Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission awards $15.4M to 48 scientists – Maryland Daily Record

The Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission Tuesday announced its next round of awards granting a total of more than$15.4 million to 48 scientists whose research is propelling stem cell treatments and technologies statewide.

Several scientists from Maryland-based research institutions and companies have been selected as recipients in this grant cycle. Among the 48 awardees are academic researchers from Johns Hopkins University; the University of Maryland, Baltimore: the University of Maryland, College Park; Lieber Institute for Brain Development; and the Hugo W. Moser Research Institute at Kennedy Krieger. Commercial sector entities Seraxis Inc., Theradaptive Inc., HOHCells LLC, Agnos Therapeutics Inc., and Reprocell U.S.A. Inc. were also awarded grants.

These researchers are addressing myriad medical conditions, ranging from sickle cell anemia, type I diabetes, cancer, dental diseases and chronic pain to diseases directed to skin, heart, bone, blood, digestive and central nervous system diseases.

Awardees submitted proposals in response to the Commissions Request for Applications (RFAs) for the second funding round of fiscal year 2024. Earlier in the fiscal year, the commission also allocated nearly $4 million in additional research grants.

The second round ofMSCRF awards for the 2024 fiscal year includes:

Launch

These awards are to encourage new and new-to-the-field faculty to bring innovative research and technology to the regenerative medicine field. Totaling$2,797,553, the Launch Award recipients areGianluca Ursini, Ph.D. andTomoyo Sawada, Ph.D. from the Lieber Institute for Brain Development;Renyuan Bai, Ph.D. from the Hugo W. Moser Research Institute at Kennedy Krieger;Man-Kyo Chung, Ph.D. from theUniversity of Maryland, Baltimore;Li Yan, Ph.D. from theUniversity of Maryland, College Park; and Payam Mohassel, Ph.D.,Chun-Hyun Na, Ph.D. andAllen Eghrari, Ph.D. fromJohns Hopkins University.

Commercialization

These awards are forMaryland-based companies to develop new human stem cell-based products. Totaling$1,692,428, the Commercialization Award recipients areJean-Philippe Richard, Ph.D. from Reprocell,U.S.A., Inc.;Mandeep Singh, Ph.D. from Agnos Therapeutics, Inc.;Xiaoming He, Ph.D. from HOH Cells, LLC; andWilliam Rust, Ph.D. from Seraxis, Inc.

Clinical:This award is for universities/research institutes or companies that wish to conduct human stem cell-based clinical trials in theState of Maryland. Totaling$1,650,000, the Clinical Award recipients areLuis Garza, Ph.D. fromJohns Hopkins UniversityandLuis Alvarez, Ph.D. from Theradaptive Inc.

Validation

This award supports faculty atMaryland-based universities/research institutes with intellectual property (IP) for human stem cell-based technologies that require additional validation. Totaling$500,000the validation award recipients areCurt Civin, Ph.D. from theUniversity of Maryland, BaltimoreandXinzhong Dong, Ph.D. fromJohns Hopkins University.

Discovery

These awards fund innovative ideas to develop novel human stem cell-based technologies and cures. Totaling$7,158,174, the Discovery Award recipients include Chulan Kwon, Ph.D., Emmanouil Tampakakis, Ph.D., Gabsang Lee, Ph.D., Hiromi Sesaki, Ph.D.,Thomas Johnson, Ph.D.,Xiaobo Mao, Ph.D.,Charlotte Sumner, Ph.D., S.Amer Riazuddin, Ph.D.,Zack Wang, Ph.D.,Byoung Chol Oh, Ph.D.,Sashank Reddy, Ph.D., Vasilki Machairak, Ph.D. andAnnie Kathuria, Ph.D. fromJohns Hopkins University; andRaphael Meier, Ph.D.,Ivy Dick, Ph.D.,Xiaofeng Jia, Ph.D.,Yajie Liang, Ph.D.,Miroslaw Janowski, Ph.D.,Graeme Woodworth, Ph.D.,Chengyan Chu, Ph.D. andIris Lindberg, Ph.D. from theUniversity of Maryland, Baltimore.

Post-Doctoral Fellowship

These awards support exceptional post-doctoral fellows conducting research inMaryland. Totaling$1,300,000, award recipients include Neelima Thottappillil, Ph.D.,Cristina Zivko, Ph.D.,Mohit Kwatra, Ph.D.,Feiyu Yang, Ph.D., Heng Zhao, Ph.D. and Ridzky Yuda, Ph.D. fromJohns Hopkins University;Jinghui Wang, Ph.D. andShalini Sharma, Ph.D. from theUniversity of Maryland, Baltimore; andNiannian Xu, Ph.D. andWenshen Wang, Ph.D. from the Hugo W. Moser Research Institute at Kennedy Krieger.

Manufacturing Assistance

These awards provide companies with funding to support the manufacturing processes/infrastructure of stem cell therapy products inMaryland. Totaling$344,402, the Manufacturing Assistance Award recipient isEvelyn Chukwurahfrom Reprocell,U.S.A., Inc.

Gov.Wes Mooreand theMarylandGeneral Assembly have earmarked$20.5 millionfor fiscal year 2025 to support the MSCRF, reaffirming the states commitment to promoting research in stem cell and regenerative medicine withinMaryland.

The commission is gearing up to release Requests for Applications (RFAs) for its first round of FY25 funding and anticipates an acceleration of pioneering research and innovative cures through the various programs of MSCRF.

Continued here:
Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission awards $15.4M to 48 scientists - Maryland Daily Record