Life Sciences Start-Up Designates Vessel for Research into Blue Ocean Technologies

Greensboro, North Carolina, Life sciences start-up, Kepley BioSystems Inc. recently took the next step in its blue ocean technologies development efforts. A boat belonging to lead inventor and long-time resident of the island of Anguilla, Terry Brady, was designated as the first official Kepley BioSystems Research Vessel. The ceremony took place on a majestic beach in picturesque Anguilla, British West Indies, and began with welcoming remarks by Professor Delroy Louden, President of the Anguilla Community College. Her Excellency, Governor Christina Scott, then shared her insights, followed by a formal blessing of Brady’s boat as a research vessel by the Right Reverend Leroy Errol Brooks, OBE, Bishop of the Diocese of the Eastern Caribbean and Aruba. Also in attendance were members of the government, academia, clergy, media [including the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)], and many Anguillan residents.

Conceived by Brady and sponsored by the National Science Foundation, Kepley BioSystems has developed a synthetic crab and lobster bait to avert the consumption of billions of pounds of wild fish used in commercial traps to catch crustaceans. The patent-pending product, branded OrganoBait(tm), is poised to disrupt global baiting practices by providing increased convenience and consistent availability to fishermen, while reducing the ecological risks of wild (“forage”) fish population collapse.

Kepley BioSystems will use the boat to study OrganoBait and prospective product lines based on its patent-pending work to synthetically produce the same molecules that attract crustaceans when wild fish are used as bait. To assess possible efficacy with other species, initial investigations will replace the bait fish used to trap grouper and red snapper. Another protocol will evaluate
OrganoBait as a replacement for chum, typically thrown near fishing vessels to attract fish; this application would explore the potential for herding sharks away from highly populated areas while replacing wild fish “wasted” to attract others.

Anguilla is a British Overseas Territory located about 100 miles due east of the US and British Virgin Islands. With approximately 35,000 square miles of ocean exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and out-islands with some of the most robust birding colonies worldwide, Anguilla provides a uniquely pristine research environment. A sustainable, artisan fishing community complements this ecosystem that enjoys a year-round blend of Caribbean and Atlantic cross-currents at the edge of the Lesser Antilles.

For Kepley BioSystems and the newly designated research vessel, OrganoBait is a just the first step into new avenues for product research and patent development. A video of the Research Vessel Blessing is available online at: http://www.kepleybiosystems.com/researchvessel

Kepley BioSystems originated at the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering (JSNN), North Carolina A&T State University and The University of North Carolina at Greensboro; the company is now located at the Gateway University Research Park proximal to JSNN. Kepley BioSystems is an academically-driven company led by Professor Christopher Kepley and Dr. Anthony Dellinger, a recent graduate, working in collaboration with lead inventor Terry E. Brady, located on the Caribbean island of Anguilla, British West Indies. For more information, visit: http://www.kepleybiosystems.com

Anthony L. Dellinger, Ph.D. – President, Adjunct Researcher
Kepley BioSystems Incorporated
Joint School of Nanoscience & Nanoengineering
Phone: 336-217-5163
Email: adellinger@kepleybiosystems.com

This release was published on openPR.