Manager, Commercialization Funding
Tel: (848) 932-4156
bajpaima@research.rutgers.edu
The HealthAdvance Fund®
Advancing Biomedical Innovations
Advancing Biomedical Innovations
As part of the Rutgers Optimizes Innovation initiative, HealthAdvance Fund® provides commercialization funding to assist the development of early-stage life sciences technologies and make them more attractive for continued follow-on investments from industry partners and external investors.
About the Rutgers HealthAdvance Fund®
HealthAdvance Fund® is the funding platform of Rutgers Optimizes Innovation (ROI) program established with a $4 million grant received under the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Research Evaluation And Commercialization Hub (REACH). The program aims to energize the innovation culture across all university campuses to speed up the translation of biomedical discoveries into commercially viable diagnostics, devices, therapeutics, and tools to improve health and patient care and train the next generation of innovators.
Pre-Qualification Guidelines & Form
Find out more about eligibility and application requirements for pre-qualification and the application process and timeline.
Meet the Mentors-in-Residence
Our Mentors-in-Residence (MIRs) are individually matched to the Innovator teams that have been invited to submit a full application to the program and collaborate with their matched Innovators to craft compelling proposals for a commercially viable product or solution, with a strong focus on improving human health.
Contact the Team
Associate Director, Commercialization Funding
Tel: (848) 932-4487
pragati.sharma@rutgers.edu
HealthAdvance and TechAdvance Fund Associate
Tel: (848) 932-4432
sherry.onweller@rutgers.edu
Executive Director, New Ventures & Commercialization Funding
Tel: (848) 932-4473
yair.harel@rutgers.edu
Recently Funded Projects
Rutgers Office for Research’s Innovation Ventures has executed an exclusive license agreement between the university and Sauvie BiKE, LLC, a subsidiary of Sauvie Inc., to develop and commercialize a bi-specific natural killer cell engager technology in the field of oncology.
Rutgers professor Spencer Knapp, PhD, has been named a 2022 American Chemical Society (ACS) Fellow, joining 44 other higher education and industry luminaries from around the world. The ACS Fellows Program was created by the ACS Board of Directors in 2008 to recognize members of ACS for outstanding achievements in and contributions to science, the profession and the Society.
The long-term goal of this project is to develop a vaccine using centanamycin for DNA viruses where no drug or vaccine is available. Our study offers an attractive opportunity to develop chemically-attenuated live viruses as vaccines for the prevention and treatment of DNA viral infections.
One of the most critical hurdles to developing CRISPR-based therapies for genetic disorders is the lack of effective delivery systems. To this end, this project aims todevelop a next-generation CRISPR delivery solution for fast and effective genome editing that supports the need for the CRISPR-based drug development market.
The proposed technology will repair peripheral nerve injuries (PNI) by utilizing a biodegradable biopolymer scaffold enclosing a hydrogel-peptide matrix-based 3Dsystem combined with cultured autologous human cells to augment nerve growth once implanted.
Tuberculosis is characterized by 10 million cases and 1.5 million deaths per year. New drugs are needed to reduce treatment duration and to treat drug-resistant infections. We propose a solution based on our preclinical drug lead (JSF-3285) that inhibits the essential ß-ketoacyl synthase and exhibits promising efficacy and safety profiles.
We have identified potent small molecule MIF inhibitors that reduce inflammation-associated cytokines in blood cell and mouse assays, and simultaneously exhibit favorable drug likeness properties including oral availability. They hold promise for the treatment of human inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), including ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.
This project aims to advance nanoparticle-based contrast agents for pre-clinical imaging of tumors in small animals. The project focuses on (i) scaling up contrast agent synthesis, (ii) assembly of a prototype imaging system, and (iii) proof of concept studies to monitor tumor growth and response to therapy.
The prevention of microbial adhesion and biofilm formation on medical device/tissue interfaces is an urgent and unmet need. Thi surface functionalization technology, which is specifically effective in preventing biofilm formation on medical devices, such as implants, aims to address this critical healthcare problem.