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# UT-ORII selects two new UT-ORNL convergent research initiatives

February 15, 2024

The University of Tennessee-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute, or UT-ORII, has selected circular bioeconomy systems and radiopharmaceutical therapies as its two newest Convergent Research Initiatives (CRIs), areas of joint research for UT and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Over the next five years, UT and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, or ORNL, will invest $40 million—$20 million per initiative—and work jointly to accelerate world-leading innovation and establish UT and ORNL as national leaders in these areas.

“These two new convergent research initiatives along with an additional CRI next year will bring more than 100 new UT and ORNL researchers together across our state to tackle some of our nation’s biggest challenges while also bringing in new funds to Tennessee,” said Randy Boyd, UT System president. “That means more opportunities for graduate students and more opportunities for Tennesseans.”

ORNL Director Stephen Streiffer said, “For decades, ORNL and UT have come together to leverage their complementary capabilities and produce leading innovation. In standing up these two new initiatives through UT-ORII, we are again bringing our expertise to bear for critical advancements.”

The new CRIs were chosen from 54 proposals submitted by UT and ORNL joint research teams. 

Erin Webb, lead for the Bioresource Science and Engineering group and relationship manager for the DOE Bioenergy Technologies program at ORNL. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

“There was an outstanding response to the call for proposals from ORNL and UT researchers,” said David Sholl, UT-ORII’s interim executive director. “We had 54 teams of ORNL and UT researchers come together and say, ‘*We have a big idea. We’re ready to work togethe*r.’ That’s powerful and demonstrates the tremendous potential we have to solve some of our nation’s toughest problems and make a huge impact across the state and around the world, when we combine our resources.”

UT-ORII’s new circular bioeconomy systems CRI team will leverage the strengths of ORNL and the UT Institute of Agriculture’s long-established work across the state to partner with two crucial Tennessee industries: auto manufacturing and agriculture/forestry to create a circular bioeconomy systems testbed. The group aims to use emerging science to produce materials from sustainable carbon sources, pioneering the shift toward low-energy and low-carbon-intensity circular agriculture, and manufacturing.

The core technical leadership group for UT-ORII’s new circular bioeconomy systems CRI will be the proposal’s leads: **Erin Webb**, lead for the Bioresource Science and Engineering group and relationship manager for the DOE Bioenergy Technologies program at ORNL, and **Niki Labbe**, a professor and assistant director of the UT Institute of Agriculture’s Center for Renewable Carbon. Supporting subject matter experts are **Gerald Tuskan**, the director of the Department of Energy’s Center for Bioenergy Innovation at ORNL and an ORNL Corporate Fellow, and **Alexei Sokolov**, UT-ORNL’s Governor’s Chair for Polymer Science.

Sandra Davern, ORNL’s section head for radioisotope research and development section. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

UT-ORII’s new radiopharmaceutical therapies CRI will benefit from the combined talents and resources of ORNL, UT Knoxville (UTK) and the UT Health Science Center. The team’s goal is to develop the next advance in precision cancer medicine by focusing its research on a new generation of theranostics—a combination of therapy and diagnostic imaging drugs—that utilizes targeted alpha-emitting radioisotope constructs to precisely kill cancer cells with minimal side effects. The team also will work to establish the education framework and workforce pipeline needed to attract radiopharmaceutical companies to Tennessee.

The core technical leadership group for UT-ORII’s new radiopharmaceutical therapies CRI will be the proposal’s anchor researchers: **Sandra Davern**, ORNL’s section head for radioisotope research and development and initiative lead for the accelerating radiotherapeutics through Advanced Molecular Constructs Initiative and the Accelerating Radiotherapeutic Innovations and Applications Initiative at ORNL; **Rachel Patton McCord**, associate professor of biochemistry and cellular and molecular biology at UTK; **Junming Yue**,  associate professor in pathology in UT Health Science Center’s College of Medicine; and **Dr. Gabor Joseph Tigyi**, associate vice chancellor and a Harriet Van Vleet Endowed Professor in Basic Oncology at UT Health Science Center’s College of Medicine.

With the addition of these two new CRIs, UT and ORNL researchers will be directing their joint attention to advancing research in four important areas: 
                            - Clean manufacturing and advanced materials
                            - Energy storage and transportation
                            - Circular bioeconomy systems
                            - Radiopharmaceutical therapies

Click here to learn more about the UT-ORII selection.  

### Media Contact

### Contact

coffmanke@ornl.gov

865.341.3553

## Researchers

Erin G  Webb

Sandra M  Davern

Gerald A  Tuskan

Alexei P  Sokolov

## Organizations

Biological and Environmental Systems Science Directorate

Biosciences Division

Environmental Sciences Division

Biodiversity and Sustainable Systems Section

Bioresource Science and Engineering Group

Isotope Science and Engineering Directorate

Radioisotope Science and Technology Division

Radioisotope Research and Development Section

Physical Sciences Directorate

Chemical Sciences Division