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In This Issue:
- In the News
- Catalyst Awards
- Catalyst Team Updates
- Catalyst Supported Projects
- Featured Success Story
- Advisor Company News
- Translational Research Funding Opportunities
- Scholarship Opportunity
- Upcoming Events
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Cathy Tralau-Stewart: Creating the Secret Sauce for Translational Science
With 25-plus years of drug discovery experience spanning both industry and academia, Cathy Tralau-Stewart could write a book about the meticulous work required for a drug compound to progress through the pipeline. In her role at UCSF’s Catalyst Program, she unites various collaborators to keep breakthrough science in motion. Read more...
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Catalyst Awards Spring 2018 Coming Soon - Cycle opens January 29, 2018
The Catalyst Program is accepting proposals for the early stage development of Diagnostics, Devices, Therapeutics and Digital Health projects. Proposals accepted January 29, 2018 through February 26, 2018 . Apply through RAP. Deadline 2pm PDT.
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Catalyst Team Updates
Joseph Wagner
Dr. Wagner joins the UC-DDC after over 15 years in senior leadership roles in the biotechnology industry. He was the Chief Executive Officer of two publicly traded companies: OncoCyte, a company focused on the development of blood-based cancer diagnostics, and BriaCell Therapeutics, which focused on the development of a cell-based cancer immunotherapy.
Elodie Steffen
Elodie joins the Catalyst team as the new program coordinator. She transitioned to UCSF from UC Berkeley, where she worked as an academic advisor and program coordinator for the psychology department.
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Catalyst Supported Projects
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Featured Success Story
Topical Treatment for Cataracts: A Paradigm-Shifting Idea
 Two papers published in Science and Nature in 2015 suggested a possible breakthrough in the hunt for a drug treatment that would obviate the need for surgery and make cataract treatment more accessible for millions of people worldwide. Both teams used a similar concept, albeit with distinct approaches, to get to the same result: a topical treatment with asterol to reverse the effects of the cataract. Read more...
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Catalyst + Plus Project Updates
As reported in our last newsletter Catalyst has expanded its program to Catalyst Plus, which aims to provide additional support to the past Catalyst projects with a successful progress yet still seeking business advice and/or supplemental funding. The first Catalyst + Plus awards were given out this fall:
- Insoo Suh, MD, received funding for his proposal "Lamprey-Atraumatic Surgical Grasper".
- Shuvo Roy,PhD, received funding for his proposal "An Intervascular Ultrafiltration-Based Bioartificial Pancreas".
- Minnie Sarwal, MD, PhD, received funding for her proposal "TRAP: Transplant Risk Assessment Panels".
- Scott Baraban, PhD, received funding for his proposal "Zebrafish as a Model for Drug Discovery in Epilepsy".
- Stephen Nishimura, MD, received funding for his proposal on the Development of a Monoclonal Antibody Targeting Cancer and Fibrosis.
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Advisor Company News
DiCE, where Catalyst advisor John Jacobsen is VP of chemistry, was recently in the news:
 Genentech, DiCE Ally to Go After Hard-to-Drug Targets. Genentech has entered into a multitarget drug discovery deal with DiCE Molecules. The Roche unit is handing over an upfront fee and committing to milestones to apply DiCE’s small molecule platform to targets of interest.
MyoKardia, where former Catalyst director June Lee is COO, was also recently in the news:
 MyoKardia Presents Additional Positive Data from Phase 2 PIONEER-HCM Study of Mavacamten (Formerly MYK-461) at the Heart Failure Society of America’s 21st Annual Scientific Meeting. MyoKardia, Inc. (Nasdaq:MYOK) (“MyoKardia” or the “Company”), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering a precision medicine approach for the treatment of heritable cardiovascular diseases, announced that additional positive data from the first patient cohort of its Phase 2 PIONEER-HCM study of mavacamten in symptomatic, obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (oHCM) patients were presented at the Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA)’s 21st Annual Scientific Meeting in Dallas, TX.
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Translational Research Funding Opportunities
- Program to accelerate clinical trails: This RFP support Phase 0 through Phase 2 clinical trails, experimental medicine studies in human subjects, and IND-enabling studies. RFP due January 19, 2018.
- Biomarkers development: This funds the development and validation of biomarkers to enhance clinical trials for Alzheimer's disease, related dementias, and cognitive aging. RFP due January 19, 2018.
- Prevention beyond the pipeline: This RFP supports comparative effectiveness research, prevention clinical trials, and epidemiological studies on whether the use or choice of drugs alters the risk of cognitive decline. RFP due January 19, 2018.
- Drug discovery: This supports programs advancing lead molecules to clinical candidate selection, or building preclinical evidence in relevant animal models for repurposed/repositioned drugs. RFP due January 19, 2018.
L'Oréal USA For Women In Science for post-doctoral women in science - Application is due February 2nd, 2018.
Ono Pharma Foundation announces the start of the second year of the annual Breakthrough Science Initiative Awards Program in the United States and Canada. The LOI submission is due February 28, 2018, 5pm ET and the proposal due date is May 31, 2018, 5pm ET.
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Scholarship Opportunity
The Abbvie Immunology Scholarship is designed to provide financial support to exceptional students living with the following inflammatory diseases as they pursue goals of higher education:
- Ankylosing spondylitis (AS)
- Crohn's disease (CD)
- Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS)
- Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA)
- Psoriasis (Ps)
- Psoriatic arthritis (PsA)
- Rheumatoid arthritis (RA)
- Ulcerative colitis (UC)
- Uveitis (UV)
With this scholarship, AbbVie hopes to further empower students to pursue an independent life defined by bold decisions and unyielding determination.
Application submission deadline: January 9, 2018, 12pm Central Time.
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Upcoming Events
QB3 SBIR workshop - Get non-dilutive funding for your startup. Take the QB3 SBIR workshop. Available at UC Berkeley and UCSF.
- UCSF: Six sessions, on Thursdays. Starts February 1, ends March 29. Genentech Hall, UCSF Mission Bay. Reserve your seat here.
- UC Berkeley: Four sessions, on Wednesdays. Starts February 14, ends March 14. Stanley Hall, UC Berkeley. Reserve your seat here.
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UCSF Innovation Ventures, Catalyst Awards Program
University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)
CTSI, Box 0558
550 16th Street (at corner of 4th St.)
6th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94158
Catalyst Awards Program | UCSF Profiles
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