Rising Greenhouse Gases Pose Continued Threat to Arctic Ozone Layer
New study shows climate change is increasing ozone depletion over the Arctic There is a race going on high in the atmosphere above the Arctic, and the ozone layer that protects Earth from damaging ultraviolet (UV) radiation will lose the race if greenhouse gas emissions arent reduced quickly enough.
2021 Undergraduate Awards Ceremony
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Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry University of ...
The Department of Genetics and Biochemistry is dedicated to Clemsons overall mission of discovery, learning and engagement. Genetics and biochemistry are keys to understanding the natural world. Our faculty and students use these keys to solve complex challenges and work with all types of organisms, including microbes, plants and humans. Major foci of research include genetic disorders, genetic improvement of crops, strategies for drug development and eukaryotic pathogens. Our academic programs lead to degrees at the undergraduate, masters and doctoral (Ph.D.) levels.
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Genetics and Biochemistry | Clemson University, South Carolina
Three fully vaccinated individuals within the UC Santa Barbara Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry have tested positive for COVID-19 as of July 27. All three cases are unconnected, according to an email sent by the department.
University spokesperson Andrea Estrada said that the university has no current outbreaks.
In the email obtained by the Nexus, Professor Mattanjah S. de Vries, the chemistry and biochemistry department chair, said that the infected individuals were fully vaccinated and had each separately been in contact with someone who had tested positive outside of the department.
Everyone involved is fully vaccinated, which reminds us that vaccination may limit the risk for infection and reduce severity but clearly it does not eliminate the risk, de Vries said in the email.
With that in mind and with cases increasing everywhere, I would like to reiterate the urgent request that everyone in the building use masks, whether vaccinated or not. I know it is uncomfortable but I hope you will do so out of caution and out of respect for others. It is also in line with the county recommendation.
According to de Vries email, the infected individuals currently have mild symptoms, including dizziness, a fever and a mild sore throat.
Currently, the UCs are planning for in-person instruction come fall. Santa Barbara County has a case rate of 8.7 per 100,00 people as of July 22, according to the Santa Barbara County Community Data Dashboard.
This is an ongoing story, and this article will be updated.
Atmika Iyer
Atmika Iyer is the County News Editor for the 2021-22 school year. She's a lover of loud music, loud laughs and loud prints.
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Three Unconnected COVID-19 Cases Reported in the UCSB Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry - Daily Nexus
Last spring, when the pandemic prompted Penns courses to go virtual, Alejandra Bahena, now a rising senior, faced a range ofchallenges.
Being a first-generation, low-income student, I had to figure out where I would be living, how I would be learning,says Bahena, who is from Kissimmee, Florida, but was born and spent her first 12 years in Mexico. I struggled academically that semester and started questioning my potential as a future doctor.
The biochemistry major and French minor didnt lack a support network. She reached out to contacts in Penns Johnson Scholars Program, of which she is a part, as well as to Career Services and the Weingarten Learning Resources Center.
Just talking to them really inspired me to stay with this path and stay resilient, regardless of the challenges,she says.
It struck Bahena, however, that she was far from the only student feeling this way, especially students on the competitive pre-med track. She was particularlyconcerned about fellow students from backgrounds underrepresented in medicine and other health fields.
What emerged from that difficult period is an initiativethat stands to inspire many others. Working with her longtime friend Alexia Childress, a rising senior at Arizona State University, and a growing team, Bahena envisioned and created a virtual event in the summer of 2020 that brought together more than 1,000 students from around the United States and 10 other countries to learn about careers in health care, strategies for applying for advanced degrees, and fostering self-confidence and resilience throughout the journey.
And theyre about to do it again.
From Aug. 4 to 6, the National Pre-Health Conference (NHPC) will offer programming on various career paths in health care, applying to graduate school, and special topics from expert guest speakers. The event, free and online, aims to welcome as many people into medical and health care fields as possible, while giving them the tools they need to continue on a challenging academic and professional path.
There are a lot of perceived barriers to careers in fields like medicine and dentistry, Bahena says. Particularly for students from underrepresented and low-income backgrounds, we want to make these resources as accessible as possible to avoid what a lot of people refer to as the leaky pipeline of students as they progress from high school to college to professional school.
Since the first iteration of the conference last year, Bahena and her peers have been keeping the NHPC network they established going, sending out a monthly newsletter and engaging their audience with social media posts and guest speakers on Instagram Live. They also wanted to revisit the conference, ideally making it an annual event.
While last years conference focused solely on medical careers,Bahena and her peers wanted to make this years offering broader. So the first day of this years event will feature talks from guest speakers in fields as diverse as public health, psychiatry, rehabilitation, occupational therapy, and nursing.
The second day will include talks on the admissions process to medical and other health care schools, with sessions on preparing for the interview, crafting a personal statement, preparing for the MCATs, and more. Participants will be able to work in small breakout groups on a case study,collaborating to understand, diagnose, and treat a hypothetical medical problem.
The groups will go over how to look at a patient case and the different aspects that can play into arriving at a diagnosis, Bahena says. They will look at lab information, brain scans, radiology. Its emphasizing a theme of the conference, which is unity in health care, showing how different fields come together.
On the third and final day, guests will make presentations on subjects including mindfulness, advocacy, branding, and scientific communication.
In addition, conference sponsors will offer support and resources, and a research expo will allow students who have participated in scientific and health-related research to share their work.
For Bahena, who plans to take a gap year to pursue research after graduating from Penn and before attending medical school, an overarching goal is to create a welcoming, supportive community.
Sometimes pre-health schools can be a little bit competitive or even cutthroat, Bahena says. But we want to emphasize that well all need to collaborate as we go into these professions. So we want to start building that friendly, nonjudgmental community now.
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Support and inspiration for undergrads pursuing careers in health care | Penn Today - Penn Today
Hope Didier
KENNESAW, Ga. (Jul 30, 2021) Hope Didier forged her own path at Kennesaw State an academic journey that blended divergent passions in dance and the sciences.
The July graduate will earn two bachelors degrees this week in fields not typically paired: dance and molecular and cellular biology. Didier intertwined the two degrees seamlessly, serving as stage manager in multiple dance productions and spearheading cancer cell research that led to scholarly recognition at state and national levels. This fall, she will continue her education at Wake Forest University in a molecular medicine doctoral program.
I would take certain biological principles or ideas and use them as a foundation for a piece I was choreographing or to better educate my peers on what our bodies are actually doing as we move and dance in space, said Didier, who has been dancing since age 3.
As a scientist and dancer, I can appreciate the movement of the often unseen aspects of life under a microscope, in a way that Im not sure many would, and then translate that work in a manner that could be understood by more individuals, no matter their background or expertise.
Didier credits her parents, who teach middle school math and science, for her biology enthusiasm. She added that her parents encouraged creativity and curiosity, and also have a strong interest in music, which likely led to her dance involvement at an early age. Like many of her friends, Didier contemplated a ballet career, having danced with the Atlanta Ballet throughout high school and performed at the Fox Theatre and the Cobb Energy Centre.
Didiers interest in KSU Journey Honors College led her to apply to its Presidents Emerging Global Scholars (PEGS) program, an initiative that challenges Honors students to grow as scholars, leaders and innovators. She was impressed by the faculty who interviewed her for the program and the opportunity to study abroad in both Costa Rica and Italy during her first year.
A friend from the PEGS program introduced her to Jonathan McMurry, a biochemistry professor in the College of Science and Mathematics, since Didier was eager to explore scientific research as an undergraduate.
Hope was so obviously driven, intelligent, and genuinely interested in research, McMurry said. I saw untapped potential in her as a freshman, and thats the type of student researcher every professor wants to encounter.
Didier evolved into an accomplished and disciplined researcher, focusing on using cell-penetrating peptides, or short chains of amino acids, to deliver biomolecular cargo into cervical cancer cells to stop cell growth and catalyze cell death.
She presented aspects of her work at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research twice, and Posters at the Georgia State Capitol in 2020. She won the Top Poster Award at the Birla Carbon Symposium, in which she spent the entire summer conducting research, and received the Anthony Shuker Scientific Award at the Georgia BioInnovation Summit, both in 2018.
Didiers research interests in the healthcare field carried over into volunteering and conducting research at the Emory Winship Cancer Institute and working in the trauma/surgery ICU at Wellstar Health Systems Kennestone Hospital as an operating room surgical technician.
I witnessed firsthand the frontlines of the global pandemic and had the terrifying privilege of holding the hands of critically ill and dying patients, Didier said. It was physically and emotionally challenging, but also made it increasingly clearer to me that I am meant to serve patients and advocate for the very best healthcare practices.
Ultimately, the Peachtree City, Ga. native knew that her trajectory would lean more toward a career in medicine.
Classes like kinesiology and nutrition and learning the way the body moves and works has opened my eyes to how I could meld my two passions, she explained. Im going to keep dancing as part of my life, whether Im teaching on the side or doing small work for studios or companies.
As part of KSU Journey Honors College, Didier completed two Honors theses one in biology on the deterioration and death of cervical cancer cells and the other in dance, focused on a kinesiological approach for understanding the biological phenomenon of programmed cell death.
Didier credits the dance program for expanding her knowledge and techniques, preparing her for any aspect of dance. She learned about the production side of dance from part-time instructor David Tatu, and worked alongside him last spring on a unique production, Moon Dust, a collaboration between the College of the Arts and the College of Computing and Software Engineering.
As an artist and a scientist, I have found that there is this shared zeal for inquiry and constant curiosity, which makes solving problems and creating art so exciting, she said. My two worlds have a lot to learn from one another, and I look forward to future opportunities in which my passions can come together to create something beautiful and share knowledge in an innovative way.
Now Didier is ready to take on the next challenge, pursuing a doctorate in molecular medicine and translational science at Wake Forest University. She will then transition into the physician assistant program in the Wake Forest School of Medicine.
My entire time at KSU has been a massive highlight of my life and always will be, Didier said. The people are what make KSU amazing, and for that I am eternally grateful.
Jolle Walls
Photos by David Caselli
A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its more than 41,000 students. With 11 colleges on two metro Atlanta campuses, Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia and the second-largest university in the state. The universitys vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the region and from 126 countries across the globe. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 6 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.
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Kennesaw State graduate blends arts and science, evolves as researcher - News
The Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry of Mendel University in Brno has developed a simple procedure for identifying liquids, including food and drugs. The technique has promising implications for criminal investigations.Photo Credit: Mendelu.cz.
Brno, Jul 30 (BD) Scientists from the Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry of Mendel University in Brno have developed a simple technique for identifying samples of food and drugs according to their fluorescence, known as a UV fingerprint. This allows detection of cases where, for example, the technological process has changed during the production of juices, and also allows analysts to determine the origin of wine or drugs.
This new procedure has a wide application, said Luk Nejdl, the head of the bioanalysis and imaging laboratory at Mendel Universitys Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and also has promising implications for criminal investigators.
The technology is based on a simple principle, using the spectral characteristics of the sample.We illuminate the sample with UV radiation and thus cause a number of interesting photochemical reactions that are specific to the sample, said Nejdl. After a few minutes, it is possible to say from where and what it originated, depending on the spectral characteristics, for example, whether its a variety of wine or a type of juice.
Based on this principle, virtually any liquid sample can be illuminated, including biological samples, pesticides, food, clinical samples such as urine, serum, plasma, blood, or medicine, including drugs.
We test individual samples and try to find applications in practice.We are also looking for partners in the commercial and public spheres,said Nejdl. His team is so far working mostly with wines, specifically analyzing white wine varieties. From just a drop of commonly sold white wine, theUV fingerprint canidentify the wine by comparison with the database.The new method can assist significantly in the area of wine authentication, identification, and fingerprinting.
Researchers are also starting cooperation with the Czech Police, who have a new department trying to develop new analytical procedures from the work of forensic scientists, which could be used in the course of their investigations.The method is also suitable for detecting counterfeit drugs or profiling addictive substances in order to determine who prepared the drug.
This method could have a very interesting future in forensic practice, as we would be able to detect different types of poisons and certain groups of drugs in the field.An interesting idea may be its use in the biological sector,said Radim Pernick from the Prague Police Presidiums Department for Science, Research and Innovation.
As with penicillin, the original discovery of the Mendel University scientists was an accident.When they needed orange juice for their experiments, they noticed that samples of this drink always behaved differently. What seemed like a complication for the original experiment raised the unexpected question: what if someone needed to detect differences in seemingly identical substances?
Scientists are now expanding their efforts to include material chemistry, specifically the UV synthesis of a number of interesting nanomaterials.
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UV Fingerprint Developed By Scientists From Mendel University May Help With Criminal Investigations - Brno Daily
It usually takes 10 to 15 years to develop a new drug, and they cost around US$2.6 billion each. Because its difficult to predict how a drug candidate will interact with human cells, many drugs never pass clinical trials. Testing new drugs on human cells is expensive and complicated, so it is difficult to do early in the development of a drug.
To help solve this problem, my research group has built designer artificial cells on a chip the size of a postage stamp. These artificial cells mimic how cells degrade during cancer. This makes it possible to test new drugs early in drug discovery (the process of drug development), and see whether theyre likely to work.
Our artificial cells are designed to give us early insight into how new cancer drugs behave in cells, and why certain kinds of cancer are more resistant to chemotherapy treatment.
My research group at the University of Victoria builds artificial cells and tissues for drug discovery using microfluidic chips. Elanna Stephenson, one of my graduate students, performed the cancer cell research that this story is based on. We work at the interface of engineering, biochemistry and pharmacology, and as a result, our research is very interdisciplinary.
Cells are complex and made up of many different components. Even the cell membrane (the skin of the cell) is composed of many different types of molecules.
Given this complexity, it is difficult to reverse-engineer a cell from the top down to examine each type of molecule and its effect. Instead, our research aims to build artificial cells from the bottom up, to determine in isolation how each kind of molecule that makes up the cell membrane affects the ability of drugs to enter the cell.
We manipulate fluids on much smaller scales than in traditional laboratories using microfluidic devices called chips. Manipulation of fluids at these small scales generally measured in micrometres (one thousandth of a millimetre) is referred to as microfluidics.
Our microfluidic chips are made of a transparent polymer in which we imprint pipes. These pipes are the size of a human hair (100 micrometres, or one tenth of a millimetre), and in many ways are like miniaturizing a chemical manufacturing plant.
Read more: Microfluidics: The tiny, beautiful tech hidden all around you
In our microfluidic chip we create tiny droplets of water that are around the size of human cells, a process called droplet microfluidics. We design our chips so that we may manipulate and analyze each droplet independently. This is the engineering side of our research.
We cover the droplets with molecules that are similar to those found in the cell membrane of human cells to create artificial cells known as droplet interface bilayers (DIBs). Although these types of artificial cells have been around for over a decade, this is the first time theyve been used to mimic the breakdown in the composition of cell membranes that occurs during cancer.
This allowed us to reveal new insights into the behaviour of the chemotherapy drug doxorubicin when it is being absorbed by cells. This is the biochemistry side of our research.
Cell membranes are composed of two layers of molecules called phospholipids. Generally, these layers are not the same, which is called membrane asymmetry.
Cancer causes this membrane asymmetry to degrade, and the two layers become much more similar in terms of their composition. We were able to model this breakdown of the membrane using our artificial cells. We tested how well doxorubicin was able to enter these artificial cells when they were asymmetric, and when they were symmetric.
We found that the degree of asymmetry of the artificial cells affects how fast doxorubicin enters the artificial cell. This highlights another possible reason why drugs stop working effectively (chemoresistance) against some forms of cancer. This is the pharmacology side of our research.
Our research demonstrates the importance of closely replicating both the composition and the structural features of cell membranes when studying a new drug.
The current approach to research for drug development means that we dont understand how drugs will behave in the human body until far too late in the drug discovery process. This is costly in terms of the money and time required for drug development, and ultimately may postpone potentially life-saving treatments for patients.
Our artificial cells could be a new method to accurately predict drug behaviour in the human body very early in the drug discovery process.
GUANGZHOU, China, July 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The 11th National Conference on Immunology of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) organized by the Immunology of Traditional Chinese Medicine Branch of the Chinese Society for Immunology (CSI) in partnership with Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine was held in China's Shandong Province from July 21 to July 23, 2021. Co-organizer Infinitus (China) Company Ltd. attended the events held during the conference.
Dr. Zhu Ying, senior R&D engineer of the health food department of Infinitus, delivering a keynote speech at the event
As a national professional academic event in the field of immunology of TCM, the biennial conference plays a key role in TCM immunology research. As a company which has always been committed to research into and collaboration around the immunology of Chinese herbal medicines, Infinitus has co-organized several consecutive editions of the conference.
During the conference, immunology experts from across China gathered together to discuss a wide range of topics including immunopharmacology and pharmacodynamics of TCM, research on prevention and treatment of COVID-19 through incorporation of immunology of TCM into the process, immunology and TCM theory, immunology and acupuncture, as well as the technological development of immunology and its applications in TCM research.
At the conference, Dr. Zhu Ying, senior R&D engineer of the health food department of Infinitus, delivered a keynote speech entitled "R&D Strategy for Immunoregulatory Functional Food". During her speech, Dr. Zhu shared Infinitus' strategy and experience in developing health foods, which covered the areas of the elements of high quality products, the methods of R&D, the analyses of consumer expectations, as well as the selection and optimization of efficacy evaluation models.
Infinitus, the health industry player, plans to continue its efforts on the development of immunology of TCM, keep digging into the research on the Chinese herbal polysaccharides which have immunoregulatory functions, keep providing consumers with high quality health products, and help accelerate the growth of the health industry.
SOURCE Infinitus (China) Company Ltd.
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Infinitus Co-Organizes the 11th National Conference on Immunology of Traditional Chinese Medicine - Yahoo Finance
Two studies show evidence that natural immunity can last at least a year against the Alpha variant, but the strength of immunity is unclear against other variants.
Author: kare11.com
Published: 7:32 PM CDT July 25, 2021
Updated: 7:32 PM CDT July 25, 2021
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EXTENDED INTERVIEW: Marc Jenkins Director of Immunology at the University of Minnesota Medical School - KARE11.com
EDINBURGH, Scotland & CAMBRIDGE, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Macomics Ltd, an immuno-oncology company with world-leading expertise in macrophage biology, announces today that it has closed a follow-on financing of 4.24 million from its 2020 Seed round, bringing the total amount raised to 7.44m.
The additional investment brings in new investor Caribou Property Limited alongside existing investors Epidarex Capital, who led the round, and Scottish Enterprise. It will be used to accelerate the companys growth, including expansion of the team.
Macomics is developing precision medicines to modulate macrophages for the treatment of cancer. The company was co-founded in 2019 by Prof Jeffrey Pollard and Dr Luca Cassetta, University of Edinburgh, internationally recognised leaders in macrophage biology. It is progressing a diversified portfolio of therapies targeting disease specific tumour associated macrophages (TAMs) towards the clinic. Its target discovery platform enables identification and validation of novel macrophage therapeutic targets and is based on its deep understanding of macrophage biology. The new investment and planned Series A will enable the company to accelerate progress of its antibody programs towards the clinic, expand its portfolio, and further invest in its target discovery technology.
Cancer cells are known to be able to evade destruction by the immune system and TAMs are a key component of this immuno-suppressive and pro-tumoral ecosystem. Modulating TAMs will alter the tumour microenvironment enhancing the bodys ability to fight cancer. The tumour microenvironment changes macrophage behaviour, and the company is exploiting disease specific TAM biology to selectively target these immunosuppressive cells.
Alongside the financing, the company announces the expansion of its leadership team with the appointment of Dr Myatt as Chief Executive Officer and Dr Ries as Chief Scientific Officer, as well as Dr Cassetta who will join as VP Immunology on 1 August.
Dr Steve Myatt, CEO who joined Macomics in February 2021 said:
Macomics has made great progress since formation, and I am excited to lead Macomics in driving forward its vision to become a leading immuno-oncology company pioneering macrophage-based therapies for the treatment of cancer. Our diversified portfolio of antibody programs combined with our proprietary target identification approach and world-class team uniquely positions us to deliver on this vision.
Dr Carola Ries, who joins as Chief Scientific Officer from 16 years at Roche added:
It is an exciting time to be joining Macomics. In recognising disease specific TAM populations Macomics is taking a new approach to macrophage-based drug discovery, one that I believe has potential to deliver significant benefit to patients. By combining analysis of human disease tissue, in silico data mining, and functional data from our state-of-the-art cellular models we are well placed to identify and validate new drug targets in diseases where macrophages play a central role. I look forward to applying my extensive industry experience gained at Roche to driving our programs towards the clinic.
Commenting on his full-time move into the company, Dr Luca Cassetta, said:
Macomics was founded based on leading academic research around macrophage biology, particularly in cancer, from the laboratory of Professor Jeffrey Pollard, Director of the MRC Centre for Reproductive Health at the University of Edinburgh, as well as my own research studying TAMs. I am delighted to be joining the company full-time to exploit the potential of macrophage-based approaches to developing novel immuno-oncology therapies that have the potential to change the lives of patients with cancer.
Dr Elizabeth Roper, Partner at Epidarex Capital and Investor Director at Macomics said:
We are delighted with the progress that Macomics has made since we made our initial investment last year. The company has demonstrated the power of its platform and approach and has already moved two of its programs into antibody discovery and identified a series of additional targets. We are excited about its potential, reflected in our increased commitment to the company.
She added On behalf of the board, I am pleased to welcome Steve, Carola and Luca to the team. Their experience in biotech, pharma and academia are highly complementary and broaden and deepen the skills of the leadership team.
Georges Aboud, Chief Investment Officer at Caribou Property, commented: "We are pleased to join the investment round, having seen the progress Macomics has made in just over 12 months. Our goal is to back exciting and innovative companies that can make an impact on patients' lives. Macomics has shown that its knowledge of macrophage biology can deliver innovative approaches to treat cancer and it has assembled an experienced team to maximise its potential."
Jan Robertson, Interim Director of Growth Investments at Scottish Enterprise, added: This funding round secured by Macomics is testament to the companys pioneering macrophage-based therapies for the treatment of cancer as well as the talent in Scotland. Scottish Enterprise is pleased to support this leading biotech firm that is now set to accelerate its research and development programmes, and expand its facilities in Edinburgh.
Macomics has expanded its R&D and office facilities on the Cambridge Science Park and has taken additional laboratory and cell culture space within Edinburgh University, and will be expanding its scientific team to support its accelerated R&D.
-Ends-
About Macomics http://www.macomics.com
Macomics Ltd is an immuno-oncology company with world-leading expertise in macrophage biology, developing precision medicines to modulate macrophages for the treatment of cancer. The company is progressing a diversified portfolio of therapies targeting disease specific tumour associated macrophages (TAMs) towards the clinic. Its target discovery platform enables identification and validation of novel macrophage therapeutic targets and is based on its deep understanding of macrophage biology.
Macomics was co-founded in 2019 by Prof. Jeffrey Pollard and Dr. Luca Cassetta, University of Edinburgh, internationally recognised leaders in macrophage biology. It has R&D and office facilities in Edinburgh and Cambridge, UK and is backed by Epidarex Capital, Scottish Enterprise, and Caribou Property Limited.
Follow us on LinkedIn and https://twitter.com/MacomicsL
About the new appointments
Dr Steve Myatt, Chief Executive Officer
Dr Myatt joined Macomics in February 2021 and previously served as Chief Executive Officer at Azeria Therapeutics, where he led the companys $44mn Series B financing. Prior, he was Partner at venture capital firm Sixth Element Capital, managing a $95mn oncology venture fund focussed on building early-stage companies and supporting the progression of therapeutic programs from discovery to early clinic. Successful fund exits include transactions with Novartis, Johnson & Johnson Innovation, Sierra Oncology, Boston Pharmaceuticals, Stemline Therapeutics, and Achilles Therapeutics (NASDAQ). Companies in which Sixth Element Capital invested as a founding investor have to date raised over $325mn. Steve began his career at Cancer Research Technology, responsible for identifying new academic drug discovery opportunities in Cambridge UK and was latterly Head of Alliances, Business Development, establishing multiple drug discovery partnerships between Pharma, biotech and academia. Steve has a first-class degree in Pharmacology and a PhD in paediatric oncology.
Dr Carola Ries, Chief Scientific Officer
Dr Ries joined Macomics in July 2021 and has over 20 years of immunology and drug discovery experience and is an internationally recognised expert in macrophage immunology. She formally led Roches innate immunity department in cancer immunotherapy and was a member of the pRED immunotherapy discovery leadership team. Dr Ries led the discovery of emactuzumab (CSF1R program) and contributed to its clinical translation, identifying a clinical population in which emactuzumab provided significant clinical benefit. Earlier in her career Dr Ries was a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Dr. McCormick at UCSF, where she discovered her passion for oncology. Dr Ries has over 35 publications and is a named in inventor on over 10 patents.
Dr Luca Cassetta, VP Immunology and Founder
Dr. Cassetta is a co-Founder of Macomics and is an immunologist with in-depth knowledge of human myeloid cell biology applied to different human diseases. He obtained a PhD in immunology at the S.Raffaele Institute in Milan studying the role of macrophage polarization in HIV pathogenesis; he then moved to NY at the Albert Einstein Medical college in the lab of Prof. Jeffrey Pollard where he studied Tumor Associated Macrophages in breast cancer. He then moved to the University of Edinburgh continuing his studies on TAMs where he established his own lab as principal investigator. His extensive experience in human macrophage biology contributed to the development of the Macomics screening platform. Dr Cassetta is an author of multiple publications in high-impact international scientific journals including Cancer Cell, Nature Communications, Journal of Experimental Medicine, Blood, PNAS, Nature Reviews Drug Discovery. Dr Cassetta joins Macomics in August 2021.