A grant of $1.85 million has been given to Associate Professor Lena Ho of the Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore to support the work her team is doing to turn microproteins into therapeutic targets for the treatment of chronic inflammation.
The inaugural recipient of financing from 65LAB, an exclusive collaboration established to propel scientific progress and establish novel biotech endeavours from Singapore, is Professor Ho. The prize consists of S$500,000 (about $350,000) from Duke-NUS’s new incubator, LIVE Ventures, and $1.5 million from 65LAB.
This award, which represents 65LAB’s first investment, is reinforced by an extra $350,000 from Duke-NUS’s recently established early-stage company incubator, LIVE Ventures.
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Associate Professor Lena Ho from Duke-NUS Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders Programme, said, “We are developing a platform that uniquely positions us to uncover hidden gems in the human genome to provide novel and high-value targets for anti-inflammatory therapeutics within the first two years of the project. 65LAB’s award and the additional funding from LIVE Ventures will enable my team to focus on identifying novel biologically active microproteins, offering promising candidates for inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel diseases and atopic dermatitis.”
LIVE Ventures will give Duke-NUS scientists up to half a million Singapore dollars for high-impact research projects, in addition to providing critical finance for early-stage innovation.
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The marketable advancement of pioneering research by Duke-NUS scientists will be made possible by the provision of essential financing, knowledge, and resources. However, 65LAB will promote partnerships with top research and academic institutions in Singapore, by offering vital resources and business know-how to advance medication development and venture formation.
About Duke-NUS
Duke-NUS, Singapore’s flagship graduate entry medical school, was founded in 2005 through a government-led partnership between Duke University School of Medicine and NUS. Students become multi-faceted ‘Clinicians Plus’ who lead Singapore’s healthcare and biomedical ecosystem through an innovative curriculum.
