Commercial Advisory Board – LIFE award

The BioMaryland LIFE (Leading Innovative Faculty Entrepreneurs) Prize is a $50,000 grant funded by the Maryland Biotech Center, matched by the Office of Technology Transfer to help advance research in biotech and biopharma, medical devices, or diagnostics that has the greatest potential for commercial application. The Prize is awarded at the annual joint meeting of the Johns Hopkins Alliance for Science and Technology Development and the University of Maryland, Baltimore Commercial Advisory Board. The meeting is attended by more 150 venture capitalists, seasoned biotech entrepreneurs and business development executives from the biopharma industry. Faculty working with OTT in developing start-up company ideas are selected to pitch their science and ideas in 20-minute business plan style presentations. The Alliance members judge the presenters and the winner is awarded the $50,000 prize.

• Didier Depireux, PhD, University of Maryland School of Medicine, and Radi Masri, PhD, University of Maryland School of Dentistry, won the 2015 prize for research on magnetic delivery of therapeutic nanoparticles to dental pulp. read more 
• Eduardo Davila, PhD, Associate Professor in the University of Maryland School of Medicine, won the 2014 prize for his T-cell based universal immunotherapy platform to fight cancer.
• Mark Shirtliff, PhD, Associate Professor in the University of Maryland School of Dentistry, will use funding from the 2013 prize to further develop a protective vaccine against Staph aureus.
  
• The 2011 winner, James Gammie, MD, Professor in the University of Maryland School of Medicine, was recognized for his work with devices for mitral valve repair.
  
• In 2010, the BioMaryland LIFE Prize was awarded to University of Maryland School of Medicine Professor James Galen. Dr. Galen used the grant to further develop a vaccine against life-threatening Clostridium difficile-associated disease (CDAD).