2021-2022
Efficacy of Natural Compounds to Combat Viral Disease Challenges in Pig
The goal of this project is to use natural compounds, identified during previous screening projects for antiviral activity, and evaluate their ability to reduce the risk of disease and death in virus challenged pigs. This approach has shown promise in vitro. If successful, this treatment could contribute significantly to improved animal well-being, production efficiency, and ultimately to reduced environmental impact of animal protein production.
Company partner: Natural Biologics, Inc.
Academic PI: Diego Diel, Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine
Enhancement of tomato and potato yield by ascr#18 treatment in large-scale greenhouse and field settings
The proposed collaborative project between Ascribe Bioscience, Intergrow Inc., and two Cornell research groups led by professors Walter De Jong and Neil Mattson of the School of Integrative Plant Science will develop technology that utilizes a naturally-occurring small molecule to promote plant growth. The goal is to develop products to enhance the growth and yield of potatoes and tomatoes, two of the most important vegetable crops in NYS and nationwide.
Company partner: Ascribe Bioscience, Inc.
Academic PI: Walter De Jong, Plant Breeding and Genetics, School of Integrative Plant Science, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Neil Mattson, Horticulture, School of Integrative Plant Science, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Defining choline bioavailability to improve precision-release choline technology
The overall goal of this project is to enhance choline bioavailability in dairy cattle as a means to prevent fatty liver disease. Researchers will test a series of dietary choline supplements to identify which ones maximize choline status in cows. The project will also determine whether lower-gut choline degradation limits choline bioavailabity and better understand how choline is utilized in the cow
Company partner: Balchem
Academic PI: Joseph McFadden, Animal Science, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Iron.Scan – a multiplexed point-of-care diagnostic system for diagnosing anemia and iron deficiency
The purpose of this collaboration is to perform a cross-laboratory validation of a multiplexed point-of-care diagnostic system for diagnosing anemia and iron deficiency, the Iron.Scan device. The proposed device will include a thorough panel of iron status biomarkers including hemoglobin, ferritin, transferrin receptor, plus two acute phase proteins, C-reactive protein and AGP, that influence the interpretation of the iron status biomarkers.
Company partner: VitaScan
Academic PI: Jere Haas, Division of Nutritional Sciences
Joanna Fiddler, Division of Nutritional Sciences
Development of transgenic cell and plant lines to enable efficient screening and identification of novel molecules
The goal of this project is to develop technology that will expedite the process of identifying and developing natural molecule-based products for agricultural sustainability. This project will generate transgenic cell lines and plants for bioactive screening to identify novel, naturally-occurring, small molecules that activate and/or prime the plant’s innate immune responses.
Company Partner: Ascribe Bioscience, Inc.
Academic PI: Joyce Van Eck, Boyce Thompson Institute
Scaling Production for a Clinical Test of an Ultra-Rapid, Point-Of-Care Diagnostic of Concussion and Stroke
Test the clinical performance of TET-Dx:Neuro in detection of traumatic brain injury (TBI, e.g. concussion), and stroke. Successful completion of this trial would represent a critical inflection point in the commercialization of TET, positioning us for venture investment and pursuit of FDA regulatory approval. Tethered Enzyme Technology (TET) is an innovative nanobiotechnology platform that enables ultra-rapid, highly sensitive, and quantitative Point of Care (PoC) diagnostic testing.
Company Partner: Tet Diagnostics and The Donald Guthrie Foundation
Academic PI: Roy Cohen, Baker Institute for Animal Health, College of Veterinary Medicine
Developing affordable same-day, sample-to-answer assays based on cell-free RNA liquid biopsy
This project will leverage genome sequencing to identify cell-free RNA biomarkers for early-stage disease and use those results to develop a sample-to-answer, affordable PCR-based diagnostic tool that yields results in a few hours. Cell-free RNA liquid biopsy offers non-invasive, early detection of conditions such as cancer, preeclampsia, and infectious disease.
Company Partner: Rheonix, Inc.
Academic PI: Iwijn De Vlaminck, Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering
Evaluating the efficacy of a nematode-secreted signaling molecule to suppress viral diseases in grapevine
The goal of this project is to assess the protective effects of a natually-occurring molecule against three major viruses of grapevines. The proposed studies rely on the activation of host defenses to confer resistance against devastating viruses for the production of healthy and high quality grapes. Successful outcomes will advance the availability of a naturally-occuring ascaroside-based product for protecting a high-value perennial fruit crop and enhance grapevine health while reducing the use of synthetic pesticides.
Company Partner: Ascribe Bioscience, Inc.
Academic PI: Marc Fuchs, School of Integrative Plant Science Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology Section, Cornell AgriTech, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Next Generation Treatment for Dry Eye Disease
The goal of the proposed research is to create a degradable punctal plug that delivers to the tear film an amphiphilic copolymer to stabilize the tear film over 90 days. This would improve upon current treatments for dry eye disease such as the instillation of eye drops (as often as 4 times per hour) and punctal plugs (i.e. those that plug the natural tear drainage ports).
Company Partner: Bausch and Lomb, Inc
Academic PI: David Putnam, Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering
Supercritical CO2 for rapid, environmentally conscious production of medical-grade acellular cartilage grafts in plastic and orthopedic surgical reconstruction
This project applies supercritical carbon dioxide technology to develop an environmentally conscious, one-step process for rapid and efficacious decellularization and sterilization of cartilage allografts and xenografts
Current methods used to fabricate decellularized tissues utilize surfactants and other chemicals that are known to be harmful to the environment. Further, these materials adversely affect the biological, mechanical, and chemical integrity of tissue products.
Company Partner: NovoSterilis
Academic PI: Jason Spector, Surgery, Weill Cornell Medicine