Two teams of scientists at Einstein have received $100,000 XSeed Awards—part of a new program supporting early stage life-science projects that have startup potential.
The funding comes from the Deerfield Management Company, a healthcare investment firm that is coordinating with local government agencies to promote life sciences in New York City.
Recipients of the $100,000 XSeed Awards are: Jonathan Lai, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry at Einstein, for his work on alphavirus-associated arthritis, a debilitating musculoskeletal condition that can persist for years after infection; and Andras Fiser, Ph.D., John Blanchard, Ph.D., Simone Sidoli, Ph.D., and Johanna Daily, M.D., M.S., for their work in rapidly identifying drugs that are effective against the disease-causing bacterium Klebsiella pneumoniae, which has become increasingly resistant to antibiotics.
At Einstein, Dr. Fiser is a professor of systems & computational biology and of biochemistry; Dr. Blanchard is the Dan Danciger Professor of Biochemistry; Dr. Sidoli is an assistant professor of biochemistry; and Dr. Daily is a professor of medicine and of microbiology & immunology.
