Dr. John Giesy receives Innovation Award

Dr. John Giesy accepts the Industry Liaison Office Award of Innovation at TCU Place in Saskatoon on May 18.

Dr. John Giesy, Canada Research Chair of Environmental Toxicology at the U of S, received the 2010 Innovation Place-U of S Industry Liaison Office Award of Innovation for developing a new chemical toxin screening test that evaluates the effects of chemicals on hormones.

The $10,000 annual award honors U of S researchers who have brought new and commercially viable technology to the U of S Industry Liaison Office (ILO) for development into marketable products. The award was announced at the Celebrate Success Business Awards Gala in Saskatoon on May 18.

Giesy, who is also a professor in the WCVM’s Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences, co-developed the H295R Steroidogenesis Assay that evaluates the effects of chemical compounds on a much wider range of hormones. The cost-effective, rapid test allows regulators to determine whether chemical compounds have the potential to disrupt the human endocrine system. The assay has been approved for use by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Organization for Economic Development and Co-operation.

Giesy has decided to donate the award’s $10,000 cash prize to the U of S Industry Liaison Office to further the commercialization of the assay’s intellectual property. The John P. and Susan E. Giesy Foundation also gives $10,000 per year to the U of S.

For more details, please read the U of S news release.