Keynote Presenter: Janie Merkel, Yale Center for Molecular Discovery
Other participants:
Dennis Wright, Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Connecticut, Co-Director of PITCH
Karen Woodward, Industry Liaison, Life Sciences and Healthcare; University of Connecticut, Technology Commercialization Services
Sandra Weller, Professor and Chair of Molecular Biology and Biophysics. UConn Health
Please join us for a discussion on how to translate basic science concepts into treatments. Several funding mechanisms including PITCH (Program in Innovative Therapeutics for Connecticut’s Health), the UConn SPARK Technology Commercialization Fund and SBIR grants are available to support innovative proof-of-concept studies that facilitate the eventual translation of basic science research discoveries into therapies. Both basic science and clinical science faculty are welcome and encouraged to attend.
What we will address:
- What constitutes a novel target for drug discovery
- What background data can demonstrate a strong connection between a target and a disease
- Target drugability: considerations on developing small molecule and/or biologics
- Hallmarks of a strong PITCH proposal
- How to improve existing agents through new knowledge (medicinal chemistry)
Who should attend: Students, postdoctoral fellows and faculty are welcome. Basic scientists with projects of biomedical importance amenable to drug discovery (small molecule or biological) and clinicians and clinical scientists with unmet therapeutic needs are encouraged to participate.
About PITCH: Program in Innovative Therapeutics for Connecticut’s Health (PITCH) is a collaboration between Yale and UConn’s campuses in Storrs and in Farmington at UConn Health. PITCH is designed to translate discoveries made in the laboratory into therapeutic strategies that can be used to treat and cure disease and improve human health. PITCH supports the identification of appropriate biological targets, the first step in a successful drug discovery pipeline. Appropriate targets for drug discovery are proteins or processes that are involved in causing disease. The deadline to apply is November 15, 2016.
About SPARK: The UConn SPARK Technology Commercialization Fund is administered by the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR), in collaboration with the School of Medicine, to fund proof-of-concept studies that will facilitate the translation of research discoveries into eventual product commercialization. The deadline to apply is September 30, 2016.
Other funding opportunities: This workshop can also be of value for those seeking grants from the NIH (P01, R01, R21) and SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research), as well as the Connecticut Bioscience Innovation Fund.
Click here to RSVP for the workshop/lunch.
For more information, contact: Sandra Weller at weller@uchc.edu