The Blavatnik Fund for Innovation at Yale – Blavatnik Family Foundation

BLAVATNIK FAMILY FOUNDATION GIVES ADDITIONAL $40 MILLION TO YALE INNOVATION FUND

Posted on September 6, 2023 (September 7, 2023) by Christine Ongsueng

The Blavatnik Family Foundation, whose historic gift in 2016 helped create what has become Yale’s flagship life science accelerator, has made an additional $40 million donation that will increase the number of research awards available to Yale scientists, support a wider range of biomedical innovations, and reach deeper into the Yale community to support new and innovative research. Run by Yale Ventures, a campus-wide initiative that supports innovation at Yale, the Blavatnik Fund for Innovation at Yale creates a bridge between early-stage, innovative research and the development of high-impact biomedical products and health technologies through the support of start-ups and industry partnerships. Since its launch, the Blavatnik Fund for Innovation at Yale has stimulated biomedical entrepreneurship across the Yale community. So far, it has supported 63 distinct projects through more than $20 million in direct funding for research and fellowships. This funding has resulted in the creation of 19 spinoff companies that have raised $254 million in venture and non-dilutive funding, 3 projects that have achieved FDA Investigational New Drug (IND) status, and 4 clinical trials have been initiated. […]

Blavatnik Fund Invests in Technology for the Diagnosis of Heart Disease

Posted on June 5, 2023 (June 19, 2023) by Christine Ongsueng

What differentiates the Blavatnik Fund for Innovation at Yale is the opportunity to work with consultants to further develop and promote Yale faculty-led projects. This year’s awardees include Rohan Khera, MD, MS, an assistant professor of medicine (cardiovascular medicine) and biostatistics (health informatics) at the Yale School of Medicine. The project, ENSIGHT-AI, focuses on enhancing the detection capabilities of electrocardiograms (ECGs), by identifying signatures of structural heart diseases, which currently require advanced cardiac imaging. The innovative work of the CarDS Lab has received significant recognition. The $300,000 from the Blavatnik Fund for Innovation at Yale awarded to Khera, […]

THE BLAVATNIK FUND FOR INNOVATION AT YALE AWARDS $2.5 MILLION TO 11 YALE FACULTY-LED PROJECTS DEVELOPING NEW THERAPEUTICS AND HEALTH TECHNOLOGIES

Posted on May 23, 2023 (September 8, 2023) by Christine Ongsueng

Yale Ventures is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2023 Blavatnik Awards: 11 new Yale faculty-led projects will receive $2.5 million in accelerator funding. The Blavatnik Fund for Innovation at Yale, made possible by a generous grant from the Blavatnik Family Foundation, supports Yale faculty in the commercialization of biomedical and digital health innovations. This year’s recipients will be recognized at a ceremony during the 2023 Yale Innovation Summit on June 1. Since the Fund’s launch in 2017, it has supported 56 projects with a total of $16.3 million in funding. Yale-Blavatnik-funded projects have resulted in 14 spinoff companies that have raised over $250 million in venture funding, and three funded projects have achieved FDA Investigational New Drug (IND) status. […]

Eight Yale Faculty Take Home Awards at the 2022 Yale Life Sciences Pitchfest

Posted on December 12, 2022 (January 17, 2023) by Christine Ongsueng

The 2022 Yale Life Science Pitchfest held on December 8, 2022 featured 31 Yale faculty innovators presenting breakthrough research projects in therapeutics, medical devices, and digital health to a crowd of over 325 people from 120+ companies, including 14 industry judges. Held in person at Alexion Pharmaceuticals in downtown New Haven, Yale Life Sciences Pitchfest serves as the quarterfinals for The Blavatnik Fund for Innovation at Yale. The Fund, supported by a grant from The Blavatnik Family Foundation, is a Yale Ventures accelerator for Yale faculty that supports the commercialization of applied research and technology in the life sciences. Since its inception over 7 years ago, The Blavatnik Fund for Innovation at Yale has funded 46 early-stage life science projects resulting in the creation of 12 ventures that have collectively raised $210M, many of which call New Haven home. […]

Meet the Yale Ventures Associates & Fellows, Class of 2022-2023

Posted on November 30, 2022 (January 17, 2023) by Christine Ongsueng

Each year Yale Ventures recruits students to work as innovation fellows and associates to support Yale faculty entrepreneurs. Blavatnik Associates are graduate and professional school students who provide both technical and business insights for faculty life science projects that are current awardees or being considered for support by the Blavatnik Fund for Innovation. These associates work closely with Blavatnik Fellows, experienced biotech professionals who work full-time as members of the Yale Ventures team. […]

Innovation through collaborations

Posted on November 1, 2022 (January 17, 2023) by Christine Ongsueng

Still, we can have an even greater influence—not just in life sciences, but across technology, climate solutions, quantum computing, and more. To reach this potential, Yale Ventures is growing the ways it supports faculty members. For example, a generous gift earlier this year from Yale alumnus Will Roberts ’90 launched a new accelerator, the Roberts Innovation Fund, which provides grant funding, mentoring, and business training to support breakthrough inventions by engineering faculty members. Earlier, a generous gift by Len Blavatnik created a similar accelerator for the life sciences, the Blavatnik Fund for Innovation at Yale. Of course, students are also a vital part of innovation, and both the Roberts and Blavatnik funds include programs for them. […]