Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission Announces $6.6 Million in Stem Cell Program Awards
Request for applications for the next round is now available
COLUMBIA, Md. (May 14, 2019)—The Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission (Commission) has approved funding to its second round of 2019 recipients for a total of $6,622,673.63. The Commission has also issued its Request for Applications (RFAs) for its first round of funding for fiscal year 2020.
“Maryland has played a consistent and critical role in the technological growth of life sciences throughout the region,” said Dr. David Mosser, chairman of the Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission. “We are excited to support this second round of recipients from early-stage research through clinical trials. These projects and companies are a prime example of how Maryland continues to be a leader in bringing innovation to market.”
The Commission, established as an independent unit within the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) by the governor and the Maryland General Assembly through the Maryland Stem Cell Research Act of 2006, supports cutting-edge research and accelerates cures through the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund (MSCRF). To date, over $155 million and 460 grants have been committed and for this year (FY2020) the program has a budget of $8.2 million.
“We are delighted to add these 24 new and exciting research projects to our existing portfolio. These awards reflect our commitment to identifying and fostering cutting-edge research and innovation in the field of regenerative medicine in Maryland”, said Dr. Amritha Jaishankar, Associate Director of MSCRF. “With these awards, we continue to expand our reach welcoming the most promising new faculty, institutes and companies into our community and we continue to accelerate discoveries and cures in a wide range of disease areas including neurodevelopmental, neurodegenerative, cardiovascular, orthopedic and gastroenterology amongst others.”
The second round of MSCRF awards of the 2019 fiscal year include:
- 3 Commercialization: These awards assist with the creation of start-up companies or new technologies developed in Maryland-based companies. Totaling $899,990, the commercialization award recipients are RoosterBio Inc., Theradaptive Inc. and Domicell Inc.
- 14 Discovery: These awards fund new innovative research ideas in the stem cell field. Totaling $4,812,684.63, the discovery award recipients included eight researchers from Johns Hopkins University (Dr. Mohamed Farah, Dr. David Hackam, Dr. Aaron James, Dr. Miroslaw Janowski, Dr. Chulan Kwon, Dr. Xiaobo Mao, Dr. Nicholas Maragakis, and Dr. Jamie Spangler); four researchers from University of Maryland, Baltimore (Dr. Seth Ament, Dr. Ola Awad, Dr. Charles Hong, Dr. Marta Lipinski); one researcher from University of Maryland, Baltimore County (Dr. Erin Lavik); and one researcher from University of Maryland, College Park (Dr. Kimberly Stroka).
- 7 Post-Doctoral Fellowship: This award supports exceptional post-doctoral fellows who wish to conduct research in academia or in industry in Maryland. Each fellowship will be up to $65,000 per year, for up to two years. Totaling $910,000, award recipients include seven researchers from Johns Hopkins University (Dr. Chengyan Chu, Dr. Dong Won (Thomas) Kim, Dr. Senquan Liu, Dr. Kathryn Moss, Dr. Rahel Schnellmann, Dr. Arens Taga, Dr. Renjun Zhu).
Information about all current MSCRF awardees is available at https://www.mscrf.org/awardees. The Commission also announced the new Requests for Applications (RFAs) for its Validation, Commercialization and Clinical programs. The RFAs are available on the Funds website https://www.mscrf.org/funding-opportunities with details on program’s funding mechanism. All applications are due by July 11, 2019.
Both the Commission and the MSCRF are administered by TEDCO, the go-to source for entrepreneurial support and guidance for start-ups and early-stage companies engaged in bringing innovative ideas to market.
About the Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission
The Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission is focused on identifying and fostering cutting-edge research and innovation in the field of regenerative medicine in Maryland. Our Accelerating Cures initiative comprises programs that help transition human stem cell-based technologies from the bench to the bedside as well as mechanisms to build and grow stem cell companies in Maryland. Learn more at www.mscrf.org about our funding opportunities.