The Foundation Venture Capital Group, an affiliate of the Foundation of UMDNJ and New Jersey Health Foundation, recently hosted a training session for faculty members across the University to discuss the best sources of early stage risk capital for developing promising new technologies and ones that can serve as pathways to equity financing. The seminar was sponsored by the New Jersey Commission on Science & Technology. The attendees received an introduction to and an overview of the SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) and STTR (Small Business Technology Transfer) programs, with a focus on the National Institutes of Health.
A UMDNJ researcher has discovered that adult stem cells from bone marrow undergo changes in the presence of inflammation that may trigger repair of damaged tissue. Pranela Rameshwar, Professor of Medicine at UMDNJ- New Jersey Medical School (NJMS), co-authored an article that appeared in the Sept. 25 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) explaining the discovery. She co-authored the article with Steven J. Greco, who recently defended his PhD thesis as a student at UMDNJ-Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.
The study shows how adult stem cells from bone marrow behave, giving researchers a better understanding of how they may help repair damaged tissue. Such knowledge ultimately could lead to development of therapies for neural diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, and spinal chord and traumatic brain injuries.
Mental health professionals at the CARES (Child Abuse Research Education and Service) Institute at the UMDNJ-School of Osteopathic Medicine have found a way to turn stories of abuse into a tale of healing for children and their caregivers. Helping Families Heal provides a creative way for children, their parents and therapists to start the conversation around issues, such as child physical abuse, that can be painful and difficult to discuss.
Dr. Melissa Runyon, a psychologist, associate professor and first author of the children's book, serves as Treatment Services Director at the CARES Institute. Her co-authors, Dr. Alissa Glickman, CARES psychologist, and Ms. Beth Cooper, CARES research coordinator, have began to distribute the book (1,000 each in English and Spanish) - free of charge - to mental health professionals around the country who are helping children and their families deal with issues of child physical abuse.
In an effort to assist community groups in facilitating cancer and general health education outreach opportunities and to recognize those who have put ideas into practice, The Cancer Institute of New Jersey's (CINJ) Office of Extramural Affairs hosted a workshop and awards ceremony this month. The event, funded and supported by the Novartis Outreach and Education Project (NOEP), featured such topics as how to secure funding for projects, how to develop culturally appropriate materials and how to evaluate a program.
NOEP was established at CINJ five years ago through a philanthropic grant from Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation. It has been instrumental in supporting cancer education programs for New Jersey's medically underserved populations
