Stanford SPARK Program
Academic department combining chemical biology and systems and quantitative approaches to study molecular and systems-level mechanisms of cellular function and disease. Activities include interdisciplinary basic and translational research (genetics, chemistry, cell biology, computation), advanced imaging and single-molecule methods, development of chemical probes and therapeutic modalities, and a translational program that provides mentorship, pilot funding, and commercialization support to advance academic discoveries toward preclinical and clinical development.
Industries
N/A
Nr. of Employees
small (1-50)
Services
Mentorship, cohort education, and pilot grant funding to advance university-affiliated projects from discovery through preclinical de-risking and commercialization readiness; includes industry volunteer coaching and advisory support alongside modest seed funding.
Ph.D. courses, bootcamps, seminar series and postdoctoral training programs covering experimental methods, imaging, computational modeling and practical topics in drug discovery and translational research.
Coordination of departmental lectureships, visiting professorships, symposia and retreat events to disseminate research advances and foster collaboration.
Mentorship, cohort education, and pilot grant funding to advance university-affiliated projects from discovery through preclinical de-risking and commercialization readiness; includes industry volunteer coaching and advisory support alongside modest seed funding.
Ph.D. courses, bootcamps, seminar series and postdoctoral training programs covering experimental methods, imaging, computational modeling and practical topics in drug discovery and translational research.
Coordination of departmental lectureships, visiting professorships, symposia and retreat events to disseminate research advances and foster collaboration.
Expertise Areas
- Chemical biology
- Systems and quantitative biology
- Drug discovery and medicinal chemistry
- Translational research and commercialization support
Key Technologies
- Genome sequencing and genome editing
- AAV-mediated genome editing
- Single-molecule imaging
- Super-resolution microscopy (SIM, STED, STORM/PALM)
News & Updates
Calls for proposals open for pilot grants supporting translational projects; program accepts proposals from university affiliates and evaluates scope of unmet need, novelty and feasibility.
Scheduled departmental seminars and community events including Cutting Lecture and regular seminar series.
Research article describing mechanisms that protect polyglutamine proteins from assembly formation (Cell, 2025).
Study of small-molecule inhibitors targeting the Hedgehog signaling pathway (ChemistryOpen, 2025).
Identification of a targetable cysteine in a mitochondrial fission protein with relevance to oxidative-stress induced dysfunction (Nat Commun, 2025).
Application of transfer learning and computational models to study transcription factor dosage responses (Cell Genomics, 2025).
Calls for proposals open for pilot grants supporting translational projects; program accepts proposals from university affiliates and evaluates scope of unmet need, novelty and feasibility.
Scheduled departmental seminars and community events including Cutting Lecture and regular seminar series.
Research article describing mechanisms that protect polyglutamine proteins from assembly formation (Cell, 2025).
Study of small-molecule inhibitors targeting the Hedgehog signaling pathway (ChemistryOpen, 2025).
Identification of a targetable cysteine in a mitochondrial fission protein with relevance to oxidative-stress induced dysfunction (Nat Commun, 2025).
Application of transfer learning and computational models to study transcription factor dosage responses (Cell Genomics, 2025).