venture fund.

Individuals, corporations, organizations or alumni interested in making a contribution in support of the Innovation Fund should contact William Roth, associate vice president, University Advancement, at rothw [at] cua.edu (rothw[at]cua[dot]edu).