Mayo Clinic Office of Translation to Practice + Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics and the University of Minnesota Clinical and Translational Science Institute announce award recipients

The Mayo Clinic Office of Translation to Practice (part of the Center for Clinical and Translational Science), in collaboration with the Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics and the University of Minnesota’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute, announced projects selected for the Translational Product Development Fund program.

The following first-time awardees were selected to receive 2021 funding for the program (cycle 1), along with support from a customized project development team:

Mukesh Pandey, Ph.D. (RD ’12), Department of Radiology, “Design, Synthesis and Preliminary Evaluation of B-11 Antibody Fragments for PD-L1 PET Imaging”

Elizabeth Rajan, M.D. (ENDO ’98, GI ’01, GIEU ’02), Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, “Flexible Tube-Assist Balloon Dilator With Camera: Self-Dilation of Benign Esophageal Strictures”

The following projects were selected to receive additional funding and continued support to build upon their initial TPDF award:

Andres Acosta, M.D., Ph.D. (CTSA ’14, GI ’15), Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, “RGS Inhibition for Treatment of Obesity, Diabetes, NASH and Cardiometabolic Disorders”

Luis Savastano, M.D., Ph.D. (NS ’19), Department of Neurologic Surgery, “Minimal Invasive Drainage of Subdural Hematomas”

The Translational Product Development Fund program supports Minnesota-based Mayo Clinic investigators with projects that aim to develop new products with commercialization potential, such as medical devices, diagnostics, therapeutics, software or other human health innovations.  Medical need and commercial potential are key criteria in award selection. Other important considerations included readiness for translation and the strength of the research team and collaborators.  The ultimate goal of this program is to bring new solutions and products to market that improve human health.