In 2022, MIT and Northpond Labs formed a five-year strategic alliance and committed $12 million to create the MIT-Northpond Program – Advancing Life Science & Engineering Innovation to support impactful research with strong translational potential. Northpond Labs is the research and development-focused affiliate of Northpond Ventures, a leading science and technology-driven venture capital firm with investment interests spanning the areas of biotherapeutics, digital health technologies, diagnostics, research tools, and synthetic biology.
Centered within the Department of Biological Engineering, this program identifies 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 also supports postdoctoral fellows working at the intersection of engineering and life science and provides 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 for translational research projects, moving from proof-of-concept to commercialization.
- Support for postdoctoral fellows in the Department of Biological Engineering through the School of Engineering’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program for Excellence, with an emphasis on underrepresented groups, including women. Faculty
mentors will also receive support.
- Discretionary support to the School of Engineering for critical work and advancements in the life sciences.
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.
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.