Aline Betancourt

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Aline Betancourt
Academic background
EducationTulane, Georgetown University
Academic work
InstitutionsTulane 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.

Education[edit]

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]

Research[edit]

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:

  • Waterman RS, Tomchuck SL, Henkle SL, Betancourt AM. A new mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) paradigm: polarization into a pro-inflammatory MSC1 or an Immunosuppressive MSC2 phenotype. PLOS ONE. 2010 Apr 26;5(4):e10088. According to Google Scholar it has been cited 930 times.[3]
  • Bonvillain RW, Danchuk S, Sullivan DE, Betancourt AM, Semon JA, Eagle ME, Mayeux JP, Gregory AN, Wang G, Townley IK, Borg ZD. A nonhuman primate model of lung regeneration: detergent-mediated decellularization and initial in vitro recellularization with mesenchymal stem cells. Tissue Engineering Part A. 2012 Dec 1;18(23–24):2437-52.According to Google Scholar, it has been cited 157 times.[3]
  • Waterman RS, Henkle SL, Betancourt AM. Mesenchymal stem cell 1 (MSC1)-based therapy attenuates tumor growth whereas MSC2-treatment promotes tumor growth and metastasis. PLOS ONE. 2012 Sep 20;7(9):e45590. According to Google Scholar, it has been cited 157 times.[3]

Commercialization[edit]

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]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Aline Betancourt, PhD | Medicine". medicine.tulane.edu. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
  2. ^ a b c d e f maryrose (2020-03-11). "Aline Betancourt, Founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Commence Bio". Hera Herald Resource Center. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
  3. ^ a b c [1] Google Scholar Author page, Accessed August 23, 2020
  4. ^ "List of bankrupt, sold, merged, or otherwise defunct biotech, pharma & medical device companies". biopharmguy.com. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
  5. ^ a b c "Commence Bio Finalizes Corporate Identity Change From WibiWorks Therapeutics and Introduces New Website". GlobeNewswire News Room (Press release). 2016-01-04. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
  6. ^ "Commence Bio Company Profile: Valuation & Investors | PitchBook". pitchbook.com. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
  7. ^ a b "Commence Bio Receives 1st Patent for MSC1: A New Cancer Immunotherapy Platform". GlobeNewswire News Room (Press release). 2016-06-20. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
  8. ^ a b c "HOME". Mysite. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
  9. ^ "Innovation Challenge – VITAbolus". RESI Conference. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
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