July – August 2010
Biotech Park News
Abraham Inducted Into ACS Division of Medicinal Chemistry Hall of Fame
Donald J. Abraham, Ph.D., who is internationally known for his groundbreaking work discovering and developing drugs that interact with hemoglobin, has been inducted into the American Chemical Society Division of Medicinal Chemistry Hall of Fame. Abraham is the Alfred and Francis Burger Emeritus Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and Biological Chemistry in the School of Pharmacy, and Emeritus Director of the Institute for Structural Biology and Drug Discovery. Abraham served as chair of the VCUDepartment of Medicinal Chemistry from 1988 to 2003.
More Info
Health Diagnostic Laboratory, Inc. Partners With Dr. Michael Richman to Fight Cardiovascular Disease
Health Diagnostic Laboratory Inc. (HDL, Inc.), recently announced its partnership with Michael F. Richman M.D., F.A.C.S., founder of the Center for Cholesterol Management in Los Angeles, and its combined effort to reverse the alarming increase in chronic diseases. The launch of the partnership between HDL, Inc. and Dr. Richman represents a combined effort to advance the preventative model for chronic disease management, based on a recent monumental shift in the way physicians test for life-threatening conditions.
More Info
New Members Accepted at GreenTech Incubator Facility in Hanover County
The Dominion Resources GreenTech Incubator (DRGI), an initiative that was developed to successfully incubate a steady stream of seed stage, high technology growth companies commercializing innovative products & services in the alternative energy and other clean and green technologies, has accepted two new member companies in its Ashland facility in the Presidential II building, Marine Renewable Technologies and EnviroDock, which brings the total number of member companies to four. DRGI, which opened for business in January 2010, is a joint initiative of Hanover County, the Town of Ashland, the Virginia BioTechnology Research Park (VBRP), the Virginia Biosciences Development Center (VBDC) and Dominion Resources (NYSE: D), the program’s title sponsor.
More Info
VLSI to Begin Its Second Year of Operations
On July 1, 2010 Virginia Life Science Investments, LLC (VLSI) began its second year of operations. During their first year of business, VLSI in conjunction with an investment group which provided the recapitalization for a portfolio company, raised over $18 million. VLSI has invested in eight Israeli companies (and is working with twelve). The companies include medical device companies, diagnostic companies and platform technologies that are in various stages of development. VLSI is in the process of establishing a ninth company and expects to co-invest in this start up with a venture incubator in Israel. VLSI’s wholly owned subsidiary, the Virginia BioSciences Commercialization Center (VBCC) has been operating for three years and provides services that accelerate the development and growth of these bioscience companies.
More Info
Save the Date: United for UNOS
Save the date for United for UNOS on October 8, 2010 from 7-11pm at UNOS (Biotech 7). Join us for An Evening of Education as we learn about life’s finer things: food, wine, art and working together to save lives. Sample dishes from your favorite chefs and learn their cooking secrets while chatting with wine experts about pairing mouth-watering meals with the perfect bottle of wine. Your support for United for UNOS will fund educational programs supported by UNOS to increase awareness of organ donation and transplantation.
More Info
VCU News and Research
Researchers Identify Region on Gene That Causes Complex Syndrome
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine researchers have identified a gene that causes most of the features associated with brachydactyly mental retardation syndrome, a complex disorder involving developmental delays, autism spectrum disorder, sleep disturbance, skeletal anomalies, obesity and behavioral problems. The findings could lead to the development of more cost-effective and efficient genetic testing that may help distinguish disorders with similar features.
More Info
VCU Presidential Research Incentive Program Announces Awards
The Virginia Commonwealth University Presidential Research Incentive Program has announced its inaugural round of internal funding awards totaling more than $908,000 to support faculty engaged in new, emerging or continuing research. Twenty-two awards supporting projects across the institution from medicine, allied health, education, life sciences, engineering, dentistry, business, pharmacy and various disciplines in the College of Humanities and Sciences were funded in this first round.
More Info
VCU Massey Research Finds New Link Between Inflammation and Cancer
Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center researchers have uncovered a new link between chronic inflammation and cancer. Although cancers do not always cause inflammation, chronic inflammation is known to help tumor cells grow.In an article published in the June issue of Nature, VCU Massey scientists Sarah Spiegel, Ph.D., and Tomasz Kordula, Ph.D., and their co-authors examine how sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), a lipid mediator in the blood that influences immune cell circulation, also regulates inflammation and cancer.
More Info
Researchers Show Reduced Functioning of Gene May Contribute to Genetic Form of Obesity
Reduced functioning of a gene known as RAI1 may be the primary cause of obesity in individuals who suffer from Smith-Magenis syndrome, a complex disorder characterized by obesity, sleep disturbances, negative behaviors and developmental delays, according to a new study by the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine. These findings could help researchers develop a target therapy that acts on the molecular pathways involved in this genetic disorder. Smith-Magenis syndrome is caused by a mutation or deletion of the RAI1 gene and does not typically run in families.
More Info
VCU First Virginia Institution to Join National Network of Academic Research Centers Moving Discoveries from Labs to Patients
Virginia Commonwealth University has received a $20 million grant – the largest federal award in its history – from the National Institutes of Health to become part of a nationwide consortium of research institutions working to turn laboratory discoveries into treatments for patients. The Clinical and Translational Science Award makes VCU the only academic health center in Virginia to join a national consortium of research centers sponsored by NIH’s National Center for Research Resources. This network of academic research institutions accelerates the transformation of laboratory discoveries into treatments for patients, engages communities in clinical research and trains a new generation of clinical and translational researchers.
More Info
