Jeff Warren helps researchers escape ‘filing cabinet of death’

Innovators call it the “valley of death” — that perilous chasm between R&D and successful commercialization.

“I will take a step back and say it’s a filing cabinet of death,” says Jeff Warren, executive director of the North Carolina Collaboratory, the latest guest in the video series “North Carolina Innovators You Should Know,” hosted by Eshelman Innovation Executive Director John Bamforth. “There are so many great ideas in labs across this campus and across our state, [but] the current model of academia does not support people pursuing these great ideas.”

Much like Eshelman Innovation, the NC Collaboratory exists to fix that problem. The research funding agency was established by the North Carolina General Assembly nearly a decade ago to utilize and disseminate the research expertise across the University of North Carolina System for practical use by state and local government.

One shining example is research Warren and the NC Collaboratory funded to tackle the problem of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. Known as “forever chemicals,” PFAS are used in various products, including cookware, food packaging and firefighting foams. PFAS contamination is a significant issue in North Carolina, particularly in drinking water sources like the Cape Fear River and the Haw River.

“It’s this great story of not only do we learn a lot, but we have a technology that works three-to-four times better than the best water-filtration technology out there,” Warren says about the work co-led by a pair of Carolina researchers, Frank Leibfarth, associate professor of chemistry, and Orlando Coronell, professor of environmental sciences and engineering. “It’s the only technology that can be regenerated and used again and again and again to capture PFAS and to concentrate and then destroy it with other technologies that we’re investing in.”

The NC Collaboratory has also funded opioid-related innovation, including helping Eshelman Innovation launch Goldie Health, a digital workflow management tool that is proving to be a lifesaving detection platform.

Through its video series, Eshelman Innovation introduces viewers to UNC-Chapel Hill innovators, like Warren, as well as those at other institutions and companies.

“A rich ecosystem of innovation exists in North Carolina,” Bamforth says. “This video series shines a light on trailblazers across the state.”

Thank you to the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media for filming this interview at the Curtis Media Center.