The Clinical Innovations Program (CLIP) is a coalition of Michigan State University colleges and programs dedicated to improving the standard of care in veterinary and human medicine by sustainable and innovative research.
CLIP Coalition
Research and Clinical Faculty Driving Clinical Trials
CLIP Strategic Development Lead: Kylie Smith
Kylie Smith is a PhD-trained neuroimaging scientist focused on barrier reduction across the preclinical-to-clinical research continuum. She earned her BS in Neuroscience and PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Michigan State University, where her training emphasized molecular imaging and the development of tools that prioritize downstream clinical feasibility and implementation. Her research focuses on repurposing FDA-approved agents as PET tracers to develop imaging biomarkers that enable early detection and intervention in neurodegeneration. She is working to advance two F-18 labeled PET tracers towards the clinic for evaluation of CNS waste clearance and insulin signaling, with the latter already evaluated in a nonhuman primate model.
Within CLIP, Kylie’s overarching goal is to enable and support streamlined veterinary research and clinical translation that will improve the health of Michiganders, furry and not. Her translational experience includes de-risking early-stage technologies through two funded projects supported by the Michigan Translational Research and Commercialization (MTRAC) Program and participation in an NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps) regional training program, which inform her approach to identifying and mitigating feasibility, scalability, and implementation barriers early in the translational process.
CLIP Director: Kurt Zinn
Kurt R. Zinn is the Hickman Family Endowed Chair of Oncology. He is a professor in Small Animal Clinical Sciences (College of Veterinary Medicine), Pharmacology & Toxicology (College of Natural Science), and Biomedical Engineering (College of Engineering), and was hired in 2017 as part of the MSU Global Impact Initiative. Dr. Zinn conducts research in the field of molecular imaging, including as part of cancer diagnosis and therapy. Neuroimaging of drug delivery to the brain is also a research focus.
With experience in more than 12 prior Phase 1 clinical trials, he now conducts clinical trials in both veterinary and human medicine, with a focus on targeted radiation therapy for cancer using alpha-particle emitting radionuclides, including radionuclides that will be available from the MSU Facility for Rare Isotope Beams. Dr. Zinn is also the Director of Nuclear Medicine and has established a radiopharmacy at MSU that manufactures research and clinical doses of radiopharmaceuticals, with services now available to the MSU research community through the Radiochemistry and Radiopharmacy Solutions (RadCore) Core Research Facility.
Dr. Zinn received the Distinguished Investigator Award from the Academy of Radiology Research in 2015. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in chemistry, a DVM degree, and a PhD in biochemistry, all from the University of Missouri-Columbia.