July 13, 2021

Harrington Discovery Institute Announces 2021 Scholar-Innovator Award Recipients

Eight physician-scientists from U.S. and Canada selected for novel treatments in numerous major disease areas

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio, today announced the 2021 class of Harrington Scholar-Innovators. The scholar awards will support a diverse set of drug discovery projects including new treatments for multiple cancers, cardiovascular disease, Graft vs. Host disease, liver injury/fibrosis (NASH), Parkinson’s disease, and the emerging field of longevity and aging.

The Harrington Discovery Institute—part of The Harrington Project for Discovery & Development—was established in 2012 to accelerate the development of new treatments to address major unmet needs in medicine and society. Harrington Scholar-Innovators are accomplished physician-scientists whose research demonstrates innovation, creativity and potential for clinical impact. In addition to grant funding, Harrington provides guidance and oversight in all aspects of drug development through its Therapeutics Development Center, while taking no rights to intellectual property.

“We are incredibly inspired by the brilliant science demonstrated by these eight physician-scientists,” said Jonathan S. Stamler, MD, President of the Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals and Robert S. and Sylvia K. Reitman Family Foundation Distinguished Professor of Cardiovascular Innovation and Professor of Medicine and of Biochemistry at Case Western Reserve University. “In surrounding each Scholar with an experienced pharma and business development team with a track record of bringing new drugs to market, we are maximizing the therapeutic potential of great science.”

The selected Scholars have access to several rounds of capital (up to a total of $700,000) through their affiliation with the Harrington Discovery Institute, as well as facilitated access to our mission-aligned commercial partners Advent-Harrington Impact Fund and BioMotiv, and to our charitable partner Morgan Stanley GIFT Cures.

The 2021 Harrington Scholar-Innovator Award recipients, their organizations and fields of research are:

Jennifer Chen, MD – University of California, San Francisco
Reversing Liver Fibrosis

John Chorba, MD – University of California, San Francisco
A Novel Treatment for Atherosclerosis

Joseph Contessa, MD, PhD – Yale University
A New Target and Drug for Lung Cancer

Toren Finkel, MD, PhD – University of Pittsburgh
Anti-aging Agents

Maria Grazia Roncarolo, MD – Stanford University
New Cell Therapy for Transplantation

Aaron Schimmer, MD – University of Toronto
A Treatment for Multiple Cancers and Neurological Diseases

Jill Smith, MD – Georgetown University
A New Treatment for Pancreatic Cancer

Xinnan Wang, MD, PhD – Stanford University
Targeting and Treating Parkinson’s Disease