Biotechnology stakeholders from across the region will have the opportunity to learn about cutting-edge technologies addressing urgent and intractable problems in cancer research at the 2017 Technology Showcase, to be held at the Frederick National Laboratory’s (FNL) Advanced Technology Research Facility (ATRF).
The inaugural half-day event, scheduled for June 7, will feature technologies being developed at the FNL and the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Innovators will introduce their technologies with a goal of encouraging startup company formation, technology licensing, and collaborations.
Event sponsors include NCI’s Technology Transfer Office, FNL, Frederick County and City Offices of Economic Development, Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO), Technology Council of Maryland, and Frederick Innovative Technology Center, Inc. (FITCI). The event also highlights regional technology development stakeholders, including sponsors and others, and resources available to innovators.
“This is really a great opportunity to share some of the innovative work happening at FNL and NCI, and to let the community know that we are open to and actively looking for partners,” said James Pannucci, Ph.D., new Director of the FNL Partnership Development Office.
Several FNL researchers will present their work, in areas such as nanomedicine applications for pharmacokinetics and bioequivalence assessment, tools for micro-dose radiotracer measurement, and a system for generating high quality and high throughput protein-based therapeutic candidates by leveraging insect cell machinery.
Steven Adler, Ph.D., Clinical Monitoring Research Program, has expertise in clinical imaging techniques in cancer, and examines ways to better evaluate imaging data for cancer assessment. Dr. Adler’s talk is entitled: “Micro-Dose Calibrator to Measure Low Concentrations of Radiotracers.”
The RAS Initiative’s Dominic Esposito, Ph.D. studies expression of cancer-related proteins in various forms, and some of the emergent technologies are opening new avenues of research into the longstanding problem of cancers driven by mutations in RAS signaling genes. Dr. Esposito’s talk is entitled: “New Insect Cell Technologies for High-Quality and High-Yield Production of Therapeutically Relevant Proteins.”
Stephan Stern, Ph.D., Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory, designs and implements pharmacology and toxicology studies used to characterize nanoparticles and their biocompatibility. His talk is entitled: “Stable Isotope Tracer Method for Evaluation of Nanomedicine Pharmacokinetics and Bioequivalence.”
Many NCI investigators are also scheduled to share their technology research, including developing vaccines against human polyomaviruses and the ability to produce custom antibodies.
An interactive poster session by innovators and technology ambassadors will happen concurrently with the presentations. A networking reception concludes the event, which is followed by the monthly Frederick BioBeers Meetup adjacent to the ATRF.
Prospective investors, established companies, interested stakeholders, and those looking to commercialize technologies are invited and encouraged to attend.
For a complete list of presentations and for information about how to register, visit the 2017 Technology Showcase website.
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