NFL to Make $40 Million Available for Medical Research; A Board Will Evaluate Proposals
New York, NY, August 31, 2017 — Barry Wilner of the Associated Press reports that, a year after the NFL pledged $100 million in support of independent medical research and engineering advancements, a huge chunk of that soon will be awarded to such research, primarily dedicated to neuroscience.
A Scientific Advisory Board assembled by the NFL is set to launch its program to solicit and evaluate research proposals for funding.
The board, comprised of independent experts, doctors, scientists and clinicians, and chaired by retired U.S. Army General Peter Chiarelli, will provide direction for the $40 million allocated under the league’s initiative. Continue reading
NJ EDA to Make Additional Lab Space Available for State’s Biotechnology Companies
Trenton, NJ, August 31, 2017 — The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) on August 17 announced it will again expand its successful incubator program with the creation of the Biotechnology Development Center (BDC) on the 50-acre Technology Centre of New Jersey research park in North Brunswick.
The BDC will offer suites of intermediate lab and office space from 3,400 to 10,000 square feet for emerging life sciences companies including those that have outgrown incubator space and other early stage companies looking to expand.
More than 32,600 square feet of new space is now available at the BDC. Continue reading
Rutgers Cancer Institute Research Dr. Jennifer Tsui Receives $729K American Cancer Society Grant
Dr. Jennifer Tsui
New Brunswick, NJ, August 30, 2017 — Jennifer Tsui, PhD, a researcher at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, has been awarded a $729,000 Mentored Research Scholar Grant in Applied and Clinical Research from the American Cancer Society to further explore health care delivery and care transitions for underserved cancer patients.
The award supports investigators who are in the early stages of their career in becoming independent researchers as either clinician scientists or cancer control and prevention investigators.
Despite evidence that vulnerable populations often receive poor quality care, few studies have focused on understanding the underlying health care processes that contribute to suboptimal cancer care or poor transitions between primary care and oncology care. Continue reading
Accenture Opens Innovation Center in Florham Park; Helping Clients Explore Business Applications of 3D Printing, Virtual Reality, Robotics and More
Florham Park, NJ, August 29, 2017 — Senior correspondent Brenda Flanagan reported on “NJTV News” that there’s a 3-D printer hard at work in Accenture’s newest innovation center.
The just-opened Florham Park facility uses cutting edge tools to help solve business dilemmas. It turns out, this gadget can save time and money in unexpected places said Jenn Stefanowicz, associate manager for digital acceleration capability at Accenture. Continue reading
Hackensack Meridian and NJ Innovation Institute Cut Ribbon on Agile Strategies Lab, First Health Care Incubator in State
Newark, NJ, August 28, 2017 — Anjalee Khemlani reports on NJBIZ that Agile Strategies Lab — a partnership between Hackensack Meridian Health and New Jersey Innovation Institute (NJII) — held a ribbon-cutting August 15, officially opening the first incubator for health care in New Jersey.
The incubator, which Khemlani first reported on March 9, is located in Newark. It is being funded by $25 million from the health system and is designed as a space where a “Shark Tank”-like expert panel will hear pitches that aim to solve health care issues. Continue reading
FDA Signs Agreement with European Medicines Agency on Mutual Recognition of Manufacturing Site Inspection
London, August 28, 2017 — The European Commission (EC), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on August 23 announced they have signed a new confidentiality commitment that allows the U.S. regulator to share non-public and commercially confidential information, including trade secret information relating to medicine inspections with EU regulators.
This confidentiality commitment is a milestone in the ongoing implementation of the mutual recognition of inspections of medicine manufacturers and it aims to strengthen the EU-US relationship. Continue reading
Trump Administration’s R&D Memo Directs Agencies to Emphasizes Basic Science
President Donald Trump
Westerville, OH, August 28, 2017 ― The State Science & Technology Institute (SSTI) blogs that the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on August 17 released a memorandum on research and development (R&D) priorities that directs agencies to prioritize basic science and lower costs in their FY 2019 budget requests.
R&D investments should be made in military superiority, security, prosperity, energy dominance and health.
The memo repeatedly encourages officials to identify, and divest of, research areas where industry is ready to make their own investments toward commercial development. Continue reading
Congress Faces Deadline to Renew Children’s Health Insurance Program
Washington, DC, August 25, 2017 — Rachel Roubein and Nathaniel Weixel today report in The Hill that Congress is approaching a healthcare deadline with enormous stakes for millions of people — and this time it isn’t about Obamacare.
Federal funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which serves 9 million low- and middle-income children, is set to expire at the end of September, setting up a crucial deadline for a Congress already grappling with other high-stakes battle.
The looming deadline for CHIP has been overshadowed by the GOP effort to repeal Obamacare, and lawmakers left town for the summer without addressing the issue. Continue reading
William Paterson University President to Step Down After 2017-2018 Academic Year
Kathleen Waldron
Wayne, NJ, August 24, 2017 — Kathleen Waldron, who has led strategic initiatives that have enhanced academics and infrastructure at William Paterson University, on August 22 announced that she will retire at the end of the 2017-18 academic year after eight years as president of the institution.
President Waldron plans to retire effective June 30, 2018. The University’s Board of Trustees has launched a national search for a new president.
“I will turn 70 years old in September 2018 and have had the great honor of being an academic administrator for 20 years,” says President Waldron, who became the institution’s seventh president on August 2, 2010. Continue reading
Modern Healthcare Names 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare 2017; Senators Collins, McCain and Murkowski Top List
Senators Susan Collins, John McCain and Lisa Murkowski
Washington, DC, August 24, 2017 — Harris Meyer reports in Modern Healthcare that three Republican senators — Maine’s Susan Collins, Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski and Arizona’s John McCain — decided their party’s bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act would be bad for the states they represent.
Resisting tremendous political pressure, the three voted against Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s stripped-down ACA repeal bill.
In doing so, they dramatically reshaped the epic political battle over the future of the ACA, which has been bitterly fought over by Republicans and Democrats since it was passed by Democrats on a party-line vote in March 2010. Continue reading
