UNE researcher’s biotech startup advances in $7 million NIH competition

A biotechnology startup co-founded by University of New England researcher Scott Wood, Ph.D., has been selected as one of 20 teams nationwide to advance in a $7 million National Institutes of Health competition focused on developing human-based alternatives to traditional animal models in biomedical research.

CellField Technologies, which Wood co-founded to commercialize technology developed through his academic research, was selected from more than 200 submissions for the NIH Common Fund’s Complement-ARIE New Approach Methodologies Reduction to Practice Challenge. Wood said CellField is one of only two selected teams focused on musculoskeletal research. 

Wood is director of Biotechnology Innovation and Training in UNE’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and an associate professor in the College of Osteopathic Medicine.

“This national recognition affirms the promise of our technology and gives us a clear path forward,” Wood said. “By validating what we have built and demonstrating its real-world potential, we can move closer to turning discoveries in the lab into tools that improve how new therapies are developed for patients.”

The NIH challenge is designed to accelerate new approach methodologies, or NAMs, that use human cells, tissues, computational tools, and other technologies to better predict human responses in biomedical research and drug development. These approaches can complement and, in some cases, replace animal models. 

CellField’s technology is built around laboratory models that recreate key structures and functions of human joints. Wood’s research team has previously developed an artificial model of the synovial membrane, the tissue that lines joints and plays an important role in diseases including osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. The system uses human cells and engineered materials to more closely mimic natural joint biology.

The broader goal is to develop a “joint on a chip” platform that researchers could use to screen potential drugs and better predict how they may affect people before entering clinical trials.

As part of the competition, CellField will pair its physical joint model with computational analysis to compare laboratory results against human data. The team aims to demonstrate that the platform can distinguish between safe and potentially harmful drug responses, establishing benchmarks that could eventually be used to evaluate new therapies. 

The competition also pushes participating teams beyond proof of concept toward technologies that can be reproduced, validated, and used outside the laboratories where they were developed. Wood said the goal is to establish that CellField’s platform is “repeatable,” “operable,” and “useful” for a clearly defined purpose. 

Each of the 20 teams selected for the first phase received $80,000. During Phase 2, up to 10 teams can earn $150,000 for successfully completing the first milestone, with up to seven receiving an additional $200,000 after the second milestone. The competition will culminate with three $500,000 runner-up awards and a $1 million grand prize. 

Wood conducts his research in the Portland Laboratory for Biotechnology and Health Sciences (PLBHS) on UNE’s Portland Campus for the Health Sciences. The interprofessional research facility brings together faculty working to understand the root causes of human disease and develop novel approaches to treatment while creating opportunities for industry collaboration and biotechnology workforce development. 

“UNE has made biotechnology an emerging area of strategic focus, building shared research infrastructure and a growing network of academic, healthcare, and industry collaborators to move discoveries from the laboratory toward practical application,” said Karen L. Houseknecht, Ph.D., vice president for Research and Innovation at UNE and senior associate provost. “Scott is a driving force in UNE’s growing biotechnology ecosystem, and we are proud to see his innovative work earn national recognition while representing UNE on a national stage.”

Beyond the PLBHS, strategic investments include the University’s two NIH-funded Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence, which have significantly expanded the University’s capacity for translational research, while the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the Office of Sponsored Programs are helping researchers explore intellectual property, startup development, industry partnerships, and other pathways to commercialization. 

For Wood, whose previously published research also describes cartilage and bone models, the NIH competition represents an important step toward moving a technology born in an academic laboratory closer to practical use in drug development.

“Our ambition is to help the most promising technologies in this field move beyond the laboratory and become trusted, regulatory-ready tools that transform how new therapies are developed and ultimately improve patients’ lives,” Wood said.