Grants will support five New York City-based early-stage life sciences startups, prioritizing historically underrepresented company founders
2021 XSeed Award focused on infectious diseases to continue to combat world health issues
(New York, NY, April 20, 2021)—Deerfield Management Company, a New York City-based healthcare investment firm, today announced the grant recipients of its XSeed Award, a new program designed to support early-stage life science startups. Each of the five New York City-based award winners, a majority of which were women or other underrepresented founders, will receive a $100,000 grant to further projects focused on infectious diseases.
The 2021 recipients of Deerfield’s inaugural XSeed Award are:
- Dr. Chandrabali Ghose-Paul, Founder and CEO of Bioharmony Therapeutics, for her work with next-gen antimicrobial therapies for lethal, drug-resistant bacterial infections
- Dr. Ashiwel Undieh, The City College of New York, for his work with platform nanotechnology for enhanced formulation and delivery of mRNA vaccines
- Dr. Jonathan Lai, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, for his work with alphavirus-associated arthritis
- Dr. Julie Magarian Blander, Professor of Immunology at Weill Cornell Medicine, for her work with pan-coronavirus vaccines
- Dr. Andras Fiser, Dr. John Blanchard, Dr. Simone Sidoli, and Dr. Johanna Daily, all from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, for their work to identify effective drug combinations for the treatment of K. pneumoniae
“This year has been unlike any other in so many ways, not the least of which is the unprecedented advancement of medical science,” said Joseph Pearlberg, MD, Ph.D., Vice President of Scientific Affairs at Deerfield. “Our inaugural group of XSeed Awardees will support some of New York City’s most talented researchers and scientists with a focus on developing cures for infectious diseases. As we begin to rebound from the pandemic, we cannot become complacent – support for new ideas and vaccines should remain a global priority.”
The XSeed Award was created by Deerfield as a result of the partnership announced in September 2019 between NYC Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and Deerfield to develop the Cure life science campus. The 12-story vertical cam