IU Researcher Receives Grant for Startup

An Indiana University researcher has received a federal grant for his high-tech startup developing technology to reduce testing on animals. Ken Shao’s Dream Tech LLC received a one-year $245,130 grant from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences.

The assistant professor of environmental and occupational health founded the company to lessen the use of animals in testing for chemical toxicity in food, pharmaceuticals and pesticides. "Dream Tech is developing a method to incorporate existing information to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of dose-response assessment, which addresses a chemical’s toxicity. This would reduce animal use in traditional toxicity studies," Shao said. "The project supported by the STTR grant will make this the first system able to integrate useful information. It will significantly advance chemical risk assessment."

Shao’s innovation is now protected,marketed and licensed by the IU Innovation and Commercialization Office to allow for commercialization by the industry.