MCDx - methylation cytometry diagnostics

Brown University

Overview DNA methylation-based biomarkers have great potential to transform the diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of cancer and other diseases. DNA methylation is an epigenetic mechanism used by cells to control gene expression. During DNA methylation, methyl groups are added to the DNA molecule, changing the DNA activity but not the sequence. Errors in methylation have been linked to a variety of diseases. Currently, clinicians use DNA methylation tests to screen for certain genetic changes that can affect processes such as methionine metabolism and hormone balance. Market Opportunity Few DNA methylation-based biomarkers have been successfully translated into clinical practice. There is limited technology to assess epigenetic information cost effectively at a large scale. Leukocytes, or white blood cells, mount the immune response to pathogens and foreign antigens. Until now, the distribution of leukocytes has been determined by examination under a microscope or with a flow cytometer.

Neurograins

Brown University

The field of brain-machine interfaces has advanced significantly over the past two decades, especially in its successful transition into human clinical trials. However, this progress has relied largely on wired, invasive sensors for the acquisition of neural data with high spatial and temporal resolution. Neurograins represents the first completely wireless network of sensors in neural application, consists of ensembles of implantable, sub-millimeter, individually addressable microchips.

ResponseGels

Brown University

The continuous emergence and rapid spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria and antimicrobial resistant Candida has caused serious environmental and public health issues worldwide due to increasing difficulty in treating infections. Triggered drug delivery systems that limit exposure to antibacterials and/or antimicrobials can alleviate these challenges and help prevent resistance. We have developed responsive hydrogel systems to combat skin wound bacterial and fungal infections. ResponseGels is developing hydrogels that incorporate a degradable peptide sequence in the backbone that responds specifically to either 𝛽‐lactamases (βLs), the most common cause of resistance to antibiotics, or aspartic proteases (Saps) secreted by virulent Candida.

SME-Tronic

Brown University

Neuromodulation is a rapidly expanding field of clinical neuroscience. Yet the widespread use of neuronal probes for recording and functional stimulation has been slow to develop, in part because of incompatibility problems with existing metallic and ceramic probes, as well as surgical complexity and potential tissue damage or infection during probe insertion. SME-Tronic is developing an electrode array made of shape-memory alloys and/or shape-memory polymers that can be inserted in a minimally invasive fashion through a needle or a small window in the spine or skull. Once inserted, the temperature-driven shape-memory response transforms the electrode shape into a shape that covers a more desirable area of the brain or spinal cord.