On July 15^th, 2014, the Office of Technology Development at Boston University will host its fifth annual technology networking event entitled, Tech, Drugs, and Rock n’ Roll (TDRR), from 4-8pm in the Metcalf Ballroom of the George Sherman Union.

TDRR is a networking event designed to connect scientists and engineers with entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators. The event will showcase emerging technologies from Boston University’s research programs in the fields of life sciences, physical sciences, medical technology, new ventures, and student-based ventures. The event will also include participation from key translational research centers including the Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Photonics Center, Fraunhofer Center for Manufacturing Innovation, and Wallace H. Coulter Foundation.

The event prides itself on finding a great band every year to provide lively music and create a relaxed atmosphere for networking. This year, TDRR welcomes the musical talents of Poor Old Shine, a band who specializes in alternative Americana music.

The Boston University Provost, Jean Morrison, will also be attending to announce the recipient of this year’s Innovator of the Year Award. This award seeks to highlight translational research at Boston University by recognizing an entrepreneurial faculty member who translates their world-class research into inventions and innovations that benefit humankind.

The sponsors of this year’s Tech, Drugs, and Rock n’ Roll event are Sanofi, Shore Chan, Pfizer, and Wolf Greenfield. They will all be joining us at the event to celebrate innovation in a high-energy fashion.

To register click here.

For more information about the conference and registration for the conference, please visit www.bu.edu/otd/tdrr.

For over a decade, Drs. Edward Damiano (Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering) and Firas El-Khatib (Senior Research Scientist) at Boston University have been developing a bihormonal bionic pancreas to help patients with type 1 diabetes (and insulin-dependent type 2 diabetes) control their blood glucose levels. The system integrates three components:  a continuous glucose monitor, external infusion pumps to deliver insulin (a blood-sugar lowering hormone) and glucagon (a blood-sugar raising hormone) through the skin, and an adaptive mathematical algorithm that they developed to automatically administer insulin and glucagon doses to regulate the patient’s glucose levels. The group has recently developed a portable prototype of the bionic pancreas, controlled by an iPhone (see diagram below).


The bihormonal bionic pancreas has already undergone four years of feasibility clinical testing at MGH under the clinical guidance of Dr. Steven Russell, an endocrinologist.  The group recently completed the first round of their first outpatient transitional study, called “Beacon Hill Study”. The study aims to test the iPhone-driven bionic pancreas in 20 adults in 5-day long experiments, where subjects are allowed free access to 3 square-miles in downtown Boston around MGH between 7 AM and 11 PM, and sleep in a hotel at night. Volunteers are free to engage in activities of their choice (eat and exercise freely) and are accompanied by a nurse to check their blood glucose every two hours. Volunteers spend another 5 days where they control their glucose.
The research group is about to start another transitional trial this summer at two diabetes camps in central Massachusetts (Camp Joslin and Clara Barton Camp), which will include 32 children, 16 boys and 16 girls. In each camp, 8 of the 16 volunteers will first wear the bionic pancreas continuously for 5 days, and then follow with another 5 days of usual care where they control their glucose, while the other 8 volunteers will simultaneously do the same but in reverse order. For comparison, volunteers will wear the same continuous glucose monitoring system when on the bionic pancreas as well as during usual care.  They will participate in normal camp physical activities and be served typical camp meals during the entire study.
The group plans to follow the camp study with their final transitional study, in which they will enroll hospital staff with type 1 diabetes at four medical facilities, before they move on to their pivotal study in 2015, and submit for FDA for approval of the bionic pancreas in 2016. The group estimates a commercial launch in 2017.
For more information on Boston University’s bihormonal bionic pancreas, you can visit:  http://bionicpancreas.org/

Our 2013 Life Science Awardees were Ulla Hansen, David Harris, Avrum Spira and Marc Lenburg, and Kenneth Walsh. All winners demonstrated potential for developing small and large molecule therapeutics in multiple therapeutic areas.

Ulla Hansen, Professor of Biology, is developing small molecule LSF inhibitors for the treatment of liver cancer. The objective of this proposal was to demonstrate growth arrest of primary liver tumors within an animal model, without toxic side effects. As part of their Ignition proposal, the team will generate systematic toxicology studies of the compounds in rodents, pharmacokinetic (PK) analyses of more soluble compound derivatives, and delineation of key features of the LSF biological pathway in liver cancer cells. Pharmaceutical companies have expressed interest in the small molecules.

David Harris (Professor and Chair in the Department of Biochemistry) and Emiliano Biasini (Instructor in the Department of Biochemistry) work on prion protein ligands as therapeutic agents for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). AD is associated with accumulation of amyloid-ß (Aß) peptide in the brain, leading to progressive dementia. Compelling evidence suggests that soluble, oligomeric assemblies of Aß are primarily responsible for the synaptic dysfunction underlying cognitive decline in AD. Recently, the cellular form of the prion protein (PrP^c), a membrane glycoprotein expressed at the neuronal surface, has been identified as a receptor for Aß oligomers and possibly toxic protein aggregates associated with other neurodegenerative disorders. The research team is developing small-molecule ligands that bind to PrP^C and thereby inhibit the interaction with Aß oligomers.  Their Ignition proposal will test whether such compounds are capable of reducing the pathogenic effects of Aß oligomers in transgenic mouse models of AD.

Avrum Spira (Professor of Medicine, Pathology & Laboratory Medicine) and Marc Lenburg (Associate Professor of Medicine in Computational Biomedicine, Pathology & Laboratory Medicine) working together with Post-doctoral scholar Joshua Campbell utilized genome-wide expression profiling to identify therapeutic targets for COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. COPD is a significant public health problem worldwide and the third leading cause of death in the United States. One of the processes that contributes to COPD is emphysema – the destruction of the tissue where oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange occurs. In order to gain insights into what drives emphysema, the team identified gene-expression changes in lung tissue from patients with severe emphysema . The team also discovered that GHK was able to reverse these changes and restore tissue and collagen remodeling in human fibroblast cell lines.  Therefore, GHK is proposed as a potential therapeutic for emphysema, and the team is seeking industry partners who are interested in commercial development.

Finally, Kenneth Walsh, from the Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute, has discovered a novel disease modifying therapy for inflammatory myositis. The laboratory has developed a novel transgenic mouse (MyoMouse) with enhanced muscle function exhibited by increased strength, resistance to diet-inducing obesity, and superior regenerative response to muscle injury. Using this model, the team is isolating factors secreted by muscle that confer the health benefits of exercise.The team has focused on the Insulin-Like 6 protein (Insl6) because it demonstrated unique disease modification in a cardiotoxin-induced model of severe muscle injury. To validate the genetic data and Insl6’s therapeutic potential, the team has collaborated with Lake Pharma, Inc. (Belmont, CA), to demonstrate the therapeutic potential of Insulin-Like 6 protein in the setting of inflammatory muscle injury.

The year brought in a range of fantastic Life Science innovations in devices, diagnostics, and small/large molecules. With funding awarded to this year’s winners, we are excited to see continued advances in their research, development, and commercialization.

The Office of Technology Development is always working on creative ways to connect our research faculty with entrepreneurs and industry representatives. On February 28, Hiebert Lounge at BU Medical Campus played host to the second annual “Tech, Drugs, and Rock n’ Roll Unplugged” for over 100 attendees. The event was organized by BU’s Office of Technology Development in a joint collaboration with the Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research. The occasion was designed as a networking and informational event to recognize the valuable contribution of BU’s innovative and entrepreneurial faculty.

A panel discussion on “New Funding Models for Therapeutic and Technology Development” was moderated by Ken Rhodes, Vice President of Neurology Discovery at Biogen Idec.  A distinguished panel of speakers was assembled from Boston University, Cure Alzheimer’s Fund, Pfizer Centers for Therapeutic Innovation, Broadview Ventures Inc, and Jubilant Life Sciences. In addition, TDRR unplugged also featured various programs supported by The Office of Technology Development, The Evan’s Center Affinity Research Collaboratives, The Clinical and Translational Science Institute, The Coulter Translational Partnership in Biomedical Engineering, and The Center for Nanoscience and Nanobiotechnology.

Boston University’s very own co-ed a cappella group, The Treblemakers, brought in a range of entertainment for the evening. Their one-hour set performance from 4:30 to 5:30 included the songs “Cry Me a River” by Justin Timberlake, “Never Let Me Go” by Florence and The Machine, “Eet” by Regina Spektor, and “Bills Bills Bills” by Destiny’s Child to name just a few. Refreshments and hors d’oeuvres from Catering on the Charles, and entertainment from the Treblemakers stimulated the audience into networking with fellow Boston University faculty and members of the local entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Our “Tech, Drugs, and Rock n’ Roll Unplugged” event was a great showcase of what is to come this summer, July 16^th, in our larger-scale “TDRR” event. We hope to intertwine the same themes of networking and enjoyment this summer with our fourth annual run of “Tech, Drugs, and Rock n’ Roll.” For more information about this summer’s event, please feel free to check out our website at www.bu.edu/otd/news/tdrr