Indiana Health Industry Forum

The award honors individuals who have significantly converted research toward commercial use. It was announced on June 13 as part of the fifth annual Indiana Health Industry Forum conference, Innovention '06, at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis.

Borgens is one of the founders of Andara Life Science Inc., where he developed technology that forms the basis of an overall platform of potential treatments for central nervous system injury and disease. Most notably, he designed the oscillating field stimulator (OFS) for treating spinal cord injuries through the regeneration of damaged nerve fibers. Early testing at Indiana University School of Medicine with spinal injured patients has produced increased sensory perception and potential use of their extremities. Andara has recently merged with Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems Inc., where Borgens continues as a scientific adviser.

Borgens is the Mari Hulman George Professor of Applied Neurology at Purdue's School of Veterinary Medicine and holds a joint appointment in the Welden School of Biomedical Engineering. He is the founder of Purdue's Center for Paralysis Research, where he leads teams of researchers to discover treatments for central nervous system injury and disease.

"As a result of Dr. Borgens' groundbreaking research, paraplegics, quadriplegics and ventilator-dependent individuals can now look forward to promising new treatment options," said John Thornburgh, a partner at Ice Miller law firm.

Each year, scientists are nominated and awarded based on specific criteria: leadership capability, contributions/accomplishments to health and life science, impact on growth of life science, and overall commitment to life science in Indiana.

R. Graham Cooks, the Henry Bohn Hass Distinguished Professor of Analytical Chemistry, and Fred Regnier, the J.H. Law Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, both from Purdue University, were among the top three nominees for this year's award and also were recognized at the event. Cooks' research and development of mass spectrometers has led to Indiana's advancement in the proteomics industry. He also was a catalyst in the creation of InProteo LLC, a consortium among Eli Lilly, Indiana Instrumentation Institute and Indiana University and Purdue University. Regnier has six commercialized products and more than 40 patents, many of which are licensed by Indiana companies. His research, which has created more than 700 jobs, has generated more than $2 million in revenue for Purdue.