UR Ventures Announces 2024 Technology Development Fund Awardees
The University of Rochester is pleased to announce that it will be funding three researchers through the Technology Development Fund (TDF) this year. The TDF was conceived as a tool to provide targeted funding that de-risks University-developed technologies and advances them toward commercialization.
After a rigorous review and selection process, UR Ventures (the University’s technology transfer office) is excited to share that Dr. Astrid Mueller, Dr. Calvin Cole, and Dr. Ruchira Singh are this year’s TDF award recipients.
Dr. Astrid Müller, Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, has been awarded funding to advance development of her electrocatalytic technology that removes fluorinated “Forever Chemicals” from drinking water. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are harmful and extremely hard to break down. Despite phaseout efforts, legacy pollution exists and essential PFAS uses continue to contaminate waterways. New government regulations on PFAS create a need to scale up destruction from water and firefighting foams. Professor Müller has invented an electrochemical method that uses a catalyst, electricity and low intensity UV light to decompose PFAS molecules. Her approach significantly lowers the cost of PFAS removal, works in water, and uses only nonprecious materials as anodes to in-situ generate active PFAS destruction catalysts. The TDF funding will focus on improving energy efficiency and optimizing scalability of the process.
Dr. Calvin Cole, Assistant Professor in the Departments of Surgery and Orthopaedics, has been awarded funding to advance development of a novel treatment for cancer-associated skeletal muscle wasting. Skeletal muscle wasting (SMW), also known as cachexia, is a common and debilitating comorbidity associated with many cancers, including pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). SMW is a prognostic factor in PDAC and independent predictor of infectious complications and post-operative mortality for operable patients. SMW is also associated with poor quality of life, treatment toxicity, increased length of hospital stays, and poor recovery in patients with pancreatic cancer. SMW is present in 85% of patients with PDAC and is the primary cause of death in 33% of those patients. Professor Cole has discovered a novel drug target for PDAC-associated SMW and has identified a potential drug candidate targeting this pathway. The TDF funding will be used to advance pre-clinical development of this therapeutic candidate.
Dr. Ruchira Singh, Associate Professor in the Departments of Ophthalmology and Biomedical Genetics, has been awarded funding to advance development of a targeted treatment for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and related macular dystrophies (MDs). AMD is the leading cause of irreversible vision loss in adults >50 years of age, affecting one in 8 people over 60 years of age in developed countries. It is estimated that AMD is responsible for at least ~8.7% of global blindness, and its incidence is rising exponentially with increased life-expectancy. In the US alone, AMD is estimated to account for 54% of all blindness. Professor Singh has discovered a new molecular driver of AMD/MD progression and identified a potential drug candidate that specifically blocks this pathway. The TDF funding will be used to further optimize this drug candidate for treatment of AMD/MDs.
Interested in applying for the next round of TDF funding? The next call for proposals will be Summer 2025. Stay tuned for the 2025 application announcement and guidelines. For more information, visit Home – UR Ventures or contact us at URVenturesInfo@urmc.rochester.edu.