MIT-Northpond Program Created to Advance Innovation in Engineering and Life Science

Cambridge, MA | June 15, 2022 — MIT School of Engineering and Northpond Ventures today announced the launch of the MIT-Northpond Program – Advancing Life Science & Engineering Innovation. The five-year engagement is funded through Northpond Labs, the research and development-focused affiliate of Northpond Ventures. The program aims to generate ideas in the life sciences by connecting Northpond’s experienced venture capital investors with MIT’s scientific entrepreneurs, advancing commercialization through close mentorship and collaboration.

Centered within the Department of Biological Engineering, the program will identify MIT researchers engaging in proof-of-concept research projects in the areas of diagnostics, R&D solutions, platforms for therapeutic solutions, biomanufacturing, and AI and software for treatment selection, all with the goal of commercializing their ideas.   

“This unique program was established with the intent to couple incredible advancements in engineering and biology with innovative entrepreneurial and business opportunities. There is tremendous potential for the MIT-Northpond Program to impact human health by accelerating and commercializing visionary breakthroughs in engineering and life science,” said Anantha P. Chandrakasan, dean of the MIT School of Engineering and Vannevar Bush Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

The MIT-Northpond Program will support postdoctoral fellows working at the intersection of engineering and life science and provide mentorship for faculty and students. The program will also provide funding to the School of Engineering for its work in the life sciences.  

“We are honored to be a part of this incredible collaboration and to have the opportunity to provide our faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and students working at the intersection of engineering and biology, with the chance to drive fundamental change and impact,” said Angela Belcher, head of the Department of Biological Engineering, the James Mason Crafts Professor of Biological Engineering and Materials Science, and member of the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research.

The MIT-Northpond Program will include the following:

• Funding up to five translational research projects per year, moving from proof-of-concept to commercialization.
  
• Supporting two postdoctoral fellows in the Department of Biological Engineering each year through the School of Engineering’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program for Excellence, with an emphasis on underrepresented groups, including women. Two faculty mentors will also receive support.
  
• Providing discretionary support to the School of Engineering for critical work and advancements in the life sciences. 

“We have a shared mission and vision to promote and advance science and engineering and to make a marked impact on humanity. We see ourselves as a part of an ecosystem with the potential to advance engineering, science, innovation, and entrepreneurship,” said Michael Rubin, founder and CEO of Northpond Ventures, who will also serve as a visiting scholar in the Department of Biological Engineering.

Ernest Fraenkel will serve as faculty lead for the MIT-Northpond Program. Fraenkel is a professor in the Department of Biological Engineering and a member of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and the Broad Institute. The program will also include a joint steering committee, comprised of members from both MIT and Northpond where Belcher and Rubin will serve as co-chairs.

“Through this program, we can provide transformational entrepreneurial and business opportunities to MIT’s incredible engineering and science talent,” said Sharon Kedar, co-founder and partner of Northpond Ventures. “Together, we will be able to impact humanity.”

About Northpond Ventures
Northpond Ventures is a multi-billion-dollar science-driven venture capital firm based in Cambridge, MA; San Francisco, CA; and Bethesda, MD. Northpond has been named one of the three most active lead biotech investors in 2021 by Crunchbase, and the most active lead investor in life science solutions and molecular diagnostics by Silicon Valley Bank. It is particularly engaged in the research ecosystem, having led over 50 financings over the past several years, a high percentage of which have an academic origin. Learn more at npv.vc.

Northpond Ventures
Isabella Rodriguez
irodriguez@cglife.com 
708-833-1572

About MIT School of Engineering
The MIT School of Engineering’s mission is to educate the next generation of engineering leaders, to create new knowledge, and to serve society. Learn more at engineering.mit.edu. 

MIT School of Engineering
Lori LoTurco
loturco@mit.edu
617-253-2264