University of Illinois At Urbana–Champaign

ROCKVILLE, Md., Oct. 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MaxCyte, Inc., (Nasdaq: MXCT; LSE: MXCT), a leading, cell-engineering focused company providing enabling platform technologies to advance the discovery, development and commercialization of next-generation cell-based therapeutics and innovative bioprocessing applications, today announced the appointment of Cynthia Collins to the Company’s Board of Directors as a non-executive director, effective October 14, 2024. Collins will serve on the board’s compensation committee. Following her appointment, MaxCyte’s total Board of Directors will increase to 10 members. “I am pleased to welcome Cynthia to MaxCyte’s Board of Directors,” said Maher Masoud, President and CEO of MaxCyte. “Cynthia has extensive and impressive leadership experience in the fields of cell therapy and genetic medicine that will be invaluable to MaxCyte in the coming years. I look forward to working alongside her to enable a growing set of next-generation cell therapies as the premier cell engineering platform in our industry.” Ms. Collins brings over 40 years of experience in the biotechnology industry and cell and gene medicines to MaxCyte, including her most recent role as Chief Executive Officer of Editas Medicine, where she was involved in dosing the first patient ever with an in-vivo gene modified therapy. Previously, Ms. Collins served as Chief Executive Officer of Human Longevity Inc., Chief Executive Officer/General Manager of General Electric Healthcare’s Cell Therapy and Lab Businesses, and Chief Executive Officer of GenVec, Inc., a vaccine and gene therapy company. Currently, Ms. Collins serves as a member of the Board of Directors of several healthcare companies, including Alanis Therapeutics, Nutcracker Therapeutics, Poseida Therapeutics (Nasdaq: PSTX), Certara (Nasdaq: CERT), DermTech (OTC: DMTKQ), Draper Laboratory, and Panavance Therapeutics. She is also a board member of the Foundation for mRNA Medicines. Cynthia Collins holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology from the University of Illinois, Urbana and an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. “I am honored to join MaxCyte’s Board of Directors, where I believe there is exceptional work being done to propel the cell and genetic medicine industry forward,” said Cynthia Collins. “I am excited to support the Company’s growth and innovation as they continue to help developers bring a new class of therapies to market.” Regulatory Disclosures In accordance with Rule 17, Schedule Two paragraph (g) of the AIM Rules for Companies, Cynthia Lynne Collins (66) holds, or has held, the following directorship or partnerships in the last five years: CurrentPast 5 yearsAlanis Therapeutics, Inc.Triumvira Immunologics, Inc.Nutracker Therapeutics, Inc.Biocare Medical LLCPanavance Therapeutics, Inc.Human Longevity, Inc.The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc.Editas Medicine, Inc.Poseida Therapeutics, Inc.ARM Foundation for Cell and Gene MedicineCertara, Inc. DermTech Inc. The Foundation for MRNA Medicines, Inc. Cynthia Collins, was previously appointed as an independent director to the Board of DermTech, Inc. on May 24, 2018. On June 18, 2024, the Company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. On August 21, 2024 the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware approved the sale of a substantial amount of DermTech Inc.’s assets through a court-supervised auction. Save as disclosed above, there is no further information to be disclosed pursuant to Rule 17 Schedule Two paragraph (g) of the AIM Rules for Companies in respect of the appointment of Cynthia Collins. About MaxCyte At MaxCyte, we pursue cell engineering excellence to maximize the potential of cells to improve patients’ lives. We have spent more than 20 years honing our expertise by building best-in-class platforms, perfecting the art of the transfection workflow, and venturing beyond today’s processes to innovate tomorrow’s solutions. Our ExPERT™ platform, which is based on our Flow Electroporation® technology, has been designed to support the rapidly expanding cell therapy market and can be utilized across the continuum of the high-growth cell therapy sector, from discovery and development through commercialization of next-generation, cell-based medicines. The ExPERT family of products includes: four instruments, the ATx™, STx™, GTx™ and VLx™; a portfolio of proprietary related processing assemblies or disposables; and software protocols, all supported by a robust worldwide intellectual property portfolio. By providing our partners with the right technology platform, as well as scientific, technical and regulatory support, we aim to guide them on their journey to transform human health. Learn more at maxcyte.com and follow us on X and LinkedIn. MaxCyte Contacts: US IR AdviserGilmartin GroupDavid Deuchler, CFA+1 415-937-5400ir@maxcyte.com US Media RelationsSpectrum ScienceJordan Vinesjvines@spectrumscience.com+1 540-629-3137 Nominated Adviser and Joint Corporate BrokerPanmure LiberumEmma Earl / Freddy CrossleyCorporate BrokingRupert Dearden+44 (0)20 7886 2500 UK IR AdviserICR ConsiliumMary-Jane ElliottChris Welsh+44 (0)203 709 5700maxcyte@consilium-comms.com

A new study suggests better nutrition might help prevent cognitive decline. Working with a group of 100 cognitively healthy participants aged 65 to 75, a research team combined neuroscience with nutritional science to identify a specific nutrient pro with better performance on cognitive tests. Nutrient biomarkers identified via blood tests revealed a combination of fatty acids, antioxidants and carotenoids, and two forms of Vitamin E and choline -- very similar to the Mediterranean diet -- in the systems of those who showed slower than expected brain aging in MRI scans and cognitive assessments. Scientists have long been studying the brain with a goal of aiding healthier aging. While much is known about risk factors for accelerated brain aging, less has been uncovered to identify ways to prevent cognitive decline. There is evidence that nutrition matters, and a novel study published in Nature Publishing Group Aging, from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign further signals how specific nutrients may play a pivotal role in the healthy aging of the brain. The team of scientists, led by Aron Barbey, director of the Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior, with Jisheng Wu, a doctoral student at Nebraska, and Christopher Zwilling, research scientist at UIUC, performed the multimodal study -- combining state-of-the-art innovations in neuroscience and nutritional science -- and identified a specific nutrient pro participants who performed better cognitively. The cross-sectional study enrolled 100 cognitively healthy participants, aged 65-75. These participants completed a questionnaire with demographic information, body measurements and physical activity. Blood plasma was collected following a fasting period to analyze the nutrient biomarkers. Participants also underwent cognitive assessments and MRI scans. The efforts revealed two types of brain aging among the participants -- accelerated and slower-than-expected. Those with slower brain aging had a distinct nutrient profile. The beneficial nutrient blood biomarkers were a combination of fatty acids (vaccenic, gondoic, alpha linolenic, elcosapentaenoic, eicosadienoic and lignoceric acids); antioxidants and carotenoids including cis-lutein, trans-lutein and zeaxanthin; two forms of vitamin E and choline. This pro correlated with nutrients found in the Mediterranean diet, which research has previously associated with healthy brain aging. "We investigated specific nutrient biomarkers, such as fatty acid pro known in nutritional science to potentially offer health benefits. This aligns with the extensive body of research in the field demonstrating the positive health effects of the Mediterranean Diet, which emphasizes foods rich in these beneficial nutrients," Barbey, Mildred Francis Thompson Professor of Psychology, said. "The present study identifies particular nutrient biomarker patterns that are promising and have favorable associations with measures of cognitive performance and brain health." Barbey noted that previous research on nutrition and brain aging has mostly relied on food frequency questionnaires, which are dependent on participants' own recall. This study is one of the first and the largest to combine brain imaging, blood biomarkers and validated cognitive assessments. "The unique aspect of our study lies in its comprehensive approach, integrating data on nutrition, cognitive function, and brain imaging," Barbey said. "This allows us to build a more robust understanding of the relationship between these factors. We move beyond simply measuring cognitive performance with traditional neuropsychological tests. Instead, we simultaneously examine brain structure, function, and metabolism, demonstrating a direct link between these brain properties and cognitive abilities. Furthermore, we show that these brain properties are directly linked to diet and nutrition, as revealed by the patterns observed in nutrient biomarkers." The researchers will continue to explore this nutrient pro it relates healthy brain aging. Barbey said it's possible, in the future, that the findings will aid in developing therapies and interventions to promote brain health. "An important next step involves conducting randomized controlled trials. In these trials, we will isolate specific nutrients with favorable associations with cognitive function and brain health, and administer them in the form of nutraceuticals," Barbey said. "This will allow us to definitively assess whether increasing the levels of these specific nutrient profiles reliably leads to improvements in cognitive test performance and measures of brain structure, function, and metabolism." Barbey is also co-editing an upcoming special collection for the Journal of Nutrition, "Nutrition and the Brain -- Exploring Pathways to Optimal Brain Health Through Nutrition," which is currently inviting submissions for consideration, and articles will begin publishing next year. "There's immense scientific and medical interest in understanding the profound impact of nutrition on brain health," Barbey said. "Recognizing this, the National Institutes of Health recently launched a ten-year strategic plan to significantly accelerate nutrition research. Our work directly aligns with this critical initiative, aiming to contribute valuable insights into how dietary patterns influence brain health and cognitive function."

Researchers have developed a way to use ultrasound to predict whether a pregnant person is at risk of delivering a baby prematurely, which occurs in upward of 10% of pregnancies in the U.S. Researchers have developed a way to use ultrasound to predict whether a pregnant person is at risk of delivering a baby prematurely, which occurs in upward of 10% of pregnancies in the U.S. The new method -- the result of more than 20 years of collaboration between researchers in nursing and engineering at University of Illinois Chicago and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign -- measures microstructural changes in a woman's cervix using quantitative ultrasound. The ultrasound method works as early as 23 weeks into a pregnancy, according to the research, which is published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology Maternal Fetal Medicine. The current method for assessing a woman's risk of preterm birth is based solely on whether she has previously given birth prematurely. This means there has been no way to assess risk in a first-time pregnancy. "Today, clinicians wait for signs and symptoms of a preterm birth," such as a ruptured membrane, explained lead author Barbara McFarlin, a professor emeritus of nursing at UIC. "Our technique would be helpful in making decisions based on the tissue and not just on symptoms." In a study of 429 women who gave birth without induction at the University of Illinois Hospital, the new method was effective at predicting the risk of preterm births during first-time pregnancies. And for women who were having a subsequent pregnancy, combing the data from quantitative ultrasound with the woman's delivery history was more effective at assessing risk than just using her history. The new approach differs from a traditional ultrasound where a picture is produced from the data received. In quantitative ultrasound, a traditional ultrasound is performed but the radio frequency data itself is read and analyzed to determine tissue characteristics. The study is the culmination of a research partnership that began in 2001 when McFarlin was a nursing PhD student at UIC. Having previously worked as a nurse midwife and sonographer, she had noticed that there were differences in the appearance of the cervix in women who went on to deliver preterm. She was interested in quantifying this and discovered that "no one was looking at it." She was put in touch with Bill O'Brien, a UIUC professor of electrical and computer engineering, who was studying ways to use quantitative ultrasound data in health research. Together, over the past 22 years, they established that quantitative ultrasound could detect changes in the cervix and, as McFarlin had suspected long ago, that those changes help predict the risk of preterm delivery. The preterm birth rate hovers around 10-15% of pregnancies, O'Brien said. "That's a very, very high percentage to not know what is happening," he said. If a clinician could know at 23 weeks that there was a risk of preterm birth, they would likely conduct extra appointments to keep an eye on the fetus, the researchers said. But since there had previously been no routine way to assess preterm birth risk this early, there have been no studies to show what sort of interventions would be helpful in delaying labor. This study, O'Brien explains, will allow other researchers to "start studying processes by which you might be able to prevent or delay preterm birth." The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Additional coauthors are UIC nursing PhD student Michelle Villegas-Downs; UIUC statistics PhD student Mehrdad Mohammadi and statistics professor Douglas Simpson; and engineering professor Aiguo Han at Virginia Tech.