[Source: http://ec.europa.eu/health/ageing/innovation/index_en.htm] Identifier: REC-AG-2018Pillar: REC Programme 2014-2020Opening Date: Deadline: Thu, 31 May 2018 17:00:00 (Brussels local time)Modification Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2018Latest information: An updated version of theQuestions and answers document has been added under Topic conditions and documents -Additional documents.
I’m majoring in Chemical Engineering and when I graduate, I’m looking for a Process Development type job at a biotech or pharma company in the Boston/Cambridge area. Our career office tends to funnel engineers into consulting/finance/etc and has limited resources for anything else, so I really have no idea what the job search timeline is like in this industry.
If I can’t start working until August 2019 (when my apt lease ends), when should I start applying to job listings? And when are there usually the most opportunities available?
Also, I’ve spent 3 summers interning at a clinical-stage biotech company in Cambridge, so I definitely plan on contacting my connections there as well as coworkers who’ve moved on to bigger pharma companies. But when should I start reaching out to them? And is it appropriate to do so on LinkedIn?
I’d really appreciate any guidance on this. Thank you in advance!
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“Digital therapeutics” startups are starting to win more respect-and investment dollars-from pharmaceutical giants. But the two sides are still figuring out how to work together to capitalize on the potential for apps, devices, and other software-enabled technologies to impact patients’ health.
That’s what stood out to me the most as I listened to leaders from some of the world’s largest life sciences companies-Novartis (NYSE: NVS), Sanofi (NYSE: SNY), AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN), and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ)-talk about their firms’ interest in the nascent field of digital medicine at an industry conference, DTxDM East, held at… Read more »
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Each year on September 26, just days after the start of autumn, we celebrate Johnny Appleseed Day. And while this day of recognition doesn’t get you off work, it’s a day to remember an American pioneer who helped bring, arguably, the most iconic fruit to North America: the apple.
Known for his planting of apple orchards from Pennsylvania to Illinois to modern-day Canada, Appleseed would be astonished to learn that today the U.S. grows 240 million bushels of apples on average each year. Annually, the wholesale value of the crop is close to $4 billion.
But outside of loving apples, Appleseed was a conservationist. Because of this, he would be equally astonished to learn that apples are among the most wasted foods across the globe – according to UK supermarket giant Tesco, around 40 percent of the fruit is thrown away.
Many consumers throw away fruits like apples, peaches and bananas, because they brown so easily. This is especially challenging for apples because the fruit is often enjoyed sliced, which significantly speeds up the browning process.
Through biotechnology, however, researchers have identified a way to modify the genes of the fruit so that it doesn’t brown as quickly, thus extending self-life and reducing food waste.
Distributed to grocery stores in the fall of 2017, Arctic Apple’s non-browning apple slices are the latest GM crop to hit the market. Currently, the company has three popular varieties of apples available, including the Arctic Granny, the Arctic Golden and the Arctic Fuji. Additionally, the company has recently released its Arctic ApBitz, which are sliced dried apples packaged as an easy to eat snack especially great for kids.
As companies and consumers look for ways to cut down on the nearly 150,000 tons of food that is wasted in U.S. households each day, biotechnology innovations such as non-browning apples should continue to be explored as a possible solution. Currently, the potato is another crop that has been modified to be non-browning, and more crops with non-browning or reduced bruising traits should be on the horizon.
As a conservationist and apple lover, I’m sure Johnny Appleseed would be a supporter of any innovation that reduces food waste and allows more Americans to consume the fruit which he was nicknamed after.
[Source: Research & Innovation] 
European researchers joined forces with Atlantic African counterparts to explore the impacts of ocean changes on weather patterns, marine ecosystems and the wider socio-economic consequences for the region. Their findings uncover new thinking and calculations for wind, currents, and other factors in accurately modelling sea surface temperatures.
Jared Gollob has been appointed chief medical officer of Cambridge, MA-based Kymera Therapeutics. Gollob most recently worked at Alynylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ALNY) where he was vice president of clinical development and global vice president of medical affairs. Kymera is developing drugs based on protein degradation, the process cells use to rid themselves of harmful proteins.
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[Source: http://ec.europa.eu/health/ageing/innovation/index_en.htm] Identifier: H2020-OnlineSecurityPrize-2017Pillar: Industrial LeadershipOpening Date: Deadline: Thu, 27 Sep 2018 17:00:00 (Brussels local time)Modification Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2018Latest information: A field to upload any annex or appendix has been added in the Submission System. Annexes and appendices can be uploaded in a single PDF document without page limitation but with a maximum size of 10.0 MB.
Please note that the jury will evaluate each application against the 9 award criteria described in the Rules of Contest with the information contained in the part B form (limited to a maximum of 100 pages).
Editor’s Note: As part of BIO’s 25th Anniversary celebration we will be spotlighting biotechnology innovations that have made a major impact over the past 25 years. This “Innovation Series” will publish on the 25th of every month throughout 2018. In the ninth installment we spotlight food and agriculture biotechnology.
So, you want to grow a vegetable. Let’s say you’re looking to grow a jalapeño pepper. You go to your local nursery, buy a young pepper plant, take it home and plant it in the ground or in a pot. Then, you water it, place it in the sun and nature pretty much takes care of the rest.
While you patiently wait and brainstorm recipes for your bountiful pepper harvest, billions of microbes just beneath the soil are working to help provide your plant the nutrients it needs to grow. In one spoonful of soil, there are billions of microbes – tiny organisms like bacteria and fungi – that naturally exist. What if there was a way to boost microbes and improve plants to benefit both humans and the environment?
That’s where “ag microbials” come in.
Through biotechnology innovation, products have been created that can be applied directly to a seed to enhance the natural microbes, improving outcomes for both nutrition and the environment.
Thanks to new understandings from gene sequencing, researchers can identify microbes with particular attributes, allowing farmers to control the microbes going into the soil.
Many of the attributes being explored benefit more than just the plant. Some microbials have the potential to suppress plants’ negative responses to drought, essentially tricking them into continuing to grow through dry conditions. In an increasingly warmer world, water conversation is a growing priority, and ag microbials such as these will allow farmers to use less water, thus benefiting the environment.
Recognizing the potential and beneficial impact of ag microbials, biotechnology companies are now investing in research and development of this innovative technology. For example, Pivot BIO in California is developing ag microbials to help reduce the nitrogen runoff that can pollute lakes, rivers and oceans. Plants need nitrogen to grow and thrive, but nitrogen from fertilizers can runoff into waterways, leading to “dead zones” – large areas in the water that do not have enough oxygen to support marine life.
Pivot’s microbials allow plants to absorb more nitrogen from the atmosphere. This allows farmers to apply less nitrogen-containing fertilizers and enhance the plant’s natural ability to convert nitrogen from the air to meet crops’ daily nitrogen needs.
Additionally, Monsanto (now a part of Bayer Crop Science) and Novozymes formed an alliance to develop microbial solutions to transform agriculture. The alliance is developing two microbial products: inoculants, which help plants with absorbing nutrients like nitrogen, and biocontrols, which help protect plants against pests and diseases. The latter will allow a plant to fight off pests and diseases on its own, reducing the need for pesticides and, again, reducing environmental impact.
Small companies like Ginkgo Bioworks are also looking to microbial science to help enhance agriculture. The startup is using biotechnology to engineer microbes to also reduce runoff from fertilizers into the environment. For this effort, Gingko Bioworks has formed a joint venture with Bayer to pair the company’s know-how with Ginkgo Bioworks’ manufacturing capabilities. In addition to producing ag microbials to fix nitrogen, the alliance looks to tackle soybean rust and citrus greening – a topic we covered previously here.
And while much of the conversation has focused on genetic engineering of plants to solve food and agriculture challenges like citrus greening, ag microbials hold tremendous promise as another solution.
By enhancing the microbes already at work beneath the soil, farmers can essentially optimize nature for greater benefits – benefits that transcend plant health, helping to also reduce environmental impact.
So next time you pick a pepper, remember most of the work came from the billions of microbes living just beneath the soil. Biotechnology allows us to harness the power of microbes to work to the advantage of plants, humans and the earth more than ever before.
Anthony Polverino has been appointed executive vice president of early development and chief scientific officer of Vancouver, BC-based Zymeworks (NYSE: ZYME). Polverino most recently worked at Kite Pharma, where he was interim chief scientific officer, and prior to that, vice president of research. Kite was acquired by Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD) last year. Zymeworks develops cancer treatments called bispecific antibodies. The company is currently testing its lead drug, ZW25, in a Phase 1 study as a potential treatment for breast cancer.
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