Amy Anastasia helps researchers transition from the lab to the marketplace

HUNTINGTON -- The idea of scientific research at a university is generally to find something that will improve people's lives.

In some cases, it's something that can be turned into a product.

So the formula seems easy. Discover something people can use, and then sell it, right?

Well, it's actually not that simple.

Researchers have to apply for patents on their work, and then someone has to come up for a use for it and a way to market it, hopefully in a fashion that has royalties coming back to the university.

That's why Marshall University has what it calls its Technology Transfer Office.

John Maher heads up the office. His second-in-command is Amy Anastasia, the assistant director.

"This is very behind-the-scenes," Anastasia said of her job, with a laugh. "It is translating sciences into businesses and saying 'How can we sell this widget?' You can patent anything, but it's all a matter of how to roll out a patent so the university can get some money coming back from it."

Patented research is a hot topic at Marshall at the moment. President Stephen Kopp has been talking about establishing an institute dedicated solely to research that would roll out patents and create jobs.

"The essence of their (Maher and Anastasia's) role is to see what opportunities exist out there and putting together the appropriate documentation to get a patent ... it is an important office," Kopp said. "And it says to the researchers that we have the structure in place to protect their work and their commercial interests."

One of the most important projects Anastasia has worked on was a patent for a method of creating alginate, which was discovered by MU research scientist and professor Hongwei Yu. Yu and fellow professor Richard Niles launched Progenesis, a company that hopes to market the product.

Alginate is used in everything from ice cream to cosmetics and from beer to pharmaceuticals. Alginate is usually acquired through harvesting large amounts of seaweed, but Yu discovered a way to produce it by altering the genetics of certain bacteria.

"Scientists don't always make the best entrepreneurs, but (Yu and Niles) really got into it," Anastasia said. "It's odd talking to a Ph.D. about business marketing, but they were very open to it."

Progenesis opened laboratories in South Charleston in February.

For Anastasia, a native of Ona, the whole process was gratifying.

"As a senior in high school, I made a decision that I wanted to stay in-state," she said. "I didn't want to be part of the 'brain drain.' My whole idea was to stay here and do something that would help make the state better and create opportunities for my future children so they don't have to leave.

"I think I'm doing that now, and I get to live vicariously through these entrepreneurs, which is a lot of fun."