Thirteen projects receiving funding to support R&D, data science innovation, and breakthroughs in therapeutic delivery
BOSTON – Today, the Healey-Driscoll Administration and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) announced $20.8 million in funding to support 13 projects driving advancements in life sciences innovation across Massachusetts. These investments will provide crucial, state-of-the-art research equipment to universities, research institutions, and hospitals and drive the next generation of innovation in research and development, data science, and drug delivery.
The MLSC is awarding funding through its capital programming portfolio, specifically the Research Infrastructure, Bits to Bytes, and Novel Therapeutics Delivery programs.
“During such pivotal times, it’s more important than ever to continue to support groundbreaking research that will improve the lives of patients on a global scale,” said Governor Maura Healey. “This funding will support hospitals, research organizations, and academic institutions across Massachusetts with cutting-edge equipment that will drive monumental breakthroughs in data science, drug delivery and beyond.”
“These investments are a shining example of our commitment to maintaining Massachusetts’s position as the global hub for the life sciences,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “We are incredibly proud to support the life-changing research that’s taking place right here in our Commonwealth, which will influence the future of life sciences innovation for years to come.”
Since its inception, the MLSC has administered competitive infrastructure and innovation programs to provide grants for projects totaling approximately $615 million that support the life sciences ecosystem in Massachusetts.
“These investments strengthen Massachusetts’ position as a global leader in the life sciences by ensuring researchers and institutions have the tools they need to innovate and compete,” said Economic Development Secretary Eric Paley, co-chair of the MLSC Board of Directors. “By supporting research infrastructure, data science, and therapeutic delivery, we are helping discoveries made here move more quickly from the lab to patients.”
“In Massachusetts, the relationships between industry and academia are a key factor to the success of our one-of-a-kind life sciences ecosystem,” said MLSC President and CEO Kirk Taylor, MD. “These investments are designed to further strengthen that ecosystem, by providing support to inspiring projects that are working to create the next generation of scientific breakthroughs.”
Research Infrastructure Program
The Center is awarding more than $16 million to support seven projects, through the Research Infrastructure program, which requires applicants to demonstrate the potential of their project to fill a gap or accelerate growth in the Massachusetts life sciences ecosystem. Additionally, they must provide specific details on how the equipment will be shared and marketed to other prospective industry and academic partners. Moreover, awardee institutions are required to regularly report usage of MLSC-funded equipment by external partners, including use by academic and industry scientists.
Awardees:
Stephen Eyles, PhD, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Award Amount: $1,985,000
Project Title: timsTOF fleX for Quantitative Proteomics, Imaging, Metabolomics and Workforce Development
Sunandita Sarker, PhD, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Award Amount: $1,585,877
Project Title: Advancing Micro/Nano-Fabrication and Characterization Capabilities to Drive Biomedical Device Innovation and Research in Western Massachusetts
Virginie Sjoelund, PhD, Northeastern University
Award Amount: $2,175,410
Project Title: Infrastructural Support to Establish a Single-Cell Proteomics Facility at Northeastern University
Gina Turrigiano, PhD, Brandeis University
Award Amount: $2,365,864
Project Title: High-Speed Imaging and Superresolution Imaging of Organs, Tissues, Cells, and Molecules for Massachusetts Research Corridors
Shannon Tessier, PhD and Genevieve Boland, MD, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital
Award Amount: $3,379,000
Project Title: Mass General Brigham Living Tissue Repository (LTR)
Thomas Schwartz, PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Award Amount: $3,050,588
Project Title: Enabling volume EM at the Cryo-EM Facility at MIT.nano
John Tigges, MA, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Award Amount: $1,807,465
Project Title: MassNano
Bits to Bytes Program
The Center is distributing more than $3 million across five projects through Bits to Bytes, which MLSC launched to provide grants for scientific projects that generate and analyze large datasets using artificial intelligence (AI) and/or machine learning (ML) to answer pressing life sciences questions, and to attract and train data scientists in the Commonwealth.
Awardees:
Ignaty Leshchiner, PhD, Boston University
Award Amount: $749,979
Industry Partner(s): NordBio Inc.
Project Title: Blood-Based Diagnostics from Circulating Cell-Free Nucleic Acid
Sophia Liu, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital – Ragon Institute of Mass General Brigham, MIT, and Harvard
Award Amount: $749,760
Industry Partner(s): Portal Bio; Microsoft Research
Project Title: Building an Immune Response Map for Antigen Prediction
Peter Sorger, PhD, Harvard Medical School
Award Amount: $729,953
Industry Partner(s): LifeCanvas Technologies
Project Title: Deep Spatial Profiling of Solid Tumors to Improve Health Outcomes
Henry W. Long, PhD, Joaquim Bellmunt, MD, and Paloma Cejas, PhD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Award Amount: $750,000
Industry Partner(s): Aiforia
Project Title: Using Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Combination with Spatial Transcriptomics to Identify Biomarkers of Response in Immunotherapy Treated Urothelial Carcinoma Patients
Michal Caspi Tal, PhD and Beth Pollack, MPP, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Award Amount: $750,000
Industry Partner(s): Alden Scientific
Project Title: Decoding the Interplay Between Severe Allergies and Chronic Illness
Novel Therapeutics Delivery Program
MLSC is awarding one project $750,000 through the Novel Therapeutics Delivery program, which fosters the development of novel technologies and techniques for the delivery of existing or innovative therapies by partnering on projects at the intersection of engineering, biology, chemistry, and medicine.
Awardee:
Michelle Rengarajan, MD, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital
Award Amount: $750,000
Industry Partner(s): RegenxBio, Solid Biosciences, Ultragenyx
Project Title: Assessing Technologies for a Rapid, Scalable, and Standardized Universal Antibody Screening Tests for Adeno-Associated Virus Gene Therapy
About the MLSC
The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) is a quasi-public economic development investment agency dedicated to supporting the growth and development of the life sciences in Massachusetts, home to the most verdant and productive life sciences ecosystem in the world. Through public-private funding initiatives, the MLSC supports innovation, research and development, commercialization, and manufacturing activities in the fields of biopharma, medical device, diagnostics and digital health. Since 2008, the MLSC has strategically deployed more than $1.1 billion in Massachusetts, through a combination of grants, loans, capital infrastructure investments, tax incentives and workforce development programs. These investments have created thousands of jobs and propelled the development of new therapies, devices and scientific advancements that are improving patient health and well-being in Massachusetts and beyond.
###
