2020 Accelerator Grant Recipients
The Emory University Biological Discovery through Chemical Innovation (BDCI) initiative is pleased to announce the awardees of the 2020 BDCI Accelerator Grants. BDCI sits at a key intersection of biology, chemistry, and human health in both scientific discovery and training of new researchers. In addition to accelerating the development of the next generation of research tools, safe & effective drugs, and diagnostic agents, a major focus of BDCI is to build a research network at the interface between chemistry and human health at Emory. The Accelerator Grants aim to cultivate this network and catalyze innovative research by funding cross-disciplinary collaborations that align with the mission of the BDCI. This year’s proposals spanned three major units at Emory (ECAS, SOM, Winship Cancer Institute) and nine departments! The 2020 projects — along with their principal investigators, co-investigators and external partners — that received Accelerator Grants are:
“Development of GluN3-Selective Allosteric Modulators for Treatment of Neurological Disease”
Stephen Traynelis, PhD (Pharmacology & Chemical Biology) and Dennis Liotta, PhD (Chemistry)
“A Novel Therapeutic Approach for Treating inflammatory Bowel Disease”
Nathan Jui, PhD (Chemistry) and Eric Ortlund, PhD (Biochemistry)
“Enabling High-Throughput Screening for RNA Repeat Expansion Disorders Using an Imaging-Based Assay”
Jennifer Heemstra, PhD (Chemistry) and Gary Bassell, PhD (Cell Biology)
“Identification of Novel Compounds and Target Pathways for the Treatment of Human Dwarfism”
William R. Wilcox, MD, PhD, (Human Genetics) with support from the Emory Chemical Biology Discovery Center
“Using C. elegans to Conduct a Drug Screen to Block Age Associated Decline in Muscle Mass and Function (Sarcopenia)”
Guy M. Benian, MD (Pathology & Laboratory Medicine) with support from the Emory Chemical Biology Discovery Center