Chan-Zuckerberg (CZ) Biohub Selects Researchers to Receive $50 Million to Fight Disease & Consortium aimed at Immunotherapy Research

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Chan-Zuckerberg (CZ) Biohub Selects Researchers to Receive $50 Million to Fight Disease & Consortium aimed at Immunotherapy Research

February 13, 2017 by 2012pharmaceutical

Chan-Zuckerberg (CZ) Biohub Selects Researchers to Receive $50 Million to Fight Disease & consortium aimed at immunotherapy research

Reporter: Aviva Lev-Ari, PhD, RN

02/10/2017 – 4:33pm

by Ryan Bushey

Selecting the Candidates

It wasn’t easy to narrow down the applicant pool, according to Quake.

“Over 750 people submitted a three-page application proposing risky but innovative ideas. In return, we’d provide them with the funding to work on their ideas in an unrestricted capacity,” said Quake regarding the application process.

A panel comprised of 60 prominent engineers and scientists sifted through the applications that came from the three universities. Submissions came from a diverse array of departments, including computer science, engineering and mathematics before settling on the final 47 participants.

“It’s a phenomenal gathering of talent working on issues like using computer science to help understand human health through the use of wearables,” added Quake.

One notable member of this program is Jure Leskovec, Ph.D., who is a computer scientist at Stanford and the chief scientist at Pinterest. His work at the biohub will focus on using data to help biologists comprehend the interactions between the genes and proteins exposed to drugs or disease, according to Nature.

Other investigators include Ada Poon, Ph.D., hailing from Stanford who is studying new techniques for miniaturing bioelectronics devices, and Markita Landry, Ph.D., who is working on nanosensor technology and near infrared imaging platforms designed to visualize neurotransmitters in the brain.

The CZ Biohub will institute policies that enable quick dissemination of research papers through pre-print servers. This will help inform other researchers of their work and expedite the discovery process.

Next Steps

Investigators will gain a five-year appointment and up to $1.5 million in funding to kick start their research projects.

There are other research institutes forming in Silicon Valley, but with slightly different approaches. Sean Parker, the entrepreneur behind notorious music-sharing service Napster, launched a consortium aimed at immunotherapy research as well as a separate operation geared towards allergy research.

However, Quake said the Biohub concept appeals to a lot of researchers.

“There’s only a small number of faculty positions available each year and not everyone wants to teach, so we want the Biohub to be an alternate career path for researchers who love science,” he said.

http://www.rdmag.com/article/2017/02/chan-zuckerberg-biohub-selects-researchers-receive-50-million-fight-disease?et_cid=5825577&et_rid=461755519&type=cta&et_cid=5825577&et_rid=461755519&linkid=content