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Fall/Winter 2023 Spring 2023 Fall/Winter 2022 Previous Stories Subscribe
Building a premier biotech hub in Birmingham
Station 41 is a “great stride” toward a new center of commercialization
Story by Matt Windsor | Photos by Jennifer Alsabrook-Turner
When Erik Schwiebert, Ph.D., spun off his company DiscoveryBioMed from UAB in 2007, it
cost a million dollars to buy all the equipment and other expenses needed to build a
successful business. “That number would be far higher today,” Schwiebert said. “Biotech
startups have a high capital cost of entry.”
Pengfei Wang, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Chemistry, is able to do things a bit
differently. Wang is developing new forms of adjuvants, agents added to vaccines to
improve their immune response. Adjuvants are critical elements in developing vaccines for
everything from flu and COVID to cancer, but there are only seven adjuvants currently
approved by the FDA.
Wang and his startup, Adjuvax — launched in conjunction with the UAB Harbert Institute for
Innovation and Entrepreneurship — aim to change that. “We are developing new
formulations for synthetic molecules to make vaccines even more powerful and testing new
adjuvant formulations for early-stage vaccine development,” particularly in vaccines against
intracellular pathogens and cancers, “where you want a strong cellular response, Wang
said. “They show very encouraging properties in stimulating both the antibody response
and cellular response.”
But first, Wang and Adjuvax must survive the early days of commercialization that can
cause many founders to give up. Several part-time technicians are working with Wang as
he moves toward an Investigational New Drug application to the FDA. “We are making
progress — not just doing research in an academic setting but seeing if we can advance
this to the clinic,” Wang said. “It is very exciting.”
One strong mark of progress occurred in October 2023, when Birmingham was named as
one of 31 federal Tech Hubs by the U.S. Economic Development Administration, which
could ultimately inject $75 million into the economy of the Birmingham metro area. Another
step forward came in January 2024, when Adjuvax and other early tenants moved into
Station 41, a new biotech commercialization hub at Southern Research.
“In the past, Birmingham has lost companies and jobs to other markets because we did not have available commercial wet
lab space,” said Josh Carpenter, Ph.D., CEO of Southern Research, at the Station 41 opening in January 2024. “With this
incubator, we are beginning to meet this need.”
One floor below Wang’s new space at Station 41 is a suite packed with shared equipment,
including two minus–80 freezers, a plate reader, PCR machine and more that cost about a
half-million dollars, Schwiebert estimates. Perhaps even more valuable than the available
equipment is the advice that Schwiebert and others can provide to budding scientist
entrepreneurs going through the same challenges that they have overcome successfully. In
2022, Schwiebert’s DiscoveryBioMed was purchased by pharmaceutical company EuroFins
for an undisclosed amount.
Down the hall from the Adjuvax space, in one of the largest of the 12 spaces that Station 41
has available, is another startup that launched through the Harbert Institute for Innovation
and Entrepreneurship: Alveolus Bio. Vivek Lal, M.D., associate professor in the Department
of Pediatrics and director of Clinical Innovation at the UAB Heersink Institute for Biomedical
Innovation, has both lab space and business offices for Alveolus Bio, which is
commercializing Lal’s innovative research on respiratory therapeutics, including programs
in chronic lung diseases such as COPD, pulmonary fibrosis and bronchopulmonary
dysplasia. (Lal is also the founder of another UAB startup, ResBiotic Nutrition.) Alveolus Bio
is funded by private equity and got the state’s first-ever Fast-Track SBIR grant and matching
funds from Innovate Alabama.
“Alveolus Bio has assembled a full suite of experimental equipment to do any kind of early
target identification and validation contract research work, in addition to therapeutics
development of our current pipeline,” Lal points out.
Station 41 “is an amazing setup and infrastructure for Birmingham and Alabama,” Lal said.
“This is a perfect way to take top technologies out of UAB and other ecosystems.”
Tenants agree; seven of the 12 spaces in Station 41 are under contract, Schwiebert said —
including companies moving in from out of state to take advantage of its offerings. “The
cost of doing business here is a fraction of what it is elsewhere,” he said. “In Cambridge,
Massachusetts, it is $150 to $200 per square foot, compared with $25 to $35 here. We are
trying to attract institutional investors nationwide to what we are doing.”
Station 41 includes more than space for companies to develop. “Our goal is to support our
scientists in developing new technology, give them infrastructure to advance it and bring in
funding, all the stations on a company’s pathway,” said Josh Carpenter, Ph.D., president and
CEO of Southern Research. The “station” in Station 41 calls back to Birmingham’s roots as a
major railroad hub and echoes the similar naming in other parts of Birmingham’s innovation
ecosystem, including the Innovation Depot incubator and Switch District, he explains. “And
the ’41’ is for 1941, the year of our founding” as Southern Research, Carpenter said.
“Opening Station 41 marks another great stride in making Birmingham the premier biotech commercialization hub of the
Southeast,” said UAB President Ray L. Watts. “Here we will nurture local innovation and entrepreneurs, and attract new
businesses and talent to our region, helping make Birmingham and Alabama all the more competitive in the 21st century
global economy.”
Schwiebert describes the interrelated Station 41 offerings as the four legs of a chair:
Accelerator, Incubator, Venture Studio and Therapeutics Development Fund. “Starting a
biotech company is a long and often lonely journey,” Schwiebert said. Each of the Station 41
offerings is built to help.
The Accelerator is built on the model of the successful UAB-Southern Research partnership
in the Alabama Drug Discovery Alliance. It is designed to fund early-stage scientific
projects, Schwiebert said. “We have multiple grant mechanisms that can provide up to
$400,000 over time in a stepwise manner as investigators progress along the therapeutics
discovery path,” Schwiebert said. “All along, we’re watching for inflection points where it
could generate intellectual property.”
The Incubator’s job is to provide companies space and support until they are ready to exit
to their own spaces, Schwiebert said.
“The Venture Studio is focused on spinning out technology and identifying ways to go
forward,” Carpenter said, and the Therapeutics Development Fund is a “business attraction
and support program,” with funding through the Innovate Alabama to provide “what a lot of
people in this industry call inflection point technical support services,” he said.
The launch of the Station 41 project, coming just three months after Birmingham was designated as a federal Regional Tech
Hub, “is a major step forward in our shared mission of cementing Birmingham as a center for innovation,” said U.S. Rep. Terri
Sewell.
Southern Research recently held a nationwide competitive solicitation for companies willing
to move to Alabama with shared sponsored space in Station 41. It attracted applications
from three dozen companies from across the United States and Canada, Carpenter said.
“UAB Hospital is the third largest public hospital in the United States, Birmingham is a top–
10 NIH-funded city by capita and we have the makings of what could be the nation’s next
regional tech hub,” he said. “We know exactly how much talent is here and our goal is to
make sure that is known and accessible to the rest of the United States.”
The presence of Station 41 also is a strong attraction for UAB trainees who may be
considering moving after their training is finished. “When we have scientists come over
from UAB, they bring their entire labs — everyone wants to take a look,” Schwiebert said.
“Those master’s students, Ph.D. students and postdocs, once they are done with their
training, are ideal candidates to join one of these companies and stay in the state.”
“The most important thing for UAB stakeholders to know is that we have designed a hub
that is meant to meet people where they are,” Carpenter said. “If you have an idea that you
want to turn into a technology, and a technology to a company, or a company that you want
to grow, we want to meet with you. We have been extremely diligent in thinking about how
we create a system that works for the company.”
 
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4 - Station 41

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Crittenden,

There! Lurking in the Shadows!

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Luecke, Kana

Arrived

UAB Libraries

April 2024
NEWS
See an 1885 printing press and learn
the history of the craft in a new exhibit
at Sterne Library
 
Blazers can explore the history of the printing press
from around the world to the UAB campus — and see
an original 1885 Chandler and Price machine —  in “To
the Letter: A History of the Printing Press,” an exhibit
on display on the third floor of Mervyn Sterne Library.
14 UAB Libraries employees to be
honored during annual Service Awards
 
With years of service ranging from five to 40, employees
from across UAB Libraries will be honored during a
come-and-go ceremony 2 p.m. April 10 in the Hill
Student Center. The UAB Service Awards honor
employees with five or more years of service to UAB at
each five-year milestone.
5 honored with awards during annual
UAB Libraries employee recognition
event
 
Four full-time employees and one student employee —
Peggy Balch, Lakonja Billups, Kelly Schiff, Luke
Menzies and Ja'kayla Stafford — received awards
during annual employee recognition event “You Are
UAB Libraries” March 14 in the Hill Student Center.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Check HUB Desks for lost or missing
items
 
If you have misplaced items in Sterne or Lister Hill,
check at the HUB Desks during open hours! Be sure to
bring a photo ID. Items are kept for approximately 10
weeks and may be donated to a charitable organization if
not claimed. 
RESOURCES SPOTLIGHT
Underground & Independent Comics,
Comix, and Graphic Novels
 
View comics and graphic novels from North America
and Europe from 1950s, including original and rare
works, interviews, commentary, and more. Users can
browse by series, characters, genres, people, publishers,
and subjects.
SimplyAnalytics
 
This powerful business analytics and data visualization
mapping application enables non-technical users to
collect data to create thematic maps and custom reports
using demographic, business, health and marketing
data. Visit the SimplyAnalytics database to create and
activate your account.
Have a question? Ask a librarian.
 
Contact the library liaison who specializes in your field of study — they are subject specialists
ready to connect faculty and students to library services and collections, support research, and
provide instruction on a wide range of topics.
SCHEDULE A CONSULTATION
TECH SPOTLIGHT
Use this new interactive map feature to
book study rooms, seminar rooms and
other UAB Libraries spaces
 
UAB Libraries patrons can now use the LibCal
Mapping Module to view interactive maps and reserve
spaces in Mervyn Sterne Library and Lister Hill Library
of the Health Sciences.
EVENTS
Building a Comprehensive Search in
SCOPUS
 
Find out how to construct a robust search in SCOPUS
so you can spend more time reading relevant articles
and less time trying to find them.
⏰ 10 a.m. April 5
📍 virtual
🗓 Register
Unlocking Knowledge: Navigating the
Open Access Landscape
 
Learn about the benefits of open access publishing, how
to identify and select reputable journals while avoiding
predatory publishers, and the support and resources
available for OA publishing through UAB Libraries
⏰ 11 a.m. April 16
📍 virtual
🗓 Register
Introduction to EndNote (Virtual)
 
By the end of this free workshop, participants will be
able to create a library of citations, send citations from
databases to EndNote, organize citations, use EndNote
to find the PDFs of citations, and insert and edit
EndNote citations in a Word document.
⏰ noon April 18
📍 virtual
🗓 Register online
Sterne Study Break
 
Join UAB Libraries for a break in studying for finals as
part of Stress Less Week. Students can enjoy pizza, a
hot drinks bar, Hand In Paw therapy animals, and
DIY stress-relief kits and painted bookmarks.
⏰ 1-4 p.m. April 18
📍 Sterne first floor
🗓 Details online
Finding Health Statistics Workshop
 
Discover how to find health statistics using UAB
Libraries' databases and other online resources in a free
workshop.
⏰ noon April 24
📍 virtual
🗓 Register online
Learn to use Embase in 2 online
workshops
 
Learn to use the biomedical database effectively.
Introduction to Embase — 10 a.m. April 25
Building a Comprehensive Search in Embase —
10 a.m. May 2
Introduction to Simply Analytics
 
Join this workshop to learn how Simply Analytics, a
free database through UAB Libraries, can help you
make interactive data maps, data comparison tables and
more.
⏰ noon April 29
📍 virtual
🗓 Register online
Introduction to the LabArchives
Electronic Lab Notebook
 
This introductory webinar will give an overview of the
tools within LabArchives to get you started on your
electronic lab notebook.
⏰ noon May 7
📍 virtual
🗓 Register online
STAFF UPDATES
New hire: Rachel
Lopez
 
Rachel Jones Lopez,
Archivist, has a bachelor’s in
history from Birmingham-
Southern College and a
master’s in library and
information studies from the
University of Alabama. With
broad experience in public
libraries and special
collections, Rachel spent the
last five years as the archivist
and librarian for the Alabama
Holocaust Education Center
and now will work with the
UAB Archives team to
preserve UAB's unique
heritage and achievements.
Beyond work, Rachel is a
mother of two incredible
daughters and one incredible
dog.
New hire: Ella Sykes
 
Ella Sykes, Collections and
Gallery Manager for the
Alabama Museum of the
Health Sciences, has a
bachelor's in history from
Auburn University and a
master's in museum studies
from Baylor University. With
a background in museum
collections management, she
spent the last three years
working as the Soldiers
Memorial Collections
Assistant the Missouri
Historical Society. In her free
time, she enjoys reading and
running.
New hire: Summer
Upton
 
Summer Upton, Reference
Librarian for Education and
Educational Technology,
spent the last 20 years in
public K-12 education — 15
years as an English teacher
and five years as a library
media specialist — before
joining UAB Libraries and is
excited to continue supporting
teachers and students in her
new role. Outside of work,
she enjoys reading, caring for
her geriatric cat Scout, and
spending time with her nieces
and nephews as the Greatest
Aunt of All Time
(GAOAT™ ).
Open positions in UAB Libraries:
Metadata Services Librarian
Reference Librarian and Liaison to the School of Health Professions
User Access Librarian
User Access Associate
Instagram Twitter NEWSLETTER ARCHIVES


News from UAB Libraries, 05 2024

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