KNOXVILLE—Technology that lights up cells to enable study of the effects of drugs and monitor disease is among The Scientist magazine’s Top 10 innovations of 2013. It’s also a University of Tennessee technology and licensed by a Knoxville-based startup company.

Technology using humanized bacterial luciferase developed by UT researchers and licensed by 490 BioTech, founded by two UT Knoxville faculty members and two then-graduate assistants, is ranked sixth on the magazine’s list. For more about the innovation list, visit here.

“The development of this technology originated more than 10 years ago, and with hard work by past graduate students and key financial support from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and University of Tennessee Research Foundation, it evolved into a marketable product that can be used to make pharmaceutical drugs safer, better, and cheaper,” said Steven Ripp, co-founder and chief operating officer of 490 BioTech and research associate professor at UT Knoxville. “Being recognized as a Top 10 technology is a significant milestone for our company, and it will greatly assist in mainstreaming our product toward better disease management and improved health care.” [Read more…]