BioAxone BioSciences’ Scientific Advisory Board Member, Mark Bear, PhD, Receives $500,000 Beckman-Argyros Vision Research Award

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Bioaxone Biosciences, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on developing innovative drugs to treat neurotrauma and neurovascular disorders, today announced that its Scientific Advisory Board member, Dr. Mark Bear, the Picower Professor of Neuroscience at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, received the prestigious Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation 2018 Beckman-Argyros Vision Research Award.

This annual award recognizes an individual who has made and is continuing to make significant, transformative breakthroughs in vision research. Over several decades of research, Dr. Bear has made significant contributions to understanding the mechanisms of synaptic plasticity in the cerebral cortex. The award recognizes his work on the visual cortex and childhood amblyopia, also called “lazy eye.” Dr. Bear and his team have shown that vision loss in the weak eye can be reversed in multiple preclinical models of amblyopia, overturning the dogma that the loss of vision is permanent. His findings have relevance to the mechanisms of synaptic plasticity in general, including changes in synaptic plasticity that occur in neurotrauma.

“We are delighted to see that Dr. Bear’s decades of research on synaptic plasticity is being honored by such an internationally recognized organization,” said Lisa McKerracher, PhD, CEO, BioAxone BioSciences. “His expertise and counsel as one of our long-time scientific advisory board members has been enormously valuable as we develop transformative treatments for neurotrauma and neurovascular disorders.”

About The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation
The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation provides grants to researchers and non-profit research institutions in chemistry and life sciences to promote scientific discoveries, and particularly to foster the invention of methods, instruments, and materials that will open up new avenues of research.

About BioAxone BioSciences
BioAxone BioSciences is a clinical-stage biotechnology company based in Cambridge, MA, and is developing innovative drugs to restore neurological function for patients with spinal cord injuries and neurovascular disorders. The company also has preclinical programs in glaucoma and aimed at restoring epithelial barriers in gastrointestinal disorders. BioAxone is led by a team of scientists renowned for their work on axon regeneration, diseases involving Rho/ROCK signaling and cell barrier function. For more information, visit http://www.bioaxonebio.com and follow the company on Twitter at @BioAxone.

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