No sharks in these waters! Harvard's Office of Technology Development and LabCentral invite you to the latest event in the Guppy Tank series, where two teams of Harvard life-science innovators will pitch their super-early-stage concepts to a panel of entrepreneurs and investors for constructive, in-depth feedback.

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Please join us on April 30 from 4 to 6 p.m. to learn from experts on startup formation and participate in giving audience feedback. The event is accompanied by a networking reception.

Presenters will include projects from the labs of Prof. Dragana Rogulja at Harvard Medical School and Prof. James Mitchell at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Innovation Team 1:
I can’t believe it’s not CR!
James Mitchell, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Calorie restriction (CR) is well established as a means to improve health, but it is difficult for most people to abide. This prevents CR from being meaningfully applied by patients to access the numerous clinical benefits that have been demonstrated in prospective human trials including reduced aging rate, prevention of neurodegenerative disorders, and improved glucose and lipid homeostasis. Recent findings demonstrate that many benefits of CR are due to a decreased intake of protein or essential amino acids (EAA), not necessarily a reduction in overall calories consumed. For the general public interested in weight loss and improved metabolic health, without CR, we envision a total replacement diet in the form of individual daily meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks) that alternately eliminates individual EAAs to induce the beneficial low-protein metabolic state.

The team is seeking input regarding the relative value of various clinical approaches, product strategy, and potential partnership priorities.

Innovation Team 2:
I don’t want to go to bed!
Dragana Rogulja and Alex Vaccaro, Harvard Medical School

Sleep is an ancient and conserved behavior, common to most complex organisms and required for survival and health. Surprisingly, to date, little has been known about the biological processes associated with sleep deprivation. Our innovation team conducted exhaustive studies to identify and characterize sleep deprivation damage and, importantly, demonstrated that it can be readily prevented. Drawing on these striking findings, we are developing nutritional supplements and foods to minimize the negative health impact in those individuals who cannot sleep more or choose to sleep less.

The team is seeking input regarding the ideal commercialization and product strategy, and potential partnership opportunities.