Newsletter
May 2021

Fireside Chat with Nick Hertz of Mitokinin and Mission Bio Capital
Calling all interested in biotech careers for the first of a new bi-monthly series of Fireside Chat-style webinars! On Thursday, May 13 at 4 PM PT the Catalyst Program, LaunchPad, and Mission Bio Capital will host Nick Hertz of Mitokinin for an interactive virtual Q&A-driven seminar. Nick spun out Mitokonin from UCSF Professor Kevan Shokat’s lab in 2017 and just entered into an acquisition agreement with Abbvie.


Apply to the Catalyst Summer Internship
Applications for the “Catalyst Awards Summer Internship” are now open! The internship provides an opportunity to be part of an innovative project team to learn about early translational research and the process of translating academic discoveries into products for patient benefit. The primary focus for Catalyst Summer Interns is to create Target Product Profiles (TPPs) with the 2021 Catalyst Awardees. Learn more and apply here!

The approximate commitment is roughly 30-40 total hours over Summer 2021 to allow for flexibility with respect to fitting in other activities and commitments (other internships, summer jobs, vacations, etc).

Application deadline: Friday, May 28, 2021

All interns and project teams will be invited to a workshop in June focused on the development of a TPP. The workshop topics will include the role of the TPP in translational studies, Project Management, Intellectual Property, as well as the importance of the TPP for product development and commercialization. Project Teams will present their TPP in Fall 2021 to the Catalyst Advisor Network for additional feedback.


Innovators Forum
UCSF’s Surgical Innovations, Pediatric Device Consortium, and the Catalyst Program co-host a lively weekly meeting that serves as a sounding board for new ideas and a venue for the real work of designing and developing novel devices. Each week, our forum attracts an incredibly diverse cross-section of clinicians, scientists, engineers, and device industry professionals, including engineering collaborators from nearby universities or from industry, tool and prototype makers, product developers, and patent lawyers.


Legal Support for Early-Stage
Healthcare Startups
UCSF Health Hub and UCSF have joined together with Wilson Sonsini to create the Wilson Sonsini First program that provides complimentary legal consultations to qualified early-stage healthcare companies.


Congratulations to Alessa Therapeutics!
Alessa Therapeutics recently announced that the first Australian patient has been enrolled in their Biolen-PC clinical study of a novel localized drug delivery technology for the treatment of prostate cancer. Alessa was founded by Professor Pamela Munster, MD, and the project was supported by the Catalyst Program.

Nicole Paulk Joins the Scientific Advisory Board of Dyno Therapeutics
Dyno Therapeutics, a biotech company applying artificial intelligence to gene therapy, announced the expansion of the company’s Scientific Advisory Board with the addition of 2020 Catalyst Awardee Nicole Paulk, PhD. Dr. Paulk will play an instrumental role in providing scientific insight and expert guidance, complementing the company’s diverse and interdisciplinary team that is focused on applying machine learning to Adeno-Associated Virus capsid engineering for improved gene therapy delivery. 

LaunchPad Fellowship
IIAM, founded by UCSF Resident Physician Nicole Jiam, MD, and Shimmer, co-founded by UCSF medical student Jon Wang, were recently awarded and participated in the Blackstone LaunchPad Fellowship. Founders received a $5,000 grant to support their time working on advancing their ventures, as well as other resources, and mentorship to help them advance their startup ideas over the 8-week course.


Startup Career Fair in Collaboration with Stanford University
Mark your calendars for the 2021 Startup Career Fair hosted by the UCSF LaunchPad and Stanford University Healthcare Innovation Lab on Friday, May 21 at 12 PM PT. The Startup Career Fair will connect students and alumni from UCSF, Stanford, and beyond with startup opportunities, jobs, and internships. Hundreds of impactful startup founders and ventures will be hiring from all over the region and you can meet virtually, discuss existing opportunities, and create new ones!


In case you missed it...
2021 Catalyst Awardees
Catalyst Awards are the centerpiece of the Catalyst Program. UCSF principal investigators with promising early-stage research projects designed for patient benefit and with commercial potential spanning therapeutics, diagnostics, medical devices, digital health, and biotools can apply. Awarded projects receive mentorship and advice from the Catalyst Advisor Network as well as seed funding. The most recent Catalyst Award cycle was very competitive with over 80 project applications and 27 finalists selected to present their projects to the Catalyst Industry Advisor Selection Committee that selected the following 13 projects as the 2021 Catalyst Awardees:


The 2021 Catalyst Awardees are currently receiving consultations from the Catalyst Advisors Network and will soon start developing their Target Product Profiles (“TPP”) with the assistance of Catalyst Interns to help advance the awarded projects along the translational pathway.
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