Aline Betancourt | |
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Academic background | |
Education | Tulane, Georgetown University |
Academic work | |
Institutions | Tulane University |
Aline M. Betancourt is an American biochemist, [1] an associate professor of medicine and microbiology at Tulane University. Betancourt works on developing mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) based therapies, [2] and is the CSO and founder of two companies aimed at producing clinical products using this technology.
She received a B.S. in Biochemistry from Tulane University, a Ph.D. in Microbiology from Georgetown University, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Health- National Cancer Institute. [1] She joined the Tulane faculty in 1997. [1] She has worked on mesenchymal stem cells over the last two decades. [2]
Betancourt's research focuses on the environments of tumors, including their oxygen-sensing mechanisms, genes that regulate oxygen pathways, RNA binding proteins, and angiogenesis. Tumor angiogenesis (formation of new blood vessels) depends on a balance between tumor-dependent angiogenic factors like VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor). By leveraging this dependence of growing tumor cells, she has worked to trigger hypoxia and control this normal physiologic process. [2] Her most cited publications are:
Betacourt was the founder of Commence Bio; it was begun in 2010, as WibiWorks Therapeutics, Inc. with the name changed to Commence Bio in 2016. [4] [5] The company hopes to develop treatments for cancer and inflammatory diseases by using |mesenchymal stem cells. [5] [6] Their work focused on rebooting patients' immune systems with MSC1 & MSC2. She worked with a research team including Ruth S. Waterman to develop the proprietary Stimulated Toll-like Receptor Technology (STaRT). [7] which programs MSCs to act in either an anti-tumor (MSC1) or anti-inflammatory (MSC2) capacity. This takes advantage of Toll-Like Receptors (TLR), naturally occurring molecules that the body's innate immune system uses to sense and respond to invading microbes. [7] STaRT stimulates TLR3 to generate MSC2 cells and TLR4 to generate MSC1 cells. This platform is intended to be used for the treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases. [5] The product is still in the pre-clinical stages. [8]
Betacourt is also the founder of VITAbolus, [2] founded in 2018 in San Diego. based [2] [8] The firm plans to make stem cell treatment readily available via stem cell pills, where the anti-inflammatory stem cells are delivered directly to the intestines and colon within protected capsules. [2] Their current project is intended to be the first oral stem cell pill for Crohn’s disease. [9] They are currently only in the pre-clinical stage. [8]
Aline Betancourt | |
---|---|
Academic background | |
Education | Tulane, Georgetown University |
Academic work | |
Institutions | Tulane University |
Aline M. Betancourt is an American biochemist, [1] an associate professor of medicine and microbiology at Tulane University. Betancourt works on developing mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) based therapies, [2] and is the CSO and founder of two companies aimed at producing clinical products using this technology.
She received a B.S. in Biochemistry from Tulane University, a Ph.D. in Microbiology from Georgetown University, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Health- National Cancer Institute. [1] She joined the Tulane faculty in 1997. [1] She has worked on mesenchymal stem cells over the last two decades. [2]
Betancourt's research focuses on the environments of tumors, including their oxygen-sensing mechanisms, genes that regulate oxygen pathways, RNA binding proteins, and angiogenesis. Tumor angiogenesis (formation of new blood vessels) depends on a balance between tumor-dependent angiogenic factors like VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor). By leveraging this dependence of growing tumor cells, she has worked to trigger hypoxia and control this normal physiologic process. [2] Her most cited publications are:
Betacourt was the founder of Commence Bio; it was begun in 2010, as WibiWorks Therapeutics, Inc. with the name changed to Commence Bio in 2016. [4] [5] The company hopes to develop treatments for cancer and inflammatory diseases by using |mesenchymal stem cells. [5] [6] Their work focused on rebooting patients' immune systems with MSC1 & MSC2. She worked with a research team including Ruth S. Waterman to develop the proprietary Stimulated Toll-like Receptor Technology (STaRT). [7] which programs MSCs to act in either an anti-tumor (MSC1) or anti-inflammatory (MSC2) capacity. This takes advantage of Toll-Like Receptors (TLR), naturally occurring molecules that the body's innate immune system uses to sense and respond to invading microbes. [7] STaRT stimulates TLR3 to generate MSC2 cells and TLR4 to generate MSC1 cells. This platform is intended to be used for the treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases. [5] The product is still in the pre-clinical stages. [8]
Betacourt is also the founder of VITAbolus, [2] founded in 2018 in San Diego. based [2] [8] The firm plans to make stem cell treatment readily available via stem cell pills, where the anti-inflammatory stem cells are delivered directly to the intestines and colon within protected capsules. [2] Their current project is intended to be the first oral stem cell pill for Crohn’s disease. [9] They are currently only in the pre-clinical stage. [8]