Translational Product Development Fund Awards
Three Mayo Clinic projects are among the four chosen in 2019 to receive awards from the Translational Product Development Fund. This award recognizes medical research with commercial potential that shows promise to positively impact the health of people living in Minnesota.
"To fill the unmet needs of our patients across the research spectrum, seed-funding partnerships and risk-taking are essential," says Nicholas F. LaRusso, M.D., a 2018 award recipient. "The Translational Product Development Fund is unique in providing these elements. At the end of the day, it is our patients who benefit."
Award winners receive funding in two stages. Tier 1 awards provide up to $50,000 in direct funding, plus access to project development assistance. Tier 2 awards, which may be applied for after successful completion of a Tier 1 project, provide up to $400,000 in additional direct funding.
The Translational Product Development Fund program began in 2014 as a collaborative grant initiative between the University of Minnesota Clinical and Translational Science Institute and the Mayo Clinic Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCaTS) in conjunction with the Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics. 2019 is the program's sixth grant cycle. Two grant cycles were awarded in the first year.
Visit the Translational Product Development Fund website to learn more.
2019 award winners
- Andres J. Acosta, M.D., Ph.D., Mayo Clinic
- "Development of Selective Ileo-Colonic Bitter Taste 2 Receptor 5 Agonist for Treatment of Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes"
- Michael A. Barry, Ph.D., Mayo Clinic, and Alexander Khoruts, M.D., University of Minnesota
- "Vaccines to Combat Clostridioides (Clostridium) Difficile"
- Alan D. Marmorstein, Ph.D., Mayo Clinic
- "Stem Cell-Derived RPE for the Treatment of Macular Degeneration"
- Arthur Erdman, Ph.D., University of Minnesota
- "Translational Development of a Targeted Cardiocerebral Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (TC-ECMO) System"