The Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio, has announced the 2017 recipients of Harrington Scholar-Innovator Awards. The awards support breakthrough discoveries of physician-scientists whose research shows promise to advance the standard of care.
The Harrington Discovery Institute - part of The Harrington Project for Discovery & Development -fulfills an unmet need in academic medicine: to advance early breakthroughs into the clinical realm. Its focus on physician-scientist innovators from across the country and the UK creates opportunity to transform the best innovation regardless of institution affiliation.
In addition to financial support awarded to the winners, the Institute provides direction from leaders in the pharmaceutical industry who are charged with overseeing therapeutic development of Scholar programs. While working with the Institute, physician-scientists (and their institutions) retain the intellectual property for their work.
"Our scholars tell us that the guidance they receive from members of the Harrington Innovation Support Center is absolutely the most valuable part of their time with us--of even greater value than the money," said Jonathan Stamler, MD, President of the Harrington Discovery Institute. "Research institutions and non-profit endeavors do not typically provide strong pharmaceutical capability. Technology languishes for lack of know-how. We believe that if we can marry the best science with the best practices, we should be able to more effectively advance discovery."
The selected scholars have access to several rounds of capital (up to a total of $700,000) through their affiliation with the Harrington Discovery Institute to support the transition of their work into the private sector. Scholars are then free to approach investors of their choice to underwrite the commercialization of their work or they can have facilitated access to BioMotiv, the mission-aligned development company that also is part of The Harrington Project. However, there are no obligations on either side.
The 2017 Harrington Scholar-Innovator grant recipients are:
Paul Bollyky, MD, PhD - Stanford University - A novel drug for Type I Diabetes
Ambrose Cheung, MD - Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth - A novel treatment against MRSA and other Gram+ bacterial infections
Giulio Draetta, MD, PhD - The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center - A new therapy and first in-human trials for pancreatic cancer
Seth Field, MD, PhD - University of California San Diego - A novel pathway causing cancer
Todd Gould, MD - University of Maryland - A new medicine for depression
John Letterio, MD - Case Western Reserve University/University Hospitals - A promising drug for Alzheimer's disease, stroke and cancer
David Lombard, MD, PhD - University of Michigan - A new strategy in melanoma therapy
Daruka Mahadevan, MD, PhD - University of Arizona - A novel class of cancer drugs and radiation sensitizers
Deepak Nijhawan, MD, PhD - University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center - A first-in-class immunotherapy for cancer
Stuart Orkin, MD - Harvard University - A novel treatment for sickle cell disease
Daniel Ory, MD - Washington University - A breakthrough treatment for Niemann-Pick C disease, a rare neurological disease
###
Harrington Discovery Institute
The Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio - part of The Harrington Project for Discovery & Development - aims to advance medicine and society by enabling our nation's most inventive physician-scientists to turn their discoveries into medicines that improve human health. The institute was created in 2012 with a $50 million founding gift from the Harrington family and instantiates the commitment they share with University Hospitals to a Vision for a 'Better World'.
The Harrington Project for Discovery & Development
The Harrington Project for Discovery & Development (The Harrington Project), founded in late February 2012 by the Harrington Family and University Hospitals of Cleveland, is a $300 million national initiative built to bridge the translational valley of death. It includes the Harrington Discovery Institute and BioMotiv, a for-profit, mission-aligned drug development company that accelerates early discovery into pharma pipelines.
For more information about The Harrington Project and the Harrington Discovery Institute, visit: HarringtonDiscovery.org.
University Hospitals
Founded in 1866, University Hospitals serves the needs of over 1 million patients per year through an integrated network of 18 hospitals, more than 40 outpatient health centers and 200 physician offices in 15 counties throughout northern Ohio. The system's flagship academic medical center, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, located on a 35-acre campus in Cleveland's University Circle, is affiliated with Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. The main campus also includes University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, ranked among the top children's hospitals in the nation; University Hospitals MacDonald Women's Hospital, Ohio's only hospital for women; and University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center, part of the NCI-designated Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. UH is home to some of the most prestigious clinical and research programs in the nation, including cancer, pediatrics, women's health, orthopedics, radiology, neuroscience, cardiology and cardiovascular surgery, digestive health, dermatology, transplantation and urology. UH Cleveland Medical Center is perennially among the highest performers in national ranking surveys, including "America's Best Hospitals" from U.S. News & World Report. UH is also home to Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals - part of The Harrington Project for Discovery & Development. UH is the second largest employer in northern Ohio with 26,000 employees. For more information, go to UHhospitals.org.