Northrop Grumman Corp. and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County's cyber incubator are launching a new mentorship initiative to help growing cyber startups gain access to advanced technology resources.

A study of the 50 US states provides an index to indicate which states are leading in the ‘new economy’, and which are falling behind. It also reveals clear patterns, proposing ‘winning’ policy formula for economic development.

The top five states in the index are Massachusetts, California, Washington, Virginia, and Delaware. The five lowest-scoring states, from 46th to 50th, are Louisiana, Wyoming, West Virginia, Arkansas, and Mississippi.

DATE AND TIME: Wed, December 13, 2017 7:00 AM – 11:00 AM EST

LOCATION: Falls Church Marriott Fairview Park 3111 Fairview Park Drive Falls Church, VA 22042

Our CONNECTpreneur Baltimore Forum on November 16 was another sell-out. We had 380 business leaders, 8 awesome presenting companies, and epic speakers! Guests enjoyed a morning of insight, conversation and connections! 

When: December 20th, 2017 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Where: Bar Louie 150 Gibbs St. Rockville MD 20850

Join BioBuzz and annual sponsor Biohealth Innovation, Inc. to celebrate the holiday season and last BioBuzz event of the year. The celebration will be at Bar Louie in the Rockville Town Center on December 20th, 2017 from 5 - 7pm. Only a 5 minute walk from the Rockville Metro, please join us for this exciting event.

The Society of Physician Entrepreneurs and the MBA Collaborative Alumni Angel Group, in conjunction with NIH, cordially invite you to join us for our next meeting:

December 13, 5:00 – 8:30 PM, at: Institute for Bioscience & Biotechnology Research, 9600 Gudelsky Drive, Rockville, MD,

This program will be focused on start-up and emerging biotech, pharmaceutical, and healthcare companies. Referrals are coming from NIH officials and consultants as well as SoPE/CAAG members and affiliates as well as direct applications to SoPE or CAAG.

Six years ago, at age 49, Julie Gregory paid an online service to sequence her genes, hoping to turn up clues about her poor circulation, blood-sugar swings and general ill health. Instead she learned she had a time bomb hidden in her DNA: two copies of a gene variant, ApoE4, that is strongly linked to Alzheimer’s. Most Americans with this genotype go on to develop late-onset dementia.

The Inova Health System will formally open its doors to new ideas by launching its personalized health accelerator on Nov. 30.

The event begins at 6:15 p.m. and will be held at the Inova Center for Personalized Health at 3225 Gallows Rd. in Fairfax. It includes a ribbon cutting, networking, keynote speeches and a tour of the facility.

A team of five Johns Hopkins University students won first place and $5,000 at the fifth annual Pfizer Case Competition at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School earlier this month.

Fifteen Johns Hopkins scientists are among 3,000 individuals included on the annual Highly Cited Researchers list compiled by Clarivate Analytics, which was previously part of Thomson Reuters.

High-income countries are grappling with the challenge of caring for aging populations, many of whose members have chronic illnesses and declining capacity to manage activities of daily living. The 2017 Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy Survey of Older Adults in eleven countries showed that US seniors were sicker than their counterparts in other countries and, despite universal coverage under Medicare, faced more financial barriers to health care.

When: Tuesday, December 5, 2017 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. EST

Where: All Set Restaurant & Bar 8630 Fenton St. Silver Spring, MD 20910

It’s that time of the year again! Please join Capital Region chapter of Women In Bio as we celebrate the conclusion of an amazing 2017 at All Set Restaurant & Bar in Silver Spring, MD. Come mix & mingle with friends old and new over drinks and hors d’oeuvres, learn about the opportunities and resources that you have access to as WIB members, and participate in our raffle to win exciting prices!

Funding and Research Opportunities

The following funding opportunity announcements from the NHLBI or other components of the National Institutes of Health, might be of interest:

Maryland Tech Council announced today that Nora D. Volkow, M.D., Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health (NIH) will kick off its new Innovation Speaker Series. Dr. Volkow will discuss the current state of the opioid crisis nationally and locally. Additionally, her presentation will cover what research has shown about this particular addiction, its prevention and treatment, and how science may help end the massive public health crisis. Key industry leaders are expected to attend this inaugural series event, which will take place Wednesday, November 29, 2017 at the Universities at Shady Grove from 7:30-9:30 a.m.

The Johns Hopkins University and Deerfield Management announced today the creation of Bluefield Innovations, a collaboration designed to catalyze the development of early stage therapeutics. Funded by Deerfield, an investment management firm committed to advancing health care, Bluefield Innovations will provide up to $65 million in initial funding over five years to support the commercialization of early stage therapeutic research at Johns Hopkins, with additional funding available to advance research that shows strong commercial potential.

Bioterrorism threats and infectious disease outbreaks are on the rise. Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (EBS) has a stream of revenues from FDA-approved drugs, as well as a full pipeline of drugs under development, to combat these health threats.

QIAGEN N.V. (NASDAQ: QGEN; Frankfurt Prime Standard: QIA) today launched enhancements in its QIAGEN Clinical Insight (QCI) bioinformatics software automating the AMP/ASCO/CAP Standards and Guidelines for the Interpretation and Reporting of Sequence Variants in Cancer, advancing precision medicine with the first solution to offer molecular pathologists critical information needed to guide oncologists' treatment decisions.

FDA approval based on Phase III program demonstrating up to 51% reduction in asthma exacerbations, significant improvement in lung function and a 75% reduction in daily oral steroid use

Date and time: Tuesday, 21 November 5:00PM - 8:00PM EST  

Location: MedImmune 1 Medimmune Way Gaithersburg, MD 20878 United States

HBA Mid-Atlantic presents a panel of successful diverse women from the public and private healthcare sectors to share their experiences on harnessing one's power.

• Primary Competency: 8. Builds relationships and teams
• Secondary Competency: 12. Continues to learn, grow and transform

Scientists for the first time have tried editing a gene inside the body in a bold attempt to permanently change a person’s DNA to cure a disease.

David Narrow said the life of an entrepreneur is fast-paced and at times very stressful, but he has never loved any job more.

His medical technology firm, Sonavex, recently raised $3 million and took up new office space in Canton. The company is currently working on commercializing its product, which uses ultrasound technology to detect potentially harmful, post-surgical blood clots. 

Date: Thursday, November 30, 2017

Location: Inova Center for Personalized Health3225 Gallows Road, Fairfax, VA 22031

Technology innovation continues to accelerate at an exponential rate, constantly outpacing the status quo and redefining limitations. Personal healthcare stands to benefit from these newfound opportunities.

Happiness changes over the course of your life.

There is "scientific evidence that people get happier as they get older," according to a Bank of America Merrill Lynch report that analyzed Nielsen data. "While there are differing theories as to why this is, most agree that it is an acceptance of aging that promotes contentedness."

It just wouldn’t feel like a Friday without some Trump cabinet intrigue so with that in mind, Alex Azar, the former president of Lilly’s U.S. business, has been tipped to be the next Secretary of Health and Human Services, according to Bloomberg. If he’s approved, Azar would succeed Tom Price, who resigned from the post amidst fallout over the cost of his extensive use of government travel via military and private jets.

AstraZeneca and its Maryland-based biologics research and development arm, MedImmune, announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency has adopted a positive opinion, recommending benralizumab as an add-on maintenance treatment in adult patients with a type of severe asthma.

University System of Maryland (USM) Chancellor Robert L. Caret was elected chair today of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) Board of Directors.  He succeeds University of Virginia President Teresa A. Sullivan.

Inova Health System's venture capital arm has been busy over the last year.

Since starting Inova Strategic Investments, Inova has closed three new direct company investments and two fund investments.

For the first time, the Food and Drug Administration has approved a digital pill — a medication embedded with a sensor that can tell doctors whether, and when, patients take their medicine.

The University of Maryland was honored for its contributions to the economic development of the community at the 2017 Innovation & Economic Prosperity (IEP) University Awards by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU). As winner of the Economic Engagement Connections Award, IEP’s top prize, and the Place Award. UMD is the first two-time winner of the Connections Award, and the first institution to garner both a category award and the Connections Award in the same year. The award winners were announced at the the 2017 APLU Annual Meeting on Nov. 12, 2017. 

A wave of disappointing third-quarter results and clinical trial failures by the largest biotechs in late October 2017 signaled to some the start of another market swoon, akin to the one that dented share prices starting in late 2015 through 2016.

The Association of University Research Parks (AURP) announces the University of Maryland’s Discovery District as the host for the AURP annual International Conference, to be held in College Park, Md., October 22- 26, 2018.

Billionaire Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is to invest $50 million in the Dementia Discovery Fund, a venture capital fund that brings together industry and government to seek treatments for the brain-wasting disease.

It is hard for most us to imagine what life in the shadow of the Berlin Wall was like for citizens of Soviet-controlled East Berlin and NATO-aligned West Berlin. It divided not just a city, but families, communities, and, indeed, a whole nation. Although the wall completely encircled the democratic and free city of West Berlin, for the unlucky citizens of East Berlin it was a prison – complete with guard towers, anti-vehicle trenches and fakir beds lining its notorious “death strip.”

United Therapeutics is set to take a big step forward in its plans to pursue advances in the field of organ transplantation thanks to a new partnership with the University of Maryland. The company has announced a $24 million research partnership that will help the school establish a center specializing in cardiac xenotransplantation research, the first of its kind in the US.

Partners HealthCare System has raised has raised $171 million for a second innovation fund targeting seed stage investments in life science startups, according to a news release.  The Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital each committed $50 million for the fund.

The University of Maryland dedicates the new A. James Clark Hall today, a 184,000-square-foot facility that will catalyze engineering innovation and bioengineering breakthroughs and serve as a hub for new partnerships and collaborations throughout the Baltimore-Washington region. A. James Clark Hall is the only space in the nation dedicated to bioengineering and the translation of health-related products that incorporates FDA-funded Centers of Excellence in both Regulatory Science and Pediatric Device Innovation.