Treating glioblastoma, diagnosing hidden hearing loss and improving organ transplant outcomes are among the projects researchers are pursuing with funding from the Pat & Shirley Ryan Family Research Acceleration Fund.
The goal of the $35 million initiative, which provides seed grants to bridge the gap between academic innovation and commercialization, is to accelerate life sciences research. Over two rounds of funding, it has awarded more than $4 million to 16 transformative projects out of a pool of 139 Northwestern research proposals.
“The Ryan Family Research Acceleration Fund is elevating innovation at Northwestern, empowering our faculty to translate their groundbreaking discoveries into real solutions,” says Eric J. Perreault, vice president for research at Northwestern.
The fund selects projects that have strong potential for societal impact but are caught in the gap between government research funding and private sector commercialization. The selected proposals focus on therapeutics, health information technology and data science analytics, and medical device development. Many involve interdisciplinary collaborations, fostering partnerships across Northwestern’s medical, engineering and liberal arts schools.
“By strategically investing in exceptional research, we are narrowing the divide that often stalls groundbreaking discoveries, unlocking their potential to change lives and strengthen society,” says University Trustee Patrick G. Ryan ’59, ’09 H.
Shana Kelley and Robert Vassar, below, are among the researchers to receive seed grants from the Ryan Family Research Acceleration Fund. Above Credit: Crystal Wiley-Brown
Many of the grant recipients are focusing on preventing and treating life-threatening and life-altering illnesses.
Credit: Bonnie Robinson
Meanwhile, Robert Vassar — the Davee Professor of Alzheimer’s Research and director of the Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease at Feinberg — is leading a project to develop a therapy to protect and heal the brain’s membranes from damage caused by Alzheimer’s, stopping the disease in its tracks. The effort targets a fundamental cellular mechanism, and researchers hope this project will help combat the looming epidemic of the disease, which is projected to afflict close to 14 million people in the U.S. by 2050. If the technique is successful, the investigators plan to launch a startup venture to deploy this technology. Vassar’s co-principal investigator is Katherine Sadleir, research associate professor of neurology in the Division of Behavioral Neurology at Feinberg.
The Ryan Family Research Acceleration Fund supports the University priority of advancing the biosciences. Learn more.
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