New Jersey Health Foundation awards $50,000 Innovation Grant to advance treatment of allergic inflammation and mast cell leukemia

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., Sept. 29, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- New Jersey Health Foundation (NJHF) has awarded a $50,000 Innovation Grant to Mark C. Siracusa, PhD, to advance his work in the regulation of mast cell development, announced James M. Golubieski, president.  

Dr. Siracusa is an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine and Center for Immunity and Inflammation at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School.  In 2014 when he joined New Jersey Medical School he earned the distinction of being the first Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences Chancellor's Scholar, a university-wide appointment that recognizes and supports exemplary new faculty members.  

Encouraging results obtained by Dr. Siracusa using a $35,000 Research Grant from NJHF to advance his preliminary work led to this most recent award. 

He will use the $50,000 Innovation Grant to advance his studies on the regulation of mast cell development to treat a variety of diseases, including mast cell leukemia, allergic inflammation and parasitic infections. 

"We were so encouraged by Dr. Siracusa's findings that were funded by our original Research Grant, we wanted to help him advance this research even further," explained George F. Heinrich, M.D., vice chair and CEO of New Jersey Health Foundation. "His research is exciting and demonstrates great potential."

An International patent application is pending to secure worldwide patent rights.

"This $50,000 grant will allow us to identify and evaluate the efficacy of potential Mast Cell Regulators," explained Dr. Siracusa.  "We are grateful to New Jersey Health Foundation for believing that our technology is worth pursuing and may someday positively affect people around the world suffering from a variety of illnesses."

New Jersey Health Foundation funds two research programs throughout the year—the Research Grants program offering grants of up to $35,000 and the Innovation Grants program offering grants of up to $50,000 to advance projects that may lead to commercialization opportunities.   Full-time faculty and personnel at major research organizations in New Jersey with which NJHF has a formal relationship are eligible to apply for each program—Kessler Foundation, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Princeton University, Rutgers University, Rowan University and Stevens Institute of Technology.

For more information, contact Mike Wiley, NJHF, at (908) 731-6612 or [email protected]. 

About New Jersey Health Foundation
New Jersey Health Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation that supports biomedical research and health-related education programs in New Jersey through its Grants Program and its affiliate, Foundation Venture Capital Group which makes private equity investments in health-related start- up companies in New Jersey headed toward commercialization.

SOURCE New Jersey Health Foundation

Related Links

http://www.njhf.org/