From detecting concussions through saliva to targeting cancer at its source, Upstate researchers are constantly innovating. Check out the latest round of patents awarded that tackle major challenges in cancer biology, immune modulation, and non-invasive diagnostics.

Mehdi Mollapour, PhD (left) & Dimitra Bourboulia, PhD (right) with their patents for “compositions and methods useful for inhibiting extracellular MMP-2 activity”.

Dimitra Bourboulia, PhD, Mehdi Mollapour, PhD, and Gennady Bratslavsky, MD, for “compositions and methods useful for inhibiting extracellular MMP-2 activity”

This patent discusses new research into how cells interact with their surroundings, especially in diseases like cancer. Specifically, it focuses on the extracellular matrix (ECM)—a network of proteins and other substances outside cells that provides structure and helps cells move.

Gennady Bratslavsky, MD, with his patent for “compositions and methods useful for inhibiting extracellular MMP-2 activity”.

In many diseases, the ECM gets changed, and cells start moving through it in ways that can cause problems, like the spread of cancer. Scientists know that inside the cell, chemical signals (like protein changes called phosphorylation) help control these actions. However, it’s still not clear how similar signals might work outside the cell.

This invention looks into how these external signals, possibly involving enzymes called kinases and phosphoproteins, might also play a role in how cells change and move through the ECM. Understanding these outside-the-cell signals could help researchers discover new ways to treat diseases.

 William Kerr, PhD, for “selective SHIP inhibitors for treating disease”

This patent is about developing a new kind of medicine to help the immune system fight disease, especially in serious conditions like Graft-versus-Host Disease (GvHD), cancer, and the side effects of chemotherapy or radiation.

GvHD happens when someone gets a bone marrow transplant and the new immune cells start attacking the person's own body. It’s usually treated with strong drugs like steroids, but these can cause serious problems like infections or even make the cancer come back. This new treatment could help people with GvHD more safely and effectively.

The treatment targets a molecule in immune cells called SHIP1, which normally acts like a “brake” to keep the immune system from overreacting. But in diseases like cancer, this brake can stop immune cells (like T cells and natural killer cells) from doing their job. The new drugs block SHIP1 so these immune cells can wake up and fight cancer or infections more effectively.

The patent also talks about how this new treatment might help increase blood cell production, which is important for people who lose blood cells during cancer treatments. Current drugs for this are expensive and must be injected, but this new approach could be simpler and might work better.

In short, this invention describes a new way to "unblock" the immune system, strengthening it against cancer, infections, and transplant-related diseases, while possibly helping the body make more blood cells after damage from treatments.

Frank A. Middleton, PhD with his patent for “a method for evaluating or monitoring metabolic effects of exercise or injury by detecting and/or quantifying microRNAs in saliva”.

Frank A. Middleton, PhD, for “a method for evaluating or monitoring metabolic effects of exercise or injury by detecting and/or quantifying microRNAs in saliva”

This invention measures specific microRNAs in saliva before and after exercise or a suspected injury.

By analyzing these changes, the method can monitor metabolic responses to exercise (like how the body burns fat or manages fluids). It could also detect concussions or mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI) and even help predict how long symptoms might last.

 While traditional methods rely on blood tests or brain scans, which can be expensive, invasive, or slow, this approach is simple and saliva-based; which means it could be used on the sidelines of a game, in a doctor’s office, or at home. It's especially useful for children, athletes, and anyone engaging in regular physical activity.