Obatala Sciences partnered with CellSpring and STEM NOLA to organize a series of workshops for high school students to be exposed to scientific research. Over the course of three Saturday sessions May 8, 15 and 22, students received comprehensive lab exposure to the work at both companies involving tissue engineering, stem cell research (stem cells isolated from adult fat tissue), and preclinical evaluation of potential therapeutics. Students learned the route that new medicines and treatments take to the clinic and the steps that ensure they are safe. Further, students learned the role that tissue engineering plays in improving the testing of new drugs.
Obatala® COO Serves as Mentor for Tulane Novel Tech Challenge
Obatala Sciences' COO, David Bode, served as a mentor to the DAWn Team in the 2020-2021 Tulane Novel Tech Challenge. The Novel Tech Challenge is a collaboration between different departments of Tulane University: the Office of Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property Development, the School of Science and Engineering, and the Lepage Center for Entrepreneurshp and Innovation, that allows students to develop and iterate new technologies and identify if there is a market opportunity for their innovations. The competition connects students to mentors and resources such as intellectual property attorneys to help them commercialize their technology. The Burton D. Morgan Foundation provides $20,000 in prizes to finalists.
The DAWn team built a cloud network to allow for remote collaboration of recording engineers who use digital audio workstations. The team consisted of Class of 2021 Engineering and Physics students: Leo Simanonok, Kaitlyn Miller, Sam Matluck, Jake Gus, Diego Pinzon. The DAWn project took 2nd place in the year long competition.
Obatala® COO Volunteers for Lepage Center Student Venture Accelerator Program
David Bode, Obatala's Chief Operations Officer, was asked to volunteer with the Albert Lepage Cneter for Entrepreneurship and Innovation the conclusion of the Student Venture Accelerator Program, a unique class taught by the LePage Center's Director, Rob Lalka. As a graduate of the A.B. Freeman School of Business, David enjoyed giving his time to help promising entrepreneurs complete their educational journey. He served as a mock board member of a venture backed company and probed the students' ideas and plans for their startup company.
Obatala® CEO Speaks to students at Tulane University
Dr. Trivia Frazier, Obatala Sciences CEO and Co-Founder spoke to students at Tulane University's School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine on April 20, 2021 as a part of the Thought Symposium: Guest Speaker Series. She was joined by Luis Belen, the Executive Director of NHIT: National Health IT Collaborative for the Underserved, and Dr. Adam Glasofer, the Head of US Public Sector Healthcare Venture Capital and Startups for Amazon Web Services.
Obatala CEO and Co-Founder Speaks to LSU Students about STEM Careers
Dr. Trivia Frazier joined other STEM professionals to share their perspective on building a career in academia, law, communication, public service, and entrepreneurship. Other speakers included Joseph Chaney, Kevin Dietz, Paula Estrada de Marting, Tara Henning, and Jacqueline Steenhuis.
Dr. Frazier to Assist Mayor of New Orleans in Stimulus Task Force
Dr. Trivia Frazier will serve as co-chair of a 28-member stimulus task force convened by New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell that will assist her in determining the best use of the $375 Million that New Orleans received as a part of the American Rescue Plan.
Obatala® CSO Meets with Congressional Representatives to Advocate for NIH
Dr. Jeffrey Gimble joined with other members of American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) to participate in ASBMR Hill Day to advocate for funding for The National Institutes of Health. He met with congressional representatives from Louisiana to inform them of the important need for continued funding of the NIH in areas besides COVID-19 research.
Director of Cell Biology Wins Best Poster at Tissue Engineering Summit
Dr. Michael Henderson presented a poster at the Tissue Engineering Summit hosted by Prellis Bio from March 24-26 and won the award for best poster at the conference.
Tissue Engineer Moderates Big Idea Pitch at NOEW
Emma Rogers, Obatala's Tissue Engineering Research Scientist, served as a moderator for the IdeaPitch, the culminating event of the annual New Orlean Entrepreneur Week, presented by Idea Village. Obatala is so proud to be a part of the growing startup community of Southeast Louisiana and is a strong supporter of the Idea Village's work and mission.
Obatala® Team Published New Manuscript
Our scientific team published a new paper in collaboartion with researchers at Xavier University, Louisiana State University, Penn State University, Tulane University, Delgado Community College, and the Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research that discusses the ideal characteristics of a microphysiological system (MPS) to model human breast cancer.
Obatala Sciences™ investment from Elevate Capital featured in WSJ
Obatala recently closed an investment from Elevate Capital, a Venture Capital fund based in Portland, Oregon. Yuliya Chernova of the Wall Street Journal covered the firm's announcement of a $26.0 million first close of the Elevate Fund II to enhance its efforts to support underserved minority and women entrepreneurs with early-stage funding. With Fund II now officially launched, Elevate has already lined up six investments, all of which are led by Black founders and CXOs. More information on the fund can be found on their website.
Obatala Sciences™ Partners with React4Life for Webinar
Obatala Sciences is partnering with Italian company, React4Life, to present a webinar on February 18, 2021 at 9:30EST/8:30CST on 3D tissue models for preclinical in vitro assays.
React4life has patented the MIVO® - Multi In-Vitro Organ device which provides a multiple fluidic circulation and multi-chamber system for culturing cells in vitro resembling the real tissues complexity.
Obatala Sciences offers the first commercially available human derived 3D culture scaffold, ObaGel™, an innovative product designed to overcome the translational barrier between animal models and clinical response.
Register here to reserve your place: https://bit.ly/3cg1QJL.
Obatala Sciences™ adds to Staff
Obatala Sciences is proud to announce that we have hired Michael Landry as our CFO & General Counsel. Michael received his JD and MBA from Tulane University and his BA in economics and philosophy from Syracuse University. Before pursuing a business career, he practiced disability and federal administrative law. Prior to joining Obatala Sciences, Michael advised health IT, pharmaceutical, and biotech startups (including Obatala) as a consultant and at the New Orleans BioInnovation Center. Michael leads Obatala Sciences’ financial and legal operations.
Obatala Sciences™ secures investment from Ochsner Health
We are so proud to officially announce an investment from Healthcare Innovation Fund II, which has Ochsner Health, Ochsner Lafayette General, Acadian Companies, and the William C. Shumacher Family Foundation as investors. This investment not only provides capital for our company to continue to grow, but also access to incredible health care experts who can provide valuable advice on our future growth!
LED Selects Obatala Sciences™ as Lantern Award Winner
Louisiana Economic Development chose Obatala Sciences as the Lantern Award Winner for the Southeast Region. LED's Lantern Award winners are "selected by Louisiana’s Regional Planning and Development Districts, based on the contributions of the manufacturers to their communities, including investments in employment growth and facility expansion. Each business also must demonstrate sustainability by remaining in operation at least three years prior to the nomination." We are so honored to join the other companies in our state in receiving this award!
Obatala Sciences™ wins 3rd Place in Ignite Fire Pitch
Our CEO, Dr. Trivia Frazier, presented at the 2020 Ignite Fire Pitch and Obatala Sciences® was selected as the 3rd place in the pitch competition. Our whole team wishes to congratulate all the other participants, but in particular, the winner and our fellow New Orleans entrepreneur, Dr. Sunyoung Kim, CEO of Chosen Diagnostics.
Dr. Trivia Frazier Chosen as NOLA TECH 30 Honoree
NOLAvate Black is an organization focused on making the technology industry in New Orleans more Diverse and Inclusive. As a part of this iniative, NOLAvate Black selects 30 tech leaders each year to showcase the strength of the Black Community in New Orleans Tech Scene. We are proud that our CEO, Dr. Trivia Frazier was included as a 2020 Honoree!
CEO recently served as a pitch competition judge
Dr. Frazier, our CEO and cofounder, was a judge in the 2020 Virtual New Orleans Health Innovators Challenge presented by the New Orleans Business Alliance. The competition worked to create strategic partnerships between top emerging companies and local health system leaders.
Obatala Sciences™ Products are now on Quartzy!
Search for Obatala Sciences on Quartzy to check out our line of products, ranging from our robust fat-on-a-chip model to our uniquely sourced and diverse stem cells and culture media. Let us know if there are any other platforms you currently use that you would like to see us on!
CSO will present at upcoming Regenerative Medicine Conference
Dr. Jeffery Gimble will be speaking online December 12th at 12:45 EST at the Eleventh International Conference of Regenerative Medicine. He will discuss the uses of experimental biological hydrogels for regenerative surgery in the wound healing portion of the conference. Registration is free and open to the public!