Cellectricon Announces Project Grant Winners

Cellectricon has announced the two winners of its Cellaxess® ACE project grant, supporting cutting-edge research in cell biology. The winners not only receive a Cellaxess ACE module and consumables, but will also benefit from Cellectricon’s on-going support and expertise throughout the project’s duration. Cellaxess ACE is a single electrode based electroporation system optimized for the in-situ transfection of all adherent cell types, which offers superior efficiency and cell viability due to minimal cell processing and the low voltages required.

The awards were granted for two categories: Applied Cell-Based Research and Basic Cell-Based Research. Dr Hakim Djaballah, Director of the HTS Core Facility, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre, New York, received the award for Applied Research. His project looks at small molecule delivery in 3D cell models using electroporation, benefiting from Cellectricon’s Cellaxess ACE technology to push the limits of compound delivery to all cells of a 3D spheroid, not just those at the periphery. In such a fast-paced research area, compound uptake in a 3D system has major implications for translational medicine. 

Exploring the intracellular delivery of Ca2+ channel peptides using the Cellaxess ACE, Dr Gary Stephens, Director of Pharmacology at the University of Reading School of Pharmacy, received the award for Basic Cell-based Research. The group has recently developed synthetic peptides for decreasing the Ca2+ influx into neurons, which therefore modulates synaptic transmission. Using the Cellaxess ACE to deliver these peptides will be instrumental in examining their modulatory effects in adherent neurons, potentially leading to therapeutic agents in areas such as pharmacoresistant pain. 

Dr Johan Pihl, Product Manager for the Cellaxess ACE, comments: “We were delighted with the response to our Cellaxess Project Grant – with so many highly qualified applications, choosing the winning abstracts was a tough decision. It’s going to be exciting to see how our Cellaxess technology enhances this cutting-edge research.”