The Delaware Bioscience Center for Advanced Technology (Bioscience CAT) has awarded six new Applied Research Collaborations (ARC) or Entrepreneurial Proof of Concept (EPoC) grants.

The Bioscience CAT grants synergize efforts between the academic and industrial bioscience research communities to address the technology innovation gap and promote economic development in Delaware. Projects involve partnerships among principal investigators at Delaware’s academic or research institutions and scientists from companies in the state.

Following are the latest funded projects and partners:

• Patricia DeLeon, Trustees Distinguished Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Delaware, will collaborate with Reproductive Associates of Delaware (RAD) to develop non-invasive diagnostic techniques to identify embryos with the highest chance of yielding healthy pregnancies for in vitro fertilization (IVF).

• Zhengyu Ma from Nemours/A.I. duPont Hospital for Children will collaborate with ANP Technologies to create an approach to speed up antibody discovery, potentially leading to development of new pharmaceutical drugs used in addressing an increasing number of human diseases.

• Mark Mirotznik, professor of electrical and computer engineering at UD, will collaborate with DeLUX Engineering to develop and optimize 3-D printing processes to manufacture pharmaceutical drugs for controlled release and ability to administer multiple active pharmaceutical ingredients in one dose.

• Chandran Sabanayagam, associate professor in UD’s Department of Biomedical Engineering, will work with Blue Dragon Bioimaging to design a compact research-grade microscope.

• E. Terry Papoutsakis, Unidel Eugene du Pont Chair of Chemical Engineering at UD, is planning to use EPoC funds to develop a new hybrid technology to target stem cells for drug delivery so treatments can be more effective in smaller doses.

• Changqing Wu, associate professor in UD’s Department of Animal and Food Sciences, is planning to use EPoC funds to develop a low-cost and reliable method for measuring probiotics in a range of food products.

“Thanks to support from the state, the Bioscience CAT grants continue to expand and build a strong pipeline for innovative, collaborative and entrepreneurial projects in the state of Delaware,” said Kelvin Lee, director of the Delaware Biotechnology Institute.

In addition to announcing these grants, the Delaware Biotechnology Institute is launching another round of Bioscience CAT funding in 2017. The grant proposals are due by 5 p.m. on Friday, March 31. Visit this website for more details and to apply for the grant.

Principal investigators from any academic research institution in Delaware are eligible to apply, including Christiana Care Health System, Delaware State University, Delaware Technical Community College, Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, the University of Delaware and Wesley College.

About the Delaware Biotechnology Institute

The Delaware Biotechnology Institute is a partnership between government, academia and industry to help establish the First State as a center of excellence in biotechnology and the life sciences.

DBI promotes research, education and technology transfer for biotechnology applications to the benefit of the environment, agriculture and human health.

About Delaware Bioscience CAT

The Delaware Bioscience CAT’s mission is to support and grow Delaware’s economy and bioscience community by fostering innovative applied research collaborations between Delaware businesses and academic institutions. For more information, see the website.