AMHERST, Mass. Peter Reinhart, director of the University of Massachusetts Amhersts Institute of Applied Life Sciences (IALS), has announced that six campus research teams have been named recipients of the first Manning/IALS Seed Grants. The awards will support next steps in their research such as proof-of-concept studies and business development, fundamental research into new products, technologies and services to benefit human health and wellbeing.

Earlier this year, alumnus Paul Manning and his wife, Diane, committed $1 million through their family foundation to establish theManning Innovation Program. It provides three years of support in advancing a robust and sustainable pipeline of applied and translational research projects from UMass Amherst.

The seed grants announced this week were awarded after a competitive process that narrowed 35 teams to six winners. Faculty researchers will not only receive seed funding of $100,000 each over three years, but also business training and mentorship from IALS, the College of Natural Sciences, the Berthiaume Center for Entrepreneurship and the Isenberg School of Management, among others.

The winning team leaders and their projects are:

The Manning Foundations gift provides an investment in UMass Amherst as a partner of choice in advancing and applying knowledge and innovation for the betterment of society.

Peter Reinhart, founding director of IALS, says, The Manning/IALS Innovation Program provides much-needed support allowing promising UMass Amherst research programs to move towards translational technology, prototypes, product candidates. This in turn will facilitate follow-on investments from venture organizations such as the Maroon Fund.

Paul Manning, a 1977 graduate of UMass Amherst, is an entrepreneur with 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry, who most recently founded PBM Capital Group in 2010. It is a healthcare-focused private investment group that looks for opportunities to use its entrepreneurial and operational experience to make high-growth pharmaceutical, molecular diagnostic, gene therapy, life science, health/wellness and consumer product investments.

Manning was also the anchor investor in Maroon Venture Partners, the first venture-capital fund at UMass Amherst. Created in 2017, the fund is a $6 million for-profit investment vehicle created to support alumni, faculty, and student businesses in their early stages.IALS was established in 2014, supported by a total investment of more than $150 million from the Massachusetts Life Science Center and the campus.

Originally posted here:
UMass Amherst Institute of Applied Life Sciences Announces Six Winners of the Inaugural Manning/IALS Prize - UMass News and Media Relations

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