Swindle-Reilly named Early Career Innovator of the Year
College of Engineering Assistant Professor Katelyn Swindle-Reilly has been named The Ohio State University's Early Career Innovator of the Year for 2022.
The Early Career Innovator of the Year award recognizes early career Ohio State researchers who are actively working to promote commercialization of university intellectual property, through invention disclosures filed, patents applied for and/or received, technologies licensed or spin-off companies formed.
Swindle-Reilly's current research interests focus on the design of polymeric biomaterials for soft tissue repair and drug delivery with focused applications in ophthalmology and wound healing. She received the award for her work on treatments for patients with conditions such as age-related macular degeneration and other retinal diseases. These patients may need injections straight into the eye up to 12 times per year. Swindle-Reilly has developed an extended release capsule that – while still injected into the eye – can reduce the timing of injections to once or twice a year. The technology is the basis for Ohio State startup company, Vitranu, Inc.
Swindle-Reilly joined Ohio State in 2016, and holds appointments in Biomedical Engineering, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and Ophthalmology and Visual Science. She holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology, as well as an MS in Chemical Engineering and a PhD in Energy, Environmental, and Chemical Engineering from Washington University.
As Ohio State continues to expand its role in the commercialization of research, it is important to create an environment that facilitates and rewards research creativity and entrepreneurship. To support and stimulate entrepreneurial activity among Ohio State researchers, three university-wide innovator awards are presented as part of the Research and Innovation Showcase hosted by the Enterprise for Research, Innovation and Knowledge.
Watch a video explaining Swindle-Reilly's work and discovery.
from Ohio State's Office of Research
