New Member - Returning Member - Graduate
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NSIV welcomed new member Nephrogen in June. Nephrogen is a medical device company developing novel diagnostic tests for patients suffering from life-thr eatening diseases.  The company is currently focused on utilizing their Biomarker Detection Platform to offer a novel non-invasive method for detecting chronic kidney transplant rejection. Founder, Demetri Maxim is a recent graduate of Stanford University earning a BS in Computational Biology.
 And NSIV welcomes back Glycologix LLC, an emerging glycobiologics company developing a unique set of biopolymer-based therapeutics known as "SuperGAGs". The structurally diverse SuperGAG proteoglycan-mimic platform has the potential to provide ground-breaking solutions to address a range of soft tissue repair & rejuvenation needs. Led by CEO George Adaniya and Rich Heidebrecht, VP of Research and Development, they are joined by Research Associate, Harry Shain, previously an intern for several NSIV companies. Good luck on this next phase of development!
In our last issue, we highlighted the work of mem ber company, Spectrus, who was addressing the COVID-19 pandemic with a research project to measure viral particles in human samples using mass spectrometry. They are now making news again - see the local coverage here - by their graduation from our incubator. They have moved but not far away, leasing space in Suite 414G. We hope to see them regularly and follow their progress in the coming years. Congratulations!
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Manager of Lab Operations and Safety Begins
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NSIV welcomes Jeff DeFrank as the new Manager of Lab Operations and Safety. Jeff joined the NSIV staff in late July.  He brings a strong background in many areas of laboratory operations. We are thrilled to have Jeff on board in this role and expect that his experience will be an asset as we continue to grow. Jeff is a graduate of Adelphi University with a BS in Biology.
From Jeff: "I have had the unique opportunity to work in many different operational situations including academia, big pharma, middle-sized pharma and startups. My initial role was as a Research Operations Manager at Dana Farber-Department of Medical Oncology. After working at DFCI, I decided to make the switch over to Industry, taking an Operations Specialist role at Pfizer Pharmaceuticals at Kendall Square. I have also managed operations at a mid-sized company named Seres Therapeutics. My most recent role, was with the start-up company Xilio Therapeutics. I oversaw their growth from a startup to a mid-size company (40+). So, I have extensive experience and knowledge to offer the NSIV members on how to get things done."
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NSIV Companies Engaged in COVID-19 Work
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In June, we reported on efforts by NSIV member companies to address some aspect of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here's a quick update:
You'll recall the Cleantech member, Gloucester Bio had begun production of hand sanitizer to meet the huge demands for this product. What makes their FDA-certified product an advanced hand sanitizer?
Here's part of the story from their website: "We add natural plant-based glycerin and 100% antibacterial lemon essential oils, which, combined, provide the nourishing, therapeutic effect of hydration and moisturizers. Our proprietary blended formula of natural plant-based oils, pharmaceutical-grade filter-sterilized water and plant-based antiseptic cleansers leave your hands lemon fresh, while feeling soft and revitalized."
 NSIV has been using this sanitizer for several months and can attest to the fact that the spray mist goes a long way, making it an economical choice.
Earlier this month, Gloucester Bio had a visit from Congressman Seth Moulton. His tour of the plant included viewing a new 10,000 gallon storage tank that will enable Gloucester Bio to produce up to 14,000 gallons of hand sanitizer a day. Read more about the visit in the Gloucester Daily Times.
Here's another interesting fact about Gloucester Bio. Former NSIV staff intern David Walczak is now the Product Marketing Manager. David is a 2020 graduate of Gordon College and also interned with HepatoChem and Harvest Yeast, both NSIV member companies. Our congratulations to David on his graduation and new job.
 We are also reading about the progress of the partnership of member Adeptrix and the Avacta Group in two recent press releases. Avacta announced that it has begun work with the UK government’s CONDOR programme to evaluate and clinically validate the high throughput COVID-19 bead-assisted mass spectrometry ("BAMS™") laboratory assay developed with Adeptrix.
"Adeptrix’s novel BAMS platform uses Affimer reagents to capture the virus and viral proteins from patient samples and combines this with the power of mass-spectrometry analysis to provide a highly sensitive and specific diagnostic test. Up to 1,000 nasopharyngeal swab or saliva samples per day can be analysed by a single technician using the BAMS assay, making it a very attractive high-throughput technique for COVID-19 screening in the clinical setting."
For more details, please see the article in the Cambridge Independent and an earlier report in Yahoo Finance.
 NSIV member Genomic Expression is an RNA diagnostic company with solutions for COVID-19 and cancer. They have successfully launched COVID-19 PCR testing services and are providing fast turn around times to our community, which now include biotech companies developing COVID-19 vaccines, doctors and first responders and more recently schools and corporations opening up. They are moving the COVID-19 assay to Next Generation Sequencing, which could eliminate any current and future testing bottlenecks. Genomic Expression estimates scaling to 500,000 tests per week in the near future.
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Interns Head Back to School: This summer's interns are preparing to head back to school in the coming weeks and that will likely look very different than in past, with students now anticipating a variety of formats for the fall semester. NSIV and member companies have been fortunate to host interns who helped us all move forward even while many worked most of the summer remotely with lots of Zoom meetings and occasional visits to the office. Definitely a different experience, but these students have mastered valuable new skills despite the challenges.
NSIV was delighted to have Leigh Appelstein, a sophomore at UMass Amherst, spend the summer helping us improve our social media and communications strategy. We hope you've seen some of Leigh's work on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. She's introduced Meet NSIV Monday - quick intros to the "people" of NSIV.
Leigh has also put her videos skills to work, filming and producing a two minute overview of NSIV, currently showing on YouTube, and is finishing up another video that takes you on a tour of our lab facilities. Both videos will allow potential members to have a look at what NSIV offers. Our thanks to Leigh for her many contributions. Please see our new YouTube button elsewhere in this newsletter and let us know what you think of the new videos.
New England Hydropower Company (NEHC) hosted two students. Jonathan Denman is from Gloucester, and is a senior at UConn studying Mechanical Engineering. Luca Schwartz, from Manchester, will be a sophomore at the University of Vermont. Luca, completing his second summer interning at NEHC, is also a Mechanical Engineering major.
They worked with Chris Conover, CMO, and Patrick Wendt, fisheries biologist, to evaluate New York small-scale, hydro sites. They visited a series of sites with potential for NEHC's technologies that emerged from their research. They also looked at developing a drone program for the company's site evaluation and marketing.
Our recent graduate, Spectrus, had help from three interns this summer. Karthik Iyer, a student at UConn, and Yohana Kefella, from Northeastern began work in June and Julianna Devitt, a student at Gloucester Biotech Academy, has been interning at Spectrus since late February.
While some interns are leaving, Alan Salih from Endicott College, recently began a semester long internship with Genomic Expression. Following this intern experience, Alan will be set to graduate in December with a degree in Environmental Science.
In other news at Genomic Expression, we are saying good-bye to Derek Svendsen who is also headed back to school. After working for three years as an Assay Development Specialist, Derek is moving on to pursue his PhD in Molecular Biology at UConn. He will be missed but we look forward to hearing about his future successes.
Expansion News:
 NSIV continues to engage with architects and planners at Olson Lewis to consider our expansion needs, both for new companies and for the future needs of our current members who continue to grow.
Please think of NSIV if you hear of promising new companies that are ready for incubation and would benefit from the services we offer our members. We have a limited amount of space available now and plans are for additional offices and labs to be ready in early 2021.
Companies interested in incubation, please contact us at info@nsiv.org.
Note that NSIV has added a YouTube channel - see our overview video, NSIV Tour 2020, and coming soon, a virtual tour of our labs with more detailed information about equipment and facilities.
Watch and subscribe right here: 
We came across an interesting story about an intern working with a former NSIV member, Prospective Research. Griffin Marshall, a senior at Bowdoin College, is spending his second summer in the lab, continuing to help search for a drug that can control disease in aquaculture stocks. Read his story here.
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 Have we mentioned that the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center ( MassCEC) is celebrating its 10th Anniversary this year?
A lot has happened during these ten years - here are a few facts from a blog post earlier this year:
Over 10 years, MassCEC has:
- Awarded over 3,600 internships at 467 unique employers; over 7,000 students total have been impacted by our programs
- Supported over 46,000 clean energy systems for residents and businesses
- Provided $60 million in direct support of low-moderate income residents
- Supported over 5,328 loans for solar systems totaling $170 million in loan value
- Leveraged over $2 billion in private capital
NSIV has maintained a strong partnership with MassCEC as a grantee, and along with many of our member companies, has experienced the significant benefits of the internship program. We are grateful for this vital support.
You can flip through the pages of a very interesting Ten Year Impact Report here or download the PDF.
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