UM-BILD’s successful first year included funding eight projects in the first Pilot Project cohort and working through the funding application process for the second cohort.
Photo: Jason Rose, MD, MBA, UM-BILD's lead principal investigator and executive director, presenting at the UM-BILD first anniversary celebration.
One year in, the University of Maryland, Baltimore Life Science Discovery (UM-BILD) initiative has made significant strides. In late September, UM-BILD marked its successful first year with a celebration in the University of Maryland BioPark that engaged faculty entrepreneurs, mentors, leaders from the life science industry, and technology commercialization staff from UM-BILD partner institutions.
At the event, the UM-BILD leadership team recognized the first cohort of UM-BILD Accelerator investigators and introduced their projects. Representatives from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), UM-BILD’s key funder, shared their insights on the translational science landscape.
In March 2024, UM-BILD received more than 40 applications for the first round of UM-BILD Pilot Project grants. The eight highest-scoring applications were funded in the fall. Investigators from each UM-BILD partner institution are working on innovative technologies, ranging from medical devices to digital health to potential therapeutics. The projects are:
Gene Therapy for Age-Related Macular Degeneration
Zubair Ahmed, PhD
Professor of Otorhinolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery and Ophthalmology
University of Maryland School of Medicine
Novel Neutralizing Antibody Technology as Therapeutic Agents
Yuxing Li, PhD
Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
University of Maryland School of Medicine
Virtual technology to reduce pain and promote recovery
Sarah Murthi, MD
Professor of Surgery
University of Maryland School of Medicine
Minimally invasive device to control hemorrhage
Joseph Rabin, MD
Associate Professor of Surgery
University of Maryland School of Medicine
Automated Vascular Access Device
Rajabrata "Raj" Sarkar, MD, PhD
Barbara Baur Dunlap Professor of Surgery
University of Maryland School of Medicine
Development of Broad-Spectrum Antiviral Inhibitors
Kathie Seley-Radtke, PhD
Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Novel Small Molecule Development to Treat Colorectal Cancer
Yan Shu, MD, PhD
Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences
University of Maryland School of Pharmacy
A Model Agnostic Prediction Infrastructure
Ian Stockwell, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Information Systems
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Selection of the second cohort of Pilot Project investigators is underway. Each of the eight winners will receive $75,000 and access to mentorship and educational services to achieve the milestones of their translational research projects over the next 12 months.
In addition, three projects with Technology Assessment funding grants from TEDCO’s Maryland Innovation Initiative (MII) program were selected as UM-BILD MII Projects. These project teams can make use of UM-BILD’s mentorship and educational benefits:
A novel device to measure blood gases
Paul Buehler, PharmD, PhD
Professor of Pathology
University of Maryland School of Medicine
A device to monitor ophthalmic health
Amal Isaiah, MBBS, DPhil, MBA
Professor of Otorhinolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery
University of Maryland School of Medicine
Novel apparel for diabetic patients
Najma Jamaludeen, MS
Lecturer, Family & Consumer Sciences
Morgan State University
UM-BILD is made possible by a four-year, $4 million Research Evaluation And Commercialization Hubs (REACH) grant from the NIH, with matching support from its partner universities. One of only five NIH-funded proof-of-concept REACH hubs, UM-BILD seeks to advance biomedical entrepreneurship and the innovation economy, focusing on West Baltimore and extending to the Greater Baltimore Region. Increased workforce diversity is a related UM-BILD objective.
The core partner universities of UM-BILD are UMB and the University of Maryland School of Medicine, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and Morgan State University. Key collaborators include Blackbird Laboratories, TEDCO’s Maryland Innovation Initiative, and the University of Maryland, College Park.