The Board of Directors of the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) has approved the Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission’s recommendation to fund 26 new research proposals totaling $8,406,269.
The newly-funded research projects show promise for contributing to cures for a wide range of debilitating diseases and conditions, including heart failure, stroke, multiple sclerosis, vascular diseases, Parkinson’s Disease, schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorders, and cancer.
“We were very impressed with the quality of the applications for these important research grants,” adds Rabbi Avram Reisner, Chair of the Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission. “Each of these awardees represents one of the keys to the future of regenerative medicine.”
Established by the Governor and the Maryland General Assembly through the Maryland Stem Cell Research Act of 2006, the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund (MSCRF) promotes State-funded stem cell research and cures through grants and loans to both public and private entities in Maryland.
Both the Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission and MSCRF are administered by the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO), the go-to source for entrepreneurial support and guidance for start-ups and early-stage companies engaged in bringing innovative ideas to market.
To date, more than $120 million has been committed to 349 research projects through the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund.
This year’s MSCRF awards include:
- 1 Pre-Clinical Research Award: Designed for companies conducting pre-clinical research in Maryland that seek to advance medical therapies in the State, this award of $750,000 over three years is presented to BioCardia, Inc. for heart failure trials
- 7 Investigator-Initiated Research Awards: Totaling $4,594,394, these grants are designed for Maryland investigators who have preliminary data to support their hypotheses. This year’s awards are presented to five researchers from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (Warren Grayson, targeting volumetric muscle loss; Guo-Li Ming, targeting schizophrenia and autism; Loyal Goff, targeting Kabuki Syndrome; Sharon Gerecht, targeting diabetic wounds; and Gordon Tomaselli, targeting myotonic muscular dystrophy). Grants are also awarded to Michael McMahon of the Hugo W. Moser Research Institute at Kennedy Krieger, targeting intervertebral disc degeneration, and Christopher Chiang of TheraCord, LLC, targeting leukemia.
- 10 Exploratory Research Awards: Designed for researchers who are new to the stem cell field or for exploratory projects that have little or no preliminary data, these awards – totaling $2,181.875 – are made to seven researchers from The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (Cynthia Berlinicke for age-related macular degeneration; Cyrus Mintz for neonatal hypoxic-ischemic brain injury; Enid Neptune for bronchitis and fatal asthma; Vasilki Machairaki for Alzheimer’s Disease; Amy DeZern for aplastic anemia; Giorgio Raimondi for transplant rejection; and Peter Calabresi for multiple sclerosis). In addition, Tami Kingsbury and Chinmoy Sarkar, both of the University of Maryland Baltimore, received grants to study, respectively, bone marrow transplants and traumatic brain injury. Finally, Kathryn Wagner of the Moser Research Institute at Kennedy Krieger was awarded a grant to target muscular dystrophy.
- 8 Post-Doctoral Fellowship Awards: Totaling $880,000, these awards are designed for post-doctoral fellows who wish to conduct human stem cell research in Maryland. Award recipients include Rebecca Fawcett of the University of Maryland Baltimore (glaucoma research), Dhruv Vig of Johns Hopkins University Homewood (vascular diseases), and six fellows from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (Hyunhee Kim, Parkinson’s Disease; Miguel Flores-Bellver, age-related macular degeneration; Wei Huang, schizophrenia; Ziyuan Guo, neurofibromatosis type 1; Allison Bond, schizophrenia; and Ji Suk Choi, soft tissue defects and cancer).
All MSCRF-funded research must be conducted in Maryland and must involve human stem cells. For more details, visit http://www.mscrf.org/content/awardees/2016Awardees.php
The Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund (MSCRF) was established by the State of Maryland under the Maryland Stem Cell Research Act of 2006 to promote State-funded stem cell research and cures through grants and loans to public and private entities in the State. Administered by The Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO), the MSCRF is overseen by an independent Commission that sets policy and develops criteria, standards and requirements for applications to the Fund. To date, over $120 million and 349 research grants have been committed. For more information about the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund and a list of Commission members, please visit www.mscrf.org.