Seven academic research institutions in Virginia have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to share core facilities and resources in an effort to advance life sciences and other areas of research in the Commonwealth. This initiative will accelerate the commercialization of Virginia’s innovations, creating more high potential start-up companies, producing many more high-paying jobs, and growing the Commonwealth’s biosciences economy.

The Vice Presidents for Research from the University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, Eastern Virginia Medical School, George Mason University, Old Dominion University, Virginia Tech and William & Mary, working together with Virginia Catalyst, have achieved a breakthrough in collaborations that will greatly increase Virginia's competitiveness nationally and globally.

The universities have agreed to provide reciprocal access to shared R&D resources. The institutions have individually made significant investments to acquire specialized equipment and establish unique research laboratories to support basic, translational and clinical research. To further enhance the availability of these existing resources, the institutions seek to share, in an economical manner, specialized technical services and access to equipment and expertise for research purposes.

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The Virginia Biosciences Health Research Corporation, known as Virginia Catalyst, today announced that it has awarded $2.825 million in grants to six collaborative bioscience commercialization projects between Virginia’s research universities and private companies. Round six of funding is intended to catalyze the development and commercialization of life science projects that address major unmet needs for improving human health, while also contributing to Virginia’s economic growth.

​“Virginia’s research universities are providing leadership on a national and global level in the life sciences by combining their intellectual and scientific prowess through collaborations to achieve critical mass. This competitive critical mass is attracting significant outside capital and industry participation to commercialize Virginia’s innovations, while creating high-paying jobs for Virginia,” said Mike Grisham, CEO, Virginia Catalyst. “Bioscience continues to be a vital part of Virginia’s economy and we are excited to help fuel innovation, collaboration and economic growth in our state. Virginia, Maryland and the D.C. metro area are now nationally ranked by Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN) as a top five biopharma cluster.”

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Virginia Biosciences Health Research Corporation (VBHRC/“the catalyst”) today announced that it is accepting applications/letters of intent (LOIs) for Round 7 of grants to fund the development, validation and application of new approaches to diagnosing, preventing and treating neurological conditions, including brain injuries, brain developmental disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, neuropsychiatric and behavioral disorders, as well as addiction and substance abuse. The awards, which range from $200,000 to $800,000, will accelerate translational research in the Commonwealth of Virginia through collaborations between industry and Virginia research universities.

The deadline for consideration is June 8, 2017. Applications/LOIs and grant criteria can be downloaded from the VBHRC website (www.vbhrc.com).

“VBHRC’s seventh round of funding provides us an opportunity to continue our focus on neurological issues that will lead to a better understanding of how the brain works,” said Mike Grisham, CEO, VBHRC/“the catalyst.” “This enables us to research and address disorders of the brain including Traumatic Brain Injuries, Autism, ALS, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, mental health, addiction and postdeployment issues faced by our military. Virginia’s healthcare systems, universities and industry partners – in conjunction with the Department of Veterans Affairs – provide some of the most collaborative and innovative translational research programs in the country. This funding, provided by the Virginia General Assembly, will help accelerate this important research.”

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The Virginia Biosciences Health Research Corporation (VBHRC/“the Catalyst”) today announced that it is accepting applications/letters of interests (LOIs) for round four of grants to fund the development and commercialization of life science projects that address major unmet needs for improving human health. The awards, which range from $200,000 to $800,000, will help accelerate translational research in the Commonwealth of Virginia through collaborations between industry and Virginia research universities.

​The deadline for consideration is May 15, 2015. Applications/LOIs and grant criteria can be downloaded from the VBHRC website (www.vbhrc.com).

Read the full press release here.