The Wyss
Business Women’s Health Angelika Frezen, Ph.D., M.B.A. Wyss Institute Technology Translation Director and COO Hello from the Wyss Institute’s new habitat at 201 Brookline Avenue in the bustling Fenway neighborhood of Boston! We have spent the last few months settling into our 107,000-square-foot “Collaboratory” space and exploring new ways to connect with each other and with partners beyond our (now mostly glass) walls. This issue of the Wyss Business Insider focuses on what is perhaps the largest unmet need in healthcare and medicine: women’s health. Though more than half of all humans are women, a paltry 1% of healthcare research and innovation funding is invested in female-specific conditions beyond cancer. This gap doesn’t only affect women: it’s well-known that biological sex differences can impact the efficacy of different drugs or the prevalence of certain side effects, but these differences have not been systematically studied by the scientific community. The Wyss Institute has recognized this gap and is committed to closing it, both through our worldclass research and our technology validation pipeline. Our recently launched Women’s Health Catalyst is focused on solving the most
AminoX Team
fundamental stumbling block in the path towards progress in this area: we simply don’t know enough about many femalespecific diseases to accurately diagnose or treat them. The Women’s Health Catalyst serves as a connection point for researchers across the Institute to collaborate on research in women’s health, identify sources of funding, and support our teams as they work to elucidate the many remaining mysteries of female health and disease. We also have many research projects in this area that are well on their way toward commercialization. Our Spotlight Story focuses on ReConstruct, a Validation Project that offers breast cancer survivors a safer and longer-lasting solution to reconstruction after a mastectomy. If you are interested in joining us in our mission to bring this and other innovations to market so they can improve women’s lives, don’t hesitate to get in touch. Your mom would be proud.
IN THIS ISSUE
– ReConstruct – Team Spotlight: AminoX – Startup, Licensing, and Collaboration Opportunities – What’s Happening GET IN TOUCH WITH OUR TEAMS
Bill Bedell, Ph.D. Synthetic Biology and Therapeutics william.bedell@wyss.harvard.edu Ally Chang, Ph.D., M.B.A. MedTech and Digital Health ally.chang@wyss.harvard.edu Bob Cunningham Director of Strategic Engagement robert.cunningham@wyss.harvard.edu Gretchen Fougere, Ph.D. Regenerative Medicine and MedTech gretchen.fougere@wyss.harvard.edu Sam Inverso, Ph.D. Synthetic Biology and Research Tools sam.inverso@wyss.harvard.edu Alex Li, M.B.A. Diagnostics and Sustainability alexander.li@wyss.harvard.edu Jonelle Prill-Tate Associate Director of Strategic Engagement jonelle.prill-tate@wyss.harvard.edu
Luba Perry