When it comes to cashing in on research, BYU is one of the best in the United States and Canada, according to a report released by an economic think tank Wednesday.

The California-based Milken Institute ranked Brigham Young University seventh overall in a report titled "Mind to Market: A Global Analysis of University Biotechnology Transfer and Commercialization."

BYU is among the national leaders in licensing income relative to research expenses and has "achieved exceptional performance in the life sciences area, especially in biotechnology," according to the report. The university topped the list with 5.3 inventions per million dollars in expenditures. The University of Akron was second on the list at 1.17.

"For BYU, the technology transfer office has had a big impact in terms of moving research into the private sector," said Armen Bedroussian, a research economist for the Milken Institute.

Dr. Milton Lee, a member of BYU's chemistry and biochemistry department, is one of the school's more prolific inventors. Specializing in analytical chemistry, Lee said he has seen a number of his discoveries hit the commercial market.

He said he is working on analytical methods for detecting proteins that would be indicative of pre-cancer, as well as a portable detector of biological and chemical warfare agents, for which he already has a contract with the U.S. Department of Defense.

Lee said patents on research conducted at BYU become intellectual property of the university. Royalties from the inventions get cycled back into research funds and can even mean a little extra cash for the inventor, Lee said. Each BYU patent generates an average of more than $694,000, according to the report.

The institute ranked the University of Utah at No. 14 and Utah State University at No. 119 in the same report. State lawmakers, in an effort to capitalize on public school research, launched the Science, Technology and Research (USTAR) Economic Development Initiative. The state now provides annual funding to its public universities in an effort to help the schools accelerate the process of turning research into commercial successes. The state Legislature allotted $65 million for the initiative earlier this year.

Aaron Falk can be reached at 344-2559 or afalk@heraldextra.com.

According to the Milken Institute University Technology Transfer and Commercialization Index, the following universities are the leaders at taking research and turning it into commercial applications:

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

2. University of California system

3. California Institute of Technology

4. Stanford University

5. University of Florida

6. University of Minnesota

7. Brigham Young University

8. University of British Columbia

9. University of Michigan

10. New York University

Source: www.milkeninstitute.org

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page C1.