On April 9, 2025, 91社区 Interdisciplinary Initiative in Infection and Immunity (MI4) and the DNA to RNA Initiative (D2R) proudly co-sponsored the 8th edition of the Dragons鈥� Den event. This evening brought together 91社区 researchers to hone their pitching skills before an audience of philanthropically minded individuals, and peers who could learn alongside them.
We were honoured to welcome four distinguished judges that we dubbed 鈥淒ragons鈥� from the business world:
- Peter Guidote, Senior Wealth Advisor and Senior Portfolio Manager at Canaccord Genuity
- Marisa Giannetti, Real Estate and Corporate Law Attorney
- Elizabeth Steele, Portfolio Manager at Finmetrix Inc
- Michael Bucheit, CEO of Metro Optic
With infectious diseases threatening populations across the globe, MI4 and D2R have strategically centered this edition on rapid response and fundamental DNA-to-RNA translational projects. This focus allowed our presenters to showcase both urgent and foundational research pathways.
Each speaker was given a pitch challenge 鈥� in just 5 minutes, they had to answer four critical questions 鈥� The Opportunity, The Solution, The Ask, Why You and Your Team?
Seven outstanding researchers rose to the challenge:
- Erwin Schurr, 鈥淓xploring innate pulmonary resistance to poxvirus鈥�
- J枚rg Fritz, 鈥淭owards the future of mRNA vaccines鈥�
- Leo Liu, 鈥淩NA engines for next-gen vaccines鈥�
- Marcel Behr, 鈥淎 vaccine for zoonotic tuberculosis鈥�
- Lucienne Tritten, 鈥淯sing negative gut bacteria to release RNA therapeutics against intestinal nematode infections鈥�
- Momar Ndao, 鈥淎 vaccine against schistosomiasis鈥�
- Nicolas Moitessier, 鈥淏acterial RNA as a new target for antibiotics to combat multiresistance鈥�
MI4 and D2R would like to thank all presenters for their compelling presentations s and the Dragons for their thoughtful and insightful feedback.
Staying true to the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences鈥� commitment to world-class science, we continue prioritizing multifaceted approaches to interdisciplinary collaboration, research-driven innovation, and turning bold ideas into real-world impact.
