Eight early-stage life science research projects led by Yale faculty have been awarded Blavatnik Accelerator Awards, each receiving $30,000 in recognition of their potential to make significant positive impacts on human health. The awards were announced at the 2024 Yale Innovation Summit, held on May 29-30. 

These mid-cycle awards for the Blavatnik Fund for Innovation at Yale are made to faculty who have early-stage research to generate validating data that holds the promise of transforming lives. The awards are supported by the Blavatnik Fund for Innovation at Yale, an accelerator fund committed to cultivating and transforming Yale's pioneering research into cutting-edge, life-saving solutions within the realm of life sciences.

The Blavatnik Accelerator Awards empower the remarkable talent within the Yale community to take the first steps in translating their basic science too nascent for full Blavatnik awards. Providing gap funding, these awards underscore the university's commitment to fostering innovative research, allowing the nurturing of groundbreaking ideas that hold the potential to revolutionize healthcare

- Dr. Morag Grassie, Director of the Blavatnik Fund for Innovation at Yale

2024 Blavatnik Accelerator Awardees and Their Innovations

Biotech Awardees

Christopher Bunick, MD, PhD - Small Molecule Vimentin Inhibitor: Dr. Bunick is advancing a small molecule vimentin inhibitor aimed at treating hypertrophic and keloid scars. This topical therapy holds promise for improving the quality of life for individuals who are affected by these challenging skin conditions and have few alternative options. 

Seth Herzon, PhD - DNA SAWs: Dr. Herzon is pioneering the development of DNA SAWs (Self Activating Warheads), novel payloads for antibody drug conjugates. This innovative payload technology could improve the safety and efficacy profile of a highly promising class of drugs.

Richard Kibbey, MD, PhD - Biolamp Therapeutics: Small Molecule Incretin Amplifiers: Dr. Kibbey's research focuses on developing small molecule incretin amplifiers through Biolamp therapeutics. These amplifiers may offer a new avenue for treating metabolic disorders through synergy with existing hormone-based therapies.

Markus Müschen, MD, PhD - Selective GSK3B Inhibitors for Refractory B-Cell Malignancies: Dr. Müschen has identified a novel role for GSK3B in B-cell dependent diseases. His group is developing a new class of selective GSK3B inhibitors to safely treat refractory B-cell malignancies and autoimmunity. This innovation offers hope for patients with difficult-to-treat diseases.

Health Awardees

Madhav Menon, MBBS, MD - Urine-Based Liquid Biopsy for progressive kidney diseases: Dr. Menon's project introduces a novel urine-based liquid biopsy method for diagnosing and prognosticating progressive kidney diseases, with an initial application in focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). While standard urine tests provide overall kidney health estimates, Dr. Menon's lab has developed a method of tracking cell-specific urine mRNA and correlating to ongoing injury specific to disease. 

Mohini Ranganathan, MBBS - Simulated Psychedelic Immersive Experience: Healthcare Intervention for Depression (Si-PHI): Dr. Ranganathan's Si-PHI intends to treat depression through a tailored multisensory mixed reality experience that will simulate drug induced psychedelic experiences. Si-PHI utilizes EEG as an objective biomarker of psychedelic effects and antidepressant response. 

Richa Sharma, MD, MPH - StrokeClassifier: Dr. Sharma has developed an automated clinical algorithm that infers the etiologic diagnosis of an ischemic stroke. This algorithm improves not only the speed and accuracy of diagnosis, but also provides additional information to design an individualized treatment plan. StrokeClassifier aims to be a part of the solution to prevent recurrent strokes. 

Berna Sozen, PhD - ExoMetri: Unlocking human embryo implantation and reproductive success through synthetic embryology. Dr. Sozen's pioneering work has allowed for modeling the most enigmatic stages of human embryonic development. The "Implantoid" technology holds tremendous potential for identifying causes of failed implantation and uncovering potential therapeutic targets for treating infertility.

Applications for the 2024-2025 on September 3, 2024.  

About The Blavatnik Fund for Innovation at Yale 

The Blavatnik Fund for Innovation at Yale is a $65 million fund, committed to cultivating and transforming Yale's pioneering research into cutting-edge, life-saving solutions within the realm of life sciences. The Fund is made possible by a generous grant from the Blavatnik Family Foundation in support of the commercialization of Yale faculty applied research and technology in the life sciences. The Fund’s integrated approach combines business expertise, intensive guidance, and essential funding to support innovative, Yale investigator-initiated translational research. Completed projects will be better positioned to positively impact human health through startup advancement, partnerships with industry, major industry-sponsored research agreements, and/or external non-dilutive funding.