On April 29, UNM Rainforest Innovations (UNMRI) hosted its annual Innovation Awards at the Lobo Rainforest, welcoming over 100 guests. This event celebrates the innovative achievements of University of New Mexico (UNM) faculty, staff, and students who have received issued U.S. patents, trademarks, or registered copyrights over the past year.
There were 45 inventor honorees recognized at this year’s awards with a total of 42 issued U.S. patents between March 1, 2024, and February 28, 2025. There were 29 technologies from UNM main campus, 11 patents from health sciences campus, and two patents were a collaboration between UNM main campus and health sciences.
The event also recognized an exceptional UNM inventor chosen as the 2025 Rainforest Innovation Fellow, Dr. Laurie G. Hudson, and recognized a 2024 Fellow of the National Academies of Inventors, Dr. Angela Wandinger-Ness.
Speakers for the event included Lisa Kuuttila, CEO & Chief Economic Development Officer at UNM Rainforest Innovations; James Holloway, Vice Chair of the UNM Rainforest Innovations Board of Directors and Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs at UNM; Hengameh Raissy, Vice President for Research, UNM Health Sciences Center; Ellen R. Fisher, Vice President for Research, UNM Main Campus; and lastly, the 2025 Rainforest Innovation Fellow Laurie G. Hudson, Ph.D.
Inventor Honorees
The following UNM faculty, staff, and students represent departments and research/clinical inventors across main campus and health sciences campuses that reflect a strong level of collaboration. They run the gamut from first-time inventors to serial-inventors with multiple issued patents over the years.
Alexander Albrecht, Ph.D.
Angelica Benavidez, Ph.D.
Kiran Bhaskar, Ph.D.
Jeffrey Brinker, Ph.D.
Steven R.J. Brueck, Ph.D.
Tione Buranda, Ph.D.
Tito Busani, Ph.D.
Francesca Cavallo, Ph.D.
Bryce Chackerian, Ph.D.
Eva Chi, Ph.D.
Christos Christodoulou, Ph.D.
Luke Denoyer
Jeremy S. Edwards, Ph.D.
Daniel Feezell, Ph.D.
Fernando Garzon, Ph.D.
Laura Green
Sang Eon Han, Ph.D.
Sang M. Han, Ph.D.
David Hanson, Ph.D.
Kerry J. Howe, Ph.D., P.E.
Jonathan Hulse
Ivy Hurwitz, Ph.D.
Nathan Jackson, Ph.D.
Lucie Jelínková, Ph.D.
Robert Kent
Seung-Chang Lee, Ph.D.
Jane Lehr, Ph.D.
Jason T. McConville, Ph.D.
Alexander Neumann, Ph.D.
Marek Osiński, Ph.D.
Marios Pattichis, Ph.D.
David S. Peabody, Ph.D.
Jim Plusquellic, Ph.D.
Eric R. Prossnitz, Ph.D.
Kannan Ramaiyan, Ph.D.
Rita Serda, Ph.D.
Geetanjali Sharma, Ph.D.
Larry A. Sklar, Ph.D.
John Stormont, Ph.D.
Mahmoud Taha, Ph.D., P.E.
Bruce Thomson, Ph.D.
Angela Wandinger-Ness, Ph.D.
Karin Westlund-High, Ph.D.
David G. Whitten, Ph.D.
Stephen Young, Ph.D.
Rainforest Innovation Fellow
The UNM Rainforest Innovations Board of Directors was honored to present the 2025 Rainforest Innovation Fellow Award to Laurie G. Hudson, Ph.D., a Regents’ Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy; Deputy Director of the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences P30 Center NM-INSPIRES; and a long-standing member of the UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center.
This award was created in 2010 to honor annually a UNM inventor whose body of technologies has generated significant commercialization activities. Based on achievements in new technologies disclosed, patents received, license and option agreements entered into, new companies started, and income generated from these technologies, the UNM Rainforest Innovation Fellow Selection Committee evaluates and selects an Innovation Fellow.
Dr. Hudson’s pioneering research has significantly advanced ovarian cancer treatment, uncovering new therapeutic strategies, including the potential of R-ketorolac as an anti-cancer drug. Her collaborations have led to breakthroughs in understanding cancer mechanisms and targeting GTPases. Supported by long-term funding, her work continues to influence cancer research, providing critical insights into disease progression and improving patient outcomes across multiple cancer types.
Learn more about Dr. Hudson’s research here: https://innovations.unm.edu/2025/04/24/laurie-g-hudson-ph-d-2025-rainforest-innovation-fellow/
2024 National Academy of Inventors Fellow
Dr. Angela Wandinger-Ness, Distinguished Professor Emerita in the UNM Department of Pathology and the Victor and Ruby Hansen Surface Endowed Professor in Cancer Cell Biology and Clinical Translation, was named a 2024 Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI).
Election to NAI Fellow status is a high professional distinction accorded to academic inventors who have demonstrated a prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development, and the welfare of society. The UNM Rainforest Innovations Board of Directors nominated Dr. Wandinger-Ness for the national honor, and she was recognized at the Innovation Awards event with a commemorative plaque.
Learn more here: https://innovations.unm.edu/2024/12/10/the-university-of-new-mexico-announces-2024-national-academy-of-inventor-fellow-angela-wandinger-ness/
Congratulations to all those who received awards in this year’s Innovation Awards ceremony and thank you all for attending this year’s event!
View a copy of the event program here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/fa85mk1ro593mp3mrc08j/2025-Innovation-Awards-Program-digital-version.pdf?rlkey=s5sk45igk4myaziloiwiruddd&st=trzwceub&dl=0