A simple breast cancer screening test that uses a woman’s tears and is being patented by the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) has helped business students in the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas win a national business competition.

The students formed Tears for Life LLC, a medical diagnostic device company that has an exclusive license from UAMS to use the technology.

Tears for Life is developing a noninvasive test kit that can reliably screen for breast cancer using proteins found in tears. The potential screening product already has attracted interest from investors, and the students’ business plan has won two recent awards, including first place and a $10,000 award at the University of Cincinnati Spirit of Enterprise M.B.A. Business Plan Competition.

The honor marks the first time the university has won first place in a national business plan competition, said Carol Reeves, faculty sponsor and holder of the Cecil and Gwendolyn Cupp Applied Professorship in Entrepreneurship. “Perhaps even more significant, they have been approached by a couple of venture capitalists who are interested in meeting with them to discuss investment opportunities,” Reeves said.

Team members (see photo below) include three students pursuing managerial Masters of Business Administration degrees, Jared Greer, Bessie Williams and Chris Elizer, and an honors undergraduate student, Jordan Greer.

The screening test was invented by V. Suzanne Klimberg, M.D., and Larry Suva, Ph.D., both of the UAMS. Klimberg is director of the UAMS Breast Cancer Program, while Suva is director of the Center for Orthopaedic Research. “Early detection of breast cancer is critical for saving lives, and we hope this technology will help us reach even more women for early screening,” Klimberg said. “While a mammogram is an essential screening tool, we know that many women are reluctant to get mammograms for a variety of reasons, and they’ll either delay getting a mammogram or avoid it altogether.”

The Tears for Life students received technical help from Klimberg and Suva, while Mike Douglas, director of UAMS BioVentures, advised the team on the business aspects of the plan. “This technology has enormous potential,” said Douglas, whose BioVentures program helps UAMS scientists get patents and commercialize their discoveries. “We’re very excited about the Tears for Life product, and we’re delighted with the opportunity to partner with the Fayetteville campus. The students and faculty have done an outstanding job.”

“Our partnership with UAMS is a wonderful example of cross-campus collaboration,” Reeves said.

UAMS BioVentures also has partnered with the University of Arkansas at Little Rock M.B.A. program to help commercialize products invented by UAMS scientists.

Teams from more than 30 universities applied for the University of Cincinnati competition and 20 were accepted. Second place went to Brown University, while the University of Oregon, Cornell University and Boston University rounded out the top five.

“This is a great win for the Walton College,” said Walton College Dean Dan Worrell. “Where others see turmoil in the current national economy, these young students see opportunity.”

The Tears for Life team also won the Lightning Round and $1,500 at the University of Louisville on February 21. Competitors included Brigham Young University, the University of California-Berkeley, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Virginia. Teams were given 60 seconds to convince judges that their business is worthy of a follow-up meeting.

“This has been a tremendous learning experience,” Jared Greer said. “Walton College and Dr. Reeves have done such a great job creating an opportunity to learn about entrepreneurship that we feel very well prepared to compete with the other universities from across the world.”

Worrell noted that the Walton College in recent years has developed a strong track record in business plan competitions. “Our faculty members are collaborating with business people to mentor these students and help them develop entrepreneurial skills,” he said.

Last week, two Walton College managerial M.B.A. students, Adam Perkins and Ben Allen, and a microelectronics-photonics doctoral student, Douglas Wooten, finished in a tie for third place at the University of San Francisco International Business Plan Competition. Their business was Silicon Solar Solutions. First place went to a team from Boston University and MIT and second place to the Illinois Institute of Technology. The third place tie was with Queens University.

In February, a Walton College team of three managerial M.B.A. students and a graduate student from the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences placed first in the Mid-South Region Walmart Better Living Business Plan Competition that was held on the University of Arkansas campus. The business, Ground Up Biosolutions, included M.B.A. students Brandon Barr, Joshua McCullough, Keith Solsvig and agribusiness student Cesar Coto. The regional winners will compete nationally in April with the University of San Francisco, University of Phoenix, Northwestern University, University of Louisville, University of North Carolina, University of Virginia and New York University.

In the 2008 Arkansas Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup, Walton College students in the graduate program took the first-place $20,000, second-place $10,000 awards and third-place $5,000. In May 2008, Walton College students took first place in the first Tri-State Donald W. Reynolds Cup business plan competition, earning $25,000 with their business MerchantEyes LLC. Competition for the Tri-State Reynolds Cup represented the pinnacle of three statewide business plan competitions in Arkansas, Nevada and Oklahoma.