BIOTECH LAUNCH PAD FELLOWS:
MEET THE TEAM OF SCIENTISTS REVOLUTIONIZING HEALTHCARE SOLUTIONS
The labs at the Bioscience Research Collaborative are just what you would imagine a medical research space to be — a labyrinth of workstations, refrigerators, centrifuges and microscopes. The work going on inside, however, is anything but ordinary. The Biotech Launch Pad Fellows, a group of four promising young scientists, are pioneering medical breakthroughs in women’s health and proposing solutions to pervasive problems that have largely gone unnoticed by decision makers in board rooms or venture capital firms. They are upending the slow and circuitous path from academic research to commercialization, working to get their solutions to patients within five years.
The Biotech Launch Pad Fellows are disrupting the traditionally slow and circuitous pathway from academic research to commercialization. Rather than navigating the difficulties in publishing and funding as individual scientists, they are participating in a large-scale initiative, Rice’s Biotech Launch Pad — an initiative designed to efficiently advance the university’s health and medical technology discoveries into clinical studies and commercialization.
“We are inventing the future of medicine — a future that is transformed by considering scalability and cost at the earliest stages of innovation,” explained Omid Veiseh, professor of bioengineering and the founding director of the Biotech Launch Pad.
Omid is mentoring the first cohort of the Biotech Launch Pad Fellows, sharing his comprehensive vision to bridge the gap between laboratory research and its practical application in clinical settings. Veiseh’s strategy begins with clinicians — talking to them and identifying needs. “From there you are designing the clinical trial,” Veiseh explained. “You’re designing manufacturing. Your designing regulatory strategy, a patent, an investigational product strategy. We can do this in five-year cycles. Normally it could take up to 12. This is going to increase impact and attract top-tier talent to Rice.”
Omid is sharing his extensive expertise with the Biotech Launch Pad Fellows, guiding their research efforts to ensure solutions are brought to market. Read the following stories to see just how these talented scientists are working to solve intractable problems in women’s healthcare.
Jump to the stories below:
THE SCIENTIST: Martha Fowler ’24
Ph.D. Candidate in Bioengineering
Veiseh Research Group
THE CHALLENGE: Lymphedema
Occurring in nearly 40% of breast cancer survivors, lymphedema is a painful condition that occurs when lymph nodes are removed and the body’s plumbing is essentially disrupted. With essential elements of the lymphatic system removed, the body cannot properly dispose of excess fluid and waste. The result is swelling, infection and even disfigurement. There is no cure for lymphedema. The symptoms are managed through lymphatic massage, bandaging, compression garments or a costly and invasive surgery to transfer lymph nodes from other areas of the body.
THE SOLUTION:
At Rice, Martha Fowler ’24, a doctoral student in Omid’s bioengineering lab, was working on a new biomaterial that will initiate lymphatic regeneration — an idea that caught the attention of clinicians at MD Anderson as a possible treatment for lymphedema.
Martha’s solution proposes a cell therapy platform, delivered via hydrogel, that recruits and regrows lymphatic vessels, routing them toward healthy lymph nodes. The hydrogel is placed just under the skin in a minimally invasive procedure.
“In wound healing, blood vessels regrow, bringing needed nutrients to the site,” Fowler explained. “But once those vessels bring cells to that area, only the lymphatic system can carry away the waste, which is an important part of the body’s immune response. We are using a cell therapy platform that produces a factor to regenerate and direct lymph vessels.”
Martha is expecting her product to reach clinical trials by 2026. Along the way, Veiseh and his team are consulting on safety and efficacy, manufacturing, and initial meetings with the FDA to help guide trial strategies.
“Lymphedema is a disease that no one is really paying attention to. We have a biomaterial that can initiate and guide vascularization within a couple of weeks. It’s exciting work.”
—Martha Fowler '24
Accelerate the Vision
The Biotech Launch Pad Fellows are working to address urgent healthcare challenges. To learn more about supporting these dynamic scientists, contact Sara L. Rice, executive director of development, at sdl@rice.edu or 713-348-3189.
