By Rich Bendis and Brian Darmody
While Maryland boasts world-class universities and many private sector firms, the major reason it ranks No. 1 in the country in per capita research spending is the presence of 74 federal research laboratories, such as the National Institutes of Health.
One of the gating factors in studying the human brain is having the ability to conduct research on actual functioning human brain tissue. As a result, many scientific studies are conducted on rodents as a mammalian proxy. The drawback to this approach is that rodent brains are different in structure and function. According to Johns Hopkins, structurally, the human brain is approximately 30 percent neurons and 70 percent glia, while the mouse brain has the opposite ratio [1].
The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) awarded to Michael Fox, M.D., Ph.D., of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School the inaugural Trailblazer Prize for Clinician-Scientists (Trailblazer Prize) at the FNIH Annual Fall Board Dinner in Washington, D.C. Dr. Fox received the Trailblazer Prize and a $10,000 honorarium for pioneering innovative techniques to map human brain connectivity that can be translated into new treatments for neurological diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease and depression. The Trailblazer Prize is made possible by a generous donation from John I. Gallin, M.D., and Elaine Gallin, Ph.D., to the FNIH.
The University of Maryland School of Medicine plans to cut the ribbon on the university system’s largest academic building ever Wednesday, a $305 million tower on Baltimore Street that officials say will vastly expand the institution’s ability to understand and treat diseases.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new antiviral influenza treatment.
Johns Hopkins’ Social Innovation Lab is kicking off a new cohort of early-stage social enterprises addressing challenges around education, health and blight, among others.
Thrombocytopenia is a big word that can carry big consequences for those struggling with rare blood disorders, especially among those using heparin to treat and prevent blood clots. But, help is on the way. The National Institutes of Health’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) recently awarded VERALOX Therapeutics, a small molecule drug discovery and development company, a $319,133 Small Business Innovation Research grant to develop a novel therapeutic for patients suffering from heparin-induced thrombocytopenia and thrombosis (HIT/HITT).
AstraZeneca, and its global biologics research and development arm MedImmune, today announced a new multi-term agreement with Innate Pharma (Innate), building on an existing collaboration, aimed at accelerating each company’s oncology portfolio and bringing new medicines to patients more quickly. The extended collaboration will enrich AstraZeneca’s immuno-oncology (IO) portfolio with pre-clinical and clinical potential new medicines.
Developers qualify if they fill buildings with biotech and cyber firms.
The chief executive will stay in his role, and on the board, until his successor is appointed or early next year, whichever comes first.
