A biotechnology business pioneering comparative, computational, and translational genomics, Fauna Bio, announced collaboration with the University of Wisconsin OshKosh to speed the translation of human treatments identified via research into extreme mammal adaption. Fauna Bio's sponsorship of UW Oshkosh with $500,000 expands the University's capability for biomedical partnerships and helps promote the University as a destination for academics exploring innovative animal models and building systems to expedite the translation to treatments.
This partnership will advance the work already being done at UWO. It's an opportunity for our faculty to solidify their position as leaders in this field and to expand our educational opportunities for students."
Provost and Vice Chancellor at UW Oshkosh, Prof. John Koker, Ph.D.
It's well accepted that approaches to therapeutics discovery based on research using traditional animal models including mice and rats often fail because these animals do not accurately recapitulate human disease states. But there is enormous potential in studying animal models with natural disease resistance as an alternative strategy to treatment discovery, These efforts are historically under-supported and under-resourced despite the rise of available genomes and technologies to support translational science across a wide range of organisms. This partnership will create new educational opportunities to foster the next generation of scientists in regeneration and disease resistance from local scientific seminars to research and biotechnology internships for students."
Fauna Bio's Director of Emerging Animal Models and a UWO adjunct biology professor, Benjamin Sajdak, Ph.D.
Both Fauna Bio and UWO have established core expertise in the 13-lined ground squirrel (13-LGS), an animal that has exceptional resilience to human health concerns. Annually, the 13-LGS hibernates for about six months throughout the autumn and winter months. The 13-LGS will almost double their summer weight in preparation for hibernation, however despite their blood being very fatty and with restricted flow, they will survive many heart attacks and strokes. Both universities' researchers have made significant advances to genetics, biology, and neurology by researching this natural phenomena in 13-LGS.
The proposed effort would sustain, maintain, and increase the present UWO 13-LGS colony while pursuing a common goal of finding the protective mammalian genes that enable the 13-LGS to escape health concerns during hibernation. The 13-LGS will remain in the possession of UWO. The Fauna Bio pipeline intends to identify these genes and create medicines capable of exerting a significant protective impact against human disease states.
With the ability to prospectively design studies and collect samples at precise physiological time-points, the collaboration with UWO will enrich and enhance our own internal biobank datasets and no doubt lead to more novel insights on how species like the 13-lined ground squirrel resist developing human pathologies. This will help us develop more therapeutic programs and ultimately treat human diseases."
Fauna Bio's Chief Scientific Officer, Katharine Grabek.