University of Toledo Forms $10M Investment Fund to Bolster Research Commercialization

December 17, 2008

By Ben Butkus

The fund, which will come from revenues derived from auxiliary services on the UT campus, will likely support federal grant-matching programs and proof-of-concept awards. In particular, UT will use the fund to maximize a recent influx of life sciences research commercialization opportunities that have arisen since it merged with the Medical University of Ohio two years ago.

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In this issue of Biotech Transfer Week

Young Investigator Profile

Sumit Chanda

Associate Professor
Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute

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The Chanda lab is studying cellular proteins required for both influenza A and retrovirus/HIV infection as well as novel molecules that regulate, or respond to, Pattern Recognition Receptor (PRR) signaling. In order to elucidate the repertoire of host proteins required for viral infection, and understand the molecular strategies adapted by these viruses as countermeasures to innate immune response, his lab uses a series of systems-level approaches, including genome-wide RNAi, proteomics and protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis, and high content imaging. This approach is helping them to build a comprehensive cellular 'roadmap' exploited by these viruses to enable their propagation within a cell.
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Regulation and Function of miR-218 in Gastric Cancer Metastasis
Tie, Pan et al., PLoS Genetics
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Method to Label and Isolate N-terminal Peptides from Human Plasma
Wildes and Wells, PNAS
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People on the Move

Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute Professor Leena Peltonen-Palotie died this week of cancer at her home in Finland, according to the Sanger Institute. Peltonen-Palotie was head of human genetics at Wellcome Trust, and she held appointments at the Broad Institute at MIT and Harvard and the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland.

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Adrian Dillon will resign from his job as executive VP of finance and administration and CFO of Agilent Technologies to become chief financial and administrative officer at Skype. He will be replaced at the beginning of April by Didier Hirsch, who currently is VP of corporate controllership and taxes and who will serve as acting CFO.
Upcoming Events

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PTEN Pathways & Targets
Mar. 16-20 / Cold Spring Harbor, NY
CSHL

The Complex Life of mRNA: From Synthesis to Decay
Mar. 18-19 / Heidelberg, Germany
EMBL

Perspectives in Clinical Proteomics
Mar. 18-19 / Hinxton, UK
EMBL-EBI-Wellcome Trust

AUTM 2010 Annual Meeting
Mar. 18-20 / New Orleans, La.
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ABRF 2010
Mar. 20-23 / Sacramento, CA
Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities

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Science
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University of Toledo Forms $10M Investment Fund to Bolster Research Commercialization

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In this issue of Biotech Transfer Week

Young Investigator Profile

Blog

Papers of Note

People on the Move

Upcoming Events

Science

Business

Funding

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