Northeastern University

<p>Northeastern University’s Center for Research Innovation (CRI) is an impact driven initiative bridging the gap between laboratory research and need-based solutions. The CRI serves as the University-wide portal between industry and leading-edge innovations from Northeastern’s use-inspired research portfolio.</p>
<p>Over the past seven years, research activity at Northeastern has more than doubled. Northeastern’s cutting edge faculty focus their use-inspired research on solving the nation’s greatest challenges in health, security, and sustainability. The Center for Research Innovation connects private companies with the researchers and inventions that meet their business needs – now and in the rapidly evolving future. Our team of professionals all have business and entrepreneurial experience. We strive for a high level of responsiveness and service, moving with speed and flexibility.</p>
<p><strong>Industry Connections:</strong></p>
<p>The CRI is the University’s bridge to industry. We are continuously building relationships with companies to identify their key technology needs and to explore opportunities for collaboration. Our network spans across industry, from the Life Sciences to the Physical Sciences. The CRI aims not only to license individual technologies, but to form long standing partnerships with industry, leveraging the core competencies of our faculty and students.</p>
<p><strong>Collaboration Benefits:</strong></p>
<p>The CRI aims to move beyond the standard paradigm of one-off licenses, focusing instead on forming long-term relationships with industry. We look to assist companies with their ongoing technology needs, leveraging the expertise of our faculty. Collaborating partners can expect flexible terms and IP policy, “high touch” and responsive service, world leading research and development and access to Northeastern resources, including use of labs and equipment.</p>
<p><strong>Research Capabilities:</strong></p>
<p>Northeastern has cutting-edge research in areas such as the Life Sciences, Nanotechnology and Network Research. The CRI can arrange briefings from faculty whose research aligns with your key corporate priorities.</p>
<p>The CRI team is agile and responsive – focused on the translation of University innovations into tangible solutions through licenses, spinouts and collaborations. Our dedication to establishing ongoing dialogue with industry informs Northeastern’s progressive research, enabling a productive balance between exploration and implementation.</p>


<h1 id="background">Background</h1>
<p>Infectious diseases in fish caused by bacteria and viruses are a significant economic problem for aquaculture around the world. While antibiotics have historically been used to treat diseases caused by bacterial infections, immunization offers an efficient means of preventing numerous infectious diseases without leading to medication resistance or environmental safety issues, as shown by antibiotic overuse. Existing antigens in the market are of two types – inactive or attenuated whole pathogens, and protein or nucleic acid-based subunit vaccines. These existing approaches, however, have several drawbacks that make them unsuitable for use in aquaculture applications. These include weak immunogenicity, and a requirement for oil-based adjuvants that have a precariously high inflammatory response, which result in harmful physiological and morphological consequences in the fish. Some of these consequences are growth penalty, residue issues, adhesion formation and pigmentation around the site of injection. A novel method for vaccine formulation that improves animal welfare while also addressing potency, deploying ease, cost-effectiveness is needed.</p>
<h1 id="technology-overview">Technology Overview</h1>
<p>Northeastern researchers have invented a novel vaccine formulation using synthetic biology to co-administer a product with existing inactivated bacterial vaccines. This novel product provides increased protection to the vaccine and the fish, preventing any harmful consequence that may otherwise be caused by other adjuvants. In this technology, programmed <em>E. coli</em> will synthesize a molecule that targets interferon genes. Inactivated <em>E. coli</em> will then be utilized to deliver this molecule along with existing vaccines in the market. The cost of manufacturing is reduced with the use of <em>E. coli</em>, and the molecule targets a pathway that helps mount effective antibody and cellular responses.</p>
<h1 id="benefits">Benefits</h1>
<ul>
<li>Novel adjuvant to increase safety and potency of existing vaccines, easily incorporable.</li>
<li>Easily deployable, cost-effective method </li>
<li>No harmful consequences to fish</li>
</ul>
<h1 id="applications">Applications</h1>
<ul>
<li>Seafood industry – especially salmons </li>
<li>Supplements industry – higher yield of omega-3 fatty acids through healthier salmons</li>
</ul>
<h1 id="opportunity">Opportunity</h1>
<p>Seeking licensee and/or industry partners</p>
