The 2022 Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) Innovation Award has been given two teams in the University of Wisconsin-Madison. One of the winning team includes Sara McCoy, associate professor of medicine; Miriam Shelef, associate professor of medicine; Michael Newton, chair of biostatistics and medical informatics; and statistics graduate student Zihao Zheng for their work, Innovative New Diagnostic Test for Sjögren’s Syndrome.
This cross-disciplinary team developed a new diagnostic assay for Sjögren’s syndrome, a rheumatic disease that affects 4 million Americans. The new test is based on their discovery of novel autoantibodies that are relevant to the progression of the disease and replaces the need for a painful lip biopsy.
Meet the medical team and statisticians making it less painful to diagnose a debilitating autoimmune disorder. (https://www.warf.org/videos/innovative-new-diagnostic-test-for-sjogrens-syndrome-2022-warf-innovation-awards-nominee/)
An independent panel of judges selected the winners from a field of six finalists drawn from several hundred invention disclosures submitted to WARF over the prior 12 months. The winning teams each receive an award of $10,000, with the funds going to the named UW-Madison inventors.“Our Innovation Awards recognize some of the most exciting early-stage discoveries on campus,” says Erik Iverson, CEO of WARF. “We’re pleased to celebrate the nominees and the transformative work taking place across the UW-Madison community.”
Congratulations to Michael Newton and Zihao Zheng!