Drug Discovery Guide is an online course designed for physician scientists, basic scientists, and postdoctoral and other trainees that teaches the individual steps and critical stages for any drug discovery project, with a particular focus on projects being conducted at the University of Michigan. The course is a collaboration between Fast Forward Medical Innovation and Michigan Drug Discovery, with support from Innovation Partnerships.

Drug Discovery Guide features 15 experts from across the U-M drug discovery ecosystem who instruct on four primary units: Introduction to Drug Discovery, Assessing Commercial Potential, Advancing Drug Discovery Projects, and Entering the Clinical Phase. The lessons concentrate primarily on small molecule therapeutics, however, many of the topics apply equally to other kinds of drugs, including antibodies and RNA.

The course can be navigated freely, allowing users to select the lesson topics that are especially pertinent to their research. A certificate of completion is available with the course.

Questions? Visit the website or contact Samantha Cook, Commercialization Education Coordinator.

Coming soon! An in-person companion course that teaches the fundamental stages of academic drug discovery through guest lectures and case studies. Join our newsletter to stay up-to-date on open enrollment. 

Looking for feedback and input on your biomedical innovation? Join the FFMI team for Innovation Studio, virtual office hours that give life science innovators of all levels the chance to address project needs, challenges, or questions. Participants can get individual feedback on:

The Innovation Studio is available for 30-minute consultations via Zoom every third Tuesday of the month. The next available consultations will take place Tuesday, December 21, between 2:00pm-3:30pm. Space is limited.

MTRAC award winners, Amplitude Vascular Systems (formerly Calcium Solutions), recently presented at the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) Conference.

The team, Hitinder Gurm, M,D.; Albert Shih, Ph.D.; and Robert Chisena, Ph.D., discussed their work through a Shark Tank-style pitch highlighting their mission to treat vascular calcifications with easy-to-use interventional tools, a presentation showing positive pre-clinical study results, and a poster of their initial proof-of-concept work performed at U-M.

Congratulations!

The University of Michigan has reported a record number of license and option agreements over the past fiscal year, as well as patents issued, further solidifying its position as a leading university for commercializing research and technology.

The university signed 287 license and option agreements with companies seeking to commercialize U-M research discoveries during fiscal year 2021 — up 19 from the previous fiscal year. U-M also reported 169 issued U.S. patents the fiscal year that ended June 30, up from 163 in FY ’20.

Learning Health Systems (LHS) is an international, open access, peer-reviewed journal published in collaboration with Wiley Publishing. The journal promotes research, scholarship, and dialogue focused on theory, complex issues, conceptual syntheses, education models, and more. LHS seeks to achieve continuous rapid improvement in health and healthcare and to transform organization practice. The journal includes computable knowledge publications, research reports, experience reports, technical reports, policy analyses, briefs, and commentaries.

Michigan Drug Discovery is now accepting applications for Fall 2021 Screening Grants.

Michigan Drug Discovery Screening Grants include both funding and scientific support for high-throughput screening of small molecules or natural product extracts with the goal of identifying chemical matter for modulating novel therapeutic targets.

All faculty members employed by the University of Michigan (instructional and research track) are eligible to submit applications.

Asahi Kasei Pharma is calling for new proposals related to drug discovery research as part of its efforts for open innovation and to promote pharmaceutical research and development through enhanced cooperation with universities, research institutes, and enterprises around the world.

Proposals are solicited concerning new drug seeds (drug target and drug candidate) and technologies in the therapeutic fields of autoimmune disease, critical care medicine, neurodegenerative disease, pain and neuropathy, bone disease, and drug discovery platform technology.

Please contact Debra Grega, FFMI Business Development Director, for further details.

The second cycle of OVPR’s Large-Scale Center and Initiative Planning Grants and VPR-RAD Catalyst Grants Grants is open for applications.

PI-eligible faculty from all three U-M campuses can apply for the Large-Scale Center and Initiative Planning Grants. These grants aim to promote impactful interdisciplinary research and provide multi-unit teams with support for preparing and submitting competitive large-scale grant proposals in the range of $5M or more.

The VPR-RAD Catalyst Grants represent a partnership between OVPR and the research leadership within schools/colleges to aid in unit-wide experiments and projects to strengthen the research environment and advance unit-specific research goals. Proposals are to be submitted by the Research Associate Deans (RADs), who will administer them and be responsible for the funds. Proposals by several RADs in collaboration also are encouraged.

To better navigate the complexities of the U-M biomedical research enterprise, visit the Research Project Lifecycle. This interactive tool provides an overview of the resources available to you, not only within the Medical School Office of Research but also across the University of Michigan.