The 2022 Class of the Bridging Academia and Industry Training Program concluded last month with a project competition featuring seven teams of investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital and Mass Eye and Ear Infirmary, who pitched their solution-driven research projects to senior faculty and leadership from academia, biopharma and venture industry.

A total of 26 investigators participated in this year’s training program, representing a wide range of departments and scientific interests across Massachusetts General Hospital.

One of the most fascinating parts of the annual project competition that concludes the course is seeing how each team leverages the unique skill sets of its members to develop creative solutions to medical challenges.

The projects pitched in this year’s competition included new strategies to help patients with cancer, epilepsy, autoimmune diseases, brain disorders, skin conditions, pain management and fibrotic disease.

The winners were GranuloSight, a team comprised of JiaDe (Jeff) Yu, MD, and Sarina Elmariah, MD, PhD, from the Department of Dermatology, Kohei Hasegawa, MD, PhD, from the Department of Emergency Medicine, and Daniel Irimia, MD, PhD, from the Center for Engineering in Medicine and Surgery.

GranuloSight is a novel, noninvasive skin patch that the team developed to more quickly and accurately diagnose cellulitis, a serious bacterial skin infection that is often misdiagnosed and can lead to unnecessary hospital admissions and antibiotic use.

The GranuloSight team received a $150,000 award to support relevant research experiments and the development of a sound go-to-market plan.

2022 Bridging Academia and Industry Project Competition | Teams and Projects

About the Training Program

A key pillar of the Longfellow Project, Bridging Academia and Industry is a year-long program taught by more than 50 expert faculty from academia and industry. It begins with a course on the strategies and tactics of translation and culminates in the solution-driven project competition with a $150,000 award for the winning team.

Experienced leaders from academia and industry teach Fundamentals of Translation, Research and Development (Therapeutics, Diagnostics, Intellectual Property), Business Development and Commercialization (Go-to-Market Planning, Exit Strategies) and Translation Stories (Therapeutics, Diagnostics).

For the project competition, each trainee identifies and presents a novel research question to be addressed in order to develop new cures and diagnostics.

They are then grouped into teams that are designed to bring together people whose skills and expertise are relevant to one another’s work under broader themes.

The class of 2022 is the fourth class to complete the training program, which is co-directed by Gabriela Apiou, PhD, Director of Strategic Alliances for the Mass General Research Institute, and Bob Tepper, MD, Partner, Third Rock Ventures, and member of the Research Institute Advisory Council.

About the Mass General Research Institute
Research at Massachusetts General Hospital is interwoven through more than 30 different departments, centers and institutes. Our research includes fundamental, lab-based science; clinical trials to test new drugs, devices and diagnostic tools; and community and population-based research to improve health outcomes across populations and eliminate disparities in care.
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