MSCRF Supports Important Training for Stem Cell Researchers with Bio-Trac Workshop Sponsorship
Bio-Trac workshop offers a unique opportunity for researchers to get hands-on training from handling iPS cells
What would be possible if researchers had the most cutting edge skills & techniques, the most advanced academic training and the right funding to turn their ideas into discoveries?
This is a question that TEDCO seeks to answer with each new grant that is awarded by the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund (MSCRF), which they manage. The leadership and vision behind this program has contributed to Maryland becoming a world leader in Stem Cell research, and home to many researchers and companies at the forefront of the advancements and new discoveries in this field.
MSCRF is a great example of an innovation catalyst that unites a community of researchers from Universities like Johns Hopkins and the University of Maryland, or from Federal institutes like NIH, NCI and NHLBI, as well as from Industry leaders like RoosterBio or LifeSprout. The MSCRF program was established by the Governor and the Maryland General Assembly in 2006 with the purpose of promoting state-funded stem cell research and cures through grants and loans to public and private entities in the State. They also host an annual Maryland Stem Cell Symposium to bring the community together every year and showcase the impact of their grants.
To date, over $139 million and over 400 grants have been committed and for this year (FY2018) the programs has a budget of $8.2 million.
That funding mostly supports the research, but it also helps to fund additional training and workshops that help to ensure the researchers have the most current skills and techniques on the latest advanced technologies and methods they use to conduct their research. By giving researchers the tools and skills to succeed, they can perform more advanced research and move more of that research forward.
Recently, MSCRF established a sponsorship with a local biotech training company, Bio-Trac, for their Hepatocytes Derived from Human iPSCs workshop later this March.
“iPS cell-derived hepatocytes serve as a great tool for disease-modeling as well as for drug metabolism and toxicity studies. This Bio-Trac workshop offers a unique opportunity for researchers to get hands-on training from handling iPS cells to conducting functional assays on hepatocytes”, Amritha Jaishankar PhD, Manager, TEDCO’s Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund, “We are excited to be sponsoring this workshop and look forward to partnering with Bio-Trac to bring more such relevant, cutting-edge training to our Maryland stem cell community.”
Bio-Trac has been delivering cutting-edge training workshops for over 30 years to more than 16,000 research scientists. Designed by active researchers for bench and research scientists, Bio-Trac® workshops (See Workshop Schedule) focus on the latest techniques necessary for laboratory research. The hands-on biotechnology company also provides custom training programs for Government agencies, private industry and academic institutions, helping them keep their teams ahead with relevant technology.
“We are delighted to be working with the MSCRF group and their members,” Mark Nardone, Director, Bio-Trac. “As a part of the Maryland Stem Cell community, relationships with quality organizations such as the TEDCO Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund, are essential as we continue our mission to identify and meet the training needs of the scientific community.”
This is just one example of how organizations in Maryland are partnering and creating synergy to make possibilities a reality within the Biotech and Life Sciences field. Maryland has more resources than most region’s combined. It’s the mission of many, like the MSCRF, BioTrac and others, to collaborate better than any other region and become one of the top Biotech Hubs in the world.
If you are interested in more information on the grant’s and resources available to stem cell researchers through the MSCRF visit their website http://www.mscrf.org/ and contact them today.
For more on Bio-Trac you can visit http://biotrac.com or contact Mark Nardone.
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Over the past 11 years, Chris has grown BioBuzz into a respected brand that is recognized for its community building, networking events and news stories about the local biotech industry. In addition, he runs a Recruiting and Marketing Agency that helps companies attract top talent through a blended model that combines employer branding and marketing services together with a high powered recruiting solution.
