Entropic Biosciences, Inc., a start-up biotech company founded at UCLA in Professor Paul Weiss’ group based on the thesis of alumnus Dr. Amir Nasajpour (Ph.D. ’23), is one of only five companies awarded funds for this year for a project developing a high-throughput 3D skin model for screening of chemicals and radiation insults.
According to the company’s press release, BioTools Innovator (BTI) VANGUARD, supports the development and commercialization of innovative enabling technologies that could be readily deployed as medical countermeasures in the event of a health emergency. VANGUARD is a joint initiative between BTI and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Companies selected for the program either receive non-dilutive funding for specific technical development, evaluation, and validation projects over a 6-month period.
Entropic Biosciences, Inc. is one of just five companies awarded up to $200,000 in funding this year. Their project focuses on creating a high-throughput 3D skin model that can be used to test how chemicals or radiation affect human skin quickly. This kind of technology could be extremely valuable in a health crisis—allowing scientists to screen possible threats or evaluate treatments without the delays and ethical issues of direct human testing. Through BTI VANGUARD, Entropic will not only get funding but also expert guidance to help bring this skin model closer to real-world use.
Weiss, who co-founded the company, holds a UC Presidential Chair at UCLA and is a distinguished professor of chemistry and biochemistry, bioengineering, and materials science and engineering. He began his academic career at the Pennsylvania State University where he rose to become a distinguished professor of chemistry and physics. After joining the UCLA faculty in 2009, Weiss served as the director of the California NanoSystems Institute and held the Fred Kavli Chair in NanoSystems Sciences at UCLA until 2014. Weiss also served as the founding editor-in-chief of ACS Nano from 2007 to 2021. He is actively involved in startups from his own and other laboratories, with ventures spanning biotechnology, food security, energy, entertainment, and healthcare.
Nasajpour, President and Co-founder, is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Entropic Biosciences. The National Inventors Hall of Fame recognized his doctoral research at UCLA in liquid crystal chemistry, and he received a United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) medallion for expedited patent prosecution through the UC Regents. He has successfully secured non-dilutive research funding from the Good Food Institute and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), and led the company’s pre-seed financing round with participation from Plug and Play Ventures and Little Green Bamboo. In 2024, Nasajpour received first place in the UCLA MedTECH Demo Track Entrepreneur competition for the commercialization of the Twister™ technology. He earned his B.S. in Molecular Biology from the University of Florida and his Ph.D. in Materials Chemistry from UCLA in 2023. His interests lie in using bioinspired methods to address challenges in biomanufacturing, with a focus on scaling in vitro pre-clinical models.
Penny Jennings, UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, penjen@g.ucla.edu.
