OCR's monthly newsletter.
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As of today, the Yale Innovation Summit will proceed on May 13th as planned, and we are excited for another great event. However, we, like most of you, are monitoring the COVID-19 outbreak very closely. My team is in communication with Yale’s Office of Public Affairs and Communication (OPAC) who is monitoring the COVID-19 scenario in real-time and evaluating all available information from Yale Schools of Public Health, Medicine, and Nursing, local, state, and federal agencies, and Yale-New Haven Hospital. We are following the guidance outlined on
Yale’s official COVID-19 fact page
and working with the site managers at the New Science Building to ensure the Summit venue is prepared. Although we remain hopeful that the COVID-19 situation will be in control by the Summit, safety is our top priority. We will continue to communicate with registrants, sponsors, and participants to keep everyone informed.
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Jon Soderstrom
Managing Director
Yale Office of Cooperative Research
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The Yale Innovation Summit
is one of the largest and fastest growing venture events in New England. Now in its 7th year, the 2020 Summit is expected to bring together over 1,000 attendees for a full day of pitch presentations, panel disc
ussions, top-tier keynote addresses, and high-quality networking opportunities. There will be over 100 companies presenting at stages from Seed to Series B and beyond. Last year, over 200 senior executives from large corporations, biotech companies, and other business partners were represented, as well as more than 100 venture investment firms, including 30 of the largest US venture groups.
Summit News To-Date:
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Yale OCR looking for a student intern
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Seeking student for a 3 month internship. Applicants can submit to:
[email protected]
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Yale Start-Ups in Formation (YSIF) cancelled March 12th event.
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Dr. Akiko Iwasaki of Yale University answers viewers' questions about Coronavirus in CT
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New Coalition Launches to Celebrate and Protect the Bayh-Dole Act
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BIOHAVEN'S NURTEC™ ODT (RIMEGEPANT) RECEIVES FDA APPROVAL FOR THE ACUTE TREATMENT OF MIGRAINE IN ADULTS
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BioMotiv and Bristol-Myers Squibb Announce the Launch of Anteros Pharmaceuticals
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Exciting, state-wide industry news.
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Akiko Iwasaki, Ph.D.
Waldemar Von Zedtwitz Professor of Immunobiology and Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology; Professor of Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology; Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
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Overview of your current project
My laboratory’s studies encompass four areas – viral pathogenesis, endogenous retroelements, vaccines and antitumor immunity. In the area of viral pathogenesis, we have shown unexpected links between temperature and common cold (how host immune response is dampened by cold temperature), between chronic constipation and genital herpes infection, and the key role of type I interferons in fetal demise following Zika virus infection in pregnancy. In the second area of research, we focus on understanding the physiological impact of retroelements, which occupy a large niche (~40%) in our genome. What do these elements do, how does the immune system suppress these elements, and what are the disease consequences? In the third area of study, explore different ways to create better vaccines. A few years ago, we developed a new vaccine strategy we call prime and pull, in which vaccines are used to induce T cell response (prime), and T cells are recruited to the target tissue using chemokines (pull). In collaboration with Drs. Alessandro Santin and Sangini Sheth, we are almost at the end of our first phase 2 clinical trial to test whether prime and pull vaccines can be used to prevent progression of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia from becoming cancerous in HPV-infected women. It is so gratifying to see that our basic discovery can be used to help women whom otherwise have to undergo invasive surgical procedures to remove part of their cervix, which can interfere with future pregnancies. In our newest area of our study, we are tackling basic questions in cancer immunity. What makes some cancers treatable by immunotherapy while others remain refractory? For the latter type of tumors, can we trick the immune system to enable existing therapies to cure cancer? We are making strides in all these areas because we have amazing people in the lab.
My innovations come from these various areas of studies, but lately, mostly from the antitumor immunity area. We have at least three technologies we are trying to bring to clinic. One is to boost innate immune response to cancer cells by injecting small stemloop RNA agonist of RIG-I, and RNA sensor of viruses. Prof. Anna Pyle and I incorporated a company called RIGImmune. The next technology is to treat primary brain tumors like glioblastoma by expanding meningeal lymphatic network using vascular endothelial growth factor C. We are calling this technology LymphAxis. The third is a new method to transiently open the BBB for drug or biologics delivery by stimulating existing CD4 T cell immunity in the brain. This one has a wide range of applications, not just cancer therapy, and we have named it CynAxis. My hope is that these technologies will be useful as either monotherapy or as a combination therapy with existing immunotherapy strategies to treat otherwise refractory tumor types.
Favorite off-time activity
I like to do yoga in the morning. It sets my mind and body in the right place before diving into work. I also like to cook. I love trying new recipes and enjoying the product with my family and friends. I also love reading books – but this one is more of a luxury, as I have so little time left in my day to indulge in reading.
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Best advice for young innovators
I am not sure if I can give a good advice. I became an innovator by accident. I never intended or planned to become one. By doing cutting edge research, we stumbled onto discoveries that lend themselves to clinically utility. My dream was always to make a positive impact on healthcare. If I can help translate our findings to help patients suffering from incurable diseases, that would be a dream come true!
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