SPARK programs across Europe gathered at a meeting and exhibition to spotlight their innovative solutions for unmet clinical challenges, demonstrating the power of collaboration and perseverance. At the SPARK Europe Showcase on March 13 and 14, 2025 in Birmingham, UK, 77 projects pitched their preclinical stage assets to investors from across the continent for investment […]
Author Archives: Mary Romeo
SPARK Taiwan highlights 10 years of translational successes
SPARK Taiwan has overcome hurdles in the country to advance biomedical discovery and development, and over the last 10 years has provided education and tools to academics and researchers to help advance new drugs, devices and technologies. This successful program was recently highlighted in an article in Nature Biotechnology, demonstrating how SPARK Taiwan has contributed […]
SPARK Africa innovates at annual conference
SPARK Africa held its annual conference in August 2024 at Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique, to come together to work on healthcare issues affecting Africans. At the conference, SPARK African innovators met with researchers from SPARK GLOBAL and its members SPARK Stanford and University of Pittsburgh to help spearhead local projects addressing unmet needs and challenges […]
SPARK Poland accepting applications
The SPARK Poland program is open for applications from 17 February to 20 March 2025. The program is in response to the high demand for development of biomedical projects in Poland. In 2023 alone, a record number of 784 applications for the commencement of clinical trials were registered in Poland. The dynamic development of clinical […]
SPARK Western Switzerland launches
The SPARK Western Switzerland program has officially launched, joining the prestigious SPARK GLOBAL organization, a network of local programs at academic institutions supporting the translation of innovative ideas into healthcare solutions. Headquartered at the Innovation Office of the University of Basel, SPARK Western Switzerland offers a one-year pre-incubation program to empower academic researchers and early-stage […]
Study reveals ERK signaling insights in melanoma
The team of Dr. Stjepan Uldrijan, an alumni SPARKee from the Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, published a study in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences revealing the key role of the eIF4F protein complex in regulating the ERK signaling pathway in malignant melanoma, suggesting new possibilities for melanoma treatment. This pathway, essential […]
SPARK China joins SPARK GLOBAL
The SPARK China initiative has officially launched in China, joining the prestigious SPARK GLOBAL organization, a network of local programs at academic institutions supporting the translation of innovative ideas into healthcare solutions. On November 13, 2024, the SPARK China inauguration ceremony was held at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, marking the official establishment of SPARK China. […]
SPARK Calgary expands to become SPARK Alberta
The SPARK program based out of the University of Calgary’s W21C Research and Innovation Centre has now expanded to the province-wide SPARK Alberta thanks to a new grant from Alberta Innovates. Now digital health researchers at Alberta institutions have access to expert support to help translate innovative ideas into improved care for patients. “Our aim […]
SPARK Africa initiative launches at collaborative meeting
As scientists in Africa look to build their own biotechnology ecosystem, SPARK at Stanford in collaboration with the African Institute of Biomedical Science and Technology (AIBST) held a multi-day educational bootcamp and conference on March 27-31, 2023 to bring African scientists together and launch the SPARK Africa initiative to support African innovation. Held in beautiful […]
SPARK GLOBAL welcomes new programs
SPARK GLOBAL is excited to announce that two new international programs have officially joined the network! In January, SPARK Denmark was established at five of Denmark’s largest universities thanks to a grant of 44 million DKK from Novo Nordisk Foundation. SPARK Denmark includes the University of Copenhagen, Aarhus University, Aalborg University, the University of Southern […]