ESF and Ichor Life Sciences team up to combat age-related illness

LaFayette, N.Y. —The State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) and Ichor Life Sciences (formerly Ichor Therapeutics) are partnering to train graduate students in researching drugs that could combat age-related illnesses.

The educational component will occur at ESF, where students will focus on biochemistry, chemistry or bioprocess engineering. Their laboratory research will primarily occur at the facilities of Ichor Life Sciences in nearby LaFayette, New York. Ichor Life Sciences is a premium pre-clinical contract research organization offering services in discovery through pharmacology.

The scientific study of human aging has exploded in recent years, driven by a growing understanding of age-related disease and associated molecular pathways. The use of drugs for targeted purposes, such as selectively destroying toxic senescent (aging) cells, has been identified as a method for increasing mammalian lifespan. This has led to a demand for qualified post-graduate-level scientists to support emerging companies, such as Ichor Life Sciences.

The low cost of living in Central New York, combined with affordable real estate and access to intellectual capital and core facilities from nearby universities, has allowed Syracuse-based companies to maximize the impact of investment dollars while building out physical laboratory space.

“Central New York is a prime location for start-up and established companies in the life sciences,” said Kelsey Moody, CEO at Ichor Life Sciences. “ESF has been an incredible collaborator throughout our growth on numerous fronts, spanning product formulation, bioprocess/manufacturing and mechanistic studies. We are eager to further build our relationship with ESF through the launch of this initiative.”

Dr. Chris Nomura, vice president of research at ESF, said, “This initiative will allow graduate students to leverage their work experience at Ichor with the scientific expertise of the world-class faculty at ESF. This represents an ideal industrial-academic collaboration.”