Ivy Foundation Gift Creates Biomedical Innovation Fund

Imaging tools that diagnose Alzheimer's disease earlier and a cutting-edge device to treat epilepsy are among the novel research projects supported by a new grant program in biomedical innovation funded by the Ivy Foundation.

In 2005, a transformational gift of $45 million from the Ivy Foundation funded new space for biomedical research at U.Va.  Now through the new Biomedical Innovation Fund, the foundation will support research projects that address unmet clinical needs and potentially lead to health care improvements.

"The Ivy Foundation's support of biomedical innovation at U.Va. has already played a critical role in establishing the University as a national leader in moving creative discoveries to applications that help people," said Tom Skalak, vice president for research.  "This new program fosters a culture of collaborative innovation at U.Va. and gives us a new way to identify promising research projects with the potential to yield leading-edge diagnostics and treatments."

The inaugural grants were awarded through a rigorous process overseen by the Office of the Vice President for Research that involved leading U.Va. investigators and outside experts.  The pool of applicants for this initial round of funding spanned 30 departments. 

"The quality of collaborative translational research exemplified by the pool of applications received was tremendous," said Dr. Chris Kramer, director of U.Va.'s Cardiovascular Imaging Center and a member of the program's governing committee.  

"We are thrilled at the opportunity to support research that holds such potential to have a direct, clinical impact," said Robert W. Battle, M.D., chair of the Ivy Foundation. "The caliber of biomedical research at U.Va. is impressive, and this program is designed to speed the best and most promising ideas from the lab to the patient's bedside."

Five high-risk research projects will receive a total of $260,000 from the Biomedical Innovation Fund this year:

• David Geldmacher, M.D., associate professor of neurology; Mario Geysen, Ph.D., professor of chemistry; and George Bloom, Ph.D., professor of biology, are developing a new tool to diagnose early Alzheimer's disease. 
• Adam Goldfarb, M.D., associate professor of pathology, and Jason Chruma, Ph.D., assistant professor of chemistry, are investigating a new drug that will promote red blood cell formation, an important clinical need for cancer patients. 
• John "Jack" Hudson, Ph.D., professor of chemical engineering, and Jaideep Kapur, M.D., Ph.D., professor of neurology, are working on a new device to treat epilepsy. 
• Craig Slingluff, Jr., M.D., professor of surgery, and Mark Williams, Ph.D., associate professor of radiology, are developing an imaging device to assist with surgery.
• Paul Yates, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of ophthalmology, is developing a camera to screen for retinopathy, a problem of premature infants that can lead to blindness.