By Chris Allen - Special to The Commercial Appeal -

Ask Dr. Lisa Jennings, director of vascular biology at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and founder of CirQuest Labs, about the role of academic science in the creation of future jobs and her answer is clear: "I'm a firm believer that it's the science that drives the development of a product or a device."

Jennings' talented team offers drug- and device-development services that leverage her considerable experience in navigating the product-development process. Specifically, they guide researchers and pharmaceutical companies through the rigorous preclinical and clinical phases of clinical trials on the road to successful commercialization.

CirQuest has become a valuable resource not only to Jennings' peers, but also to other companies that are seeking to bring their discoveries to market.

A researcher who is also an entrepreneur, Jennings can wear both hats within a three-city-block radius in the heart of the Memphis Medical Center. That's where both Memphis Bioworks and UTHSC are located, giving her and the scientists the best possible context for realizing their technology commercialization goals and fulfilling their mission as university faculty.

The Memphis Bioworks Foundation leads the push to establish the city as a leading bioscience research and commercialization center. Researchers have access to all the resources they need to take raw ideas and build new products or services.

Jennings' startup company, CirQuest Labs, is taking full advantage of what Bioworks supplies.

"They provide an infrastructure that, for those of us who may be averse to significant risk-taking, brings us into the fold in a positive way," she said.

Creating that infrastructure is exactly what Bioworks has been doing in building the ideal bioscience startup scene. With physical resources in the form of incubators and specialized labs, as well as the intellectual resources such as outsourced operating support, HR and finance, it is easy to see why a scientific researcher would turn to Bioworks.

"What strikes me about Memphis is that we have so much potential, so many resources and assets," said Steve Bares, president and executive director of Bioworks. "Bioworks is really about stitching those assets together and filling in the gaps that are not there."

Bioworks has been an integral part in Jennings' efforts to get CirQuest operational.

"Frankly, I don't know if I would have taken this step or not if Bioworks had not existed," Jennings said.

Beyond the startup support, Jennings appreciates the benefits of co-location.

"It is on the footprint of the university campus, creating significant potential for cross-fertilization of faculty and entrepreneurs, who have ideas that clearly could be transitioned into a startup company."

She also cites venture capital and Innova Memphis, the early-stage venture capital firm created by Bioworks, as vital "funding mechanisms to jump-start a company."

With the resources of Bioworks and Innova, Jennings and other researchers hope to bring many more discoveries from bench to bedside.

In fact, CirQuest Labs is just one of the startup companies to which Jennings dedicates her efforts.

Ariste Medical, a drug-delivery company that utilizes a unique technology developed at the university -- to safely coat and deliver drugs from implantable medical devices -- is another that she and colleague Dr. Tim Fabian hope to scale up.

Jennings is confident that her academic research will continue to be translated into future products or devices and related jobs in the biosciences.

Chris Allen is co-founder and director of operations and marketing for LaunchMemphis. He blogs about startups and innovation for MemphisConnect.com.