Space Florida and Israel's Chief Scientist Announce Third-Round Winners of Innovation Partner Funding

EXPLORATION PARK, FL (June 1, 2016) – Space Florida, the aerospace and spaceport development authority for the State of Florida, and the Israeli Office of the Chief Scientist through MATIMOP, Israel’s Industrial Center for Research and Development, announce the third-round winners of industrial research and development funding tied to the Space Florida-Israel Innovation Partnership Program.

In October 2013, Florida and Israel created a $2 million recurring joint fund to support research, development and commercialization of aerospace and technology projects that benefit both Israel and Florida. For this Call for Projects, in total, 12 joint proposals were submitted and four teams have been selected for the third-round awards.

The winners are as follows:

CadW Therapeutics / Scripps Florida & Space-Pharma, Israel: CadW Therapeutics, is a for-profit company emanating from Scripps Florida (Jupiter,FL) led by The proposed research intends to develop a microfluidic ‘Lab-On-A-Chip’ system to study DNA damage to cells during space flight, as a result of stress-related disorders. The research goal of CadW Therapeutics will be to develop an agent that targets a safe, orally bioavailable, once-a-day molecule that may be used to counteract the effects of DNA damage. This research project will be performed in partnership with Space-Pharma Israel, in a shared co-operative agreement.

Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Kennedy Space Center & StemRad, Israel: Following the successful 2015-2016 AstroRad research project, Lockheed Martin (LM) Space Systems (Kennedy Space Center, FL) has combined with StemRad Israel in this Phase Two event. Selected by NASA to design and build the next generation, exploration classed manned spacecraft, the “Orion” Radiation team have demonstrated their advancements in the field of Space Radiation protection on Orion deep-space missions. This groundbreaking research has highlighted the importance of bone marrow protection as well as the development of personal protection equipment for astronaut radiation exposure.

Vision Engineering Solutions Florida, & Semi-Conductor Devices, Israel: Vision Engineering (Merritt Island, FL), in conjunction with Semi-Conductor Devices Israel, has proposed the development of a sensor suite for tracking and characterizing spacecraft, debris, and near-Earth objects. This research is designed to stimulate the generation and development of new and significantly improved products and services for the commercialization of space sensors for space application and enhanced Space Situational Awareness (SSA).

Simiosys LLC / SIFT, Florida & E1Mind A, Israel: Simiosys (Oviedo, FL), in partnership with SIFT (Smart Information Flow Technologies) with work with E1MindA, Israel, in the development of a virtual world-based communication platform to support therapy delivery and telehealth options to combat behavioral health threats in future long duration space exploration missions. This research has many Earth-linked benefits that may be used for preliminary assessment for Aphasia therapy. Aphasia is part of a larger classification of communication disorders that includes Autism Spectrum disorder, language impairments, and speech disorders.

Each company will receive their respective funding awards from Space Florida and Israel’s Office of the Chief Scientist, part of Israel’s Ministry of Economy.

“I congratulate the four teams chosen as winners in this most recent round of the Space Florida-Israel Innovation Partnership Program,” said Space Florida President Frank DiBello. “This joint venture is an example of Florida and Israel’s strong innovation cultures, and the worldwide advantages they each bring to the market.”

The next joint call for applications is expected to be released in July 2016. Florida-based companies interested in more information can visit www.spaceflorida.gov while Israel-based companies can visit www.matimop.org.il.