Houston neurodegenerative company expands research collaboration with Houston Methodist

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Coya Therapeutics announced an expanded research collaboration with the Houston Methodist Research Institute, as well as funding from the Johnson Center. Photo via TMC.edu

A clinical-stage Houston biotech company has expanded its collaboration with Houston Methodist Research Institute, or HMRI.

Coya Therapeutics is already sufficiently established to be publicly traded since late 2022, but there’s always room to grow. With the help of a new sponsored research agreement, Coya will work on multiple initiatives. Coya is led by co-founder and CEO Howard Berman, who was inspired by his father’s dementia diagnosis.

"I was interested in what I could do for my dad," Berman said on the Houston Innovators Podcast, explaining that he met with renowned Houston Methodist researcher and neurologist, Dr. Stanley Appel, who showed him that he was not only working on treatments that could help Berman’s now-deceased father, but that he’d been able to stop the progression of ALS.

The treatments that Coya is developing are targeted at using regulatory T cells (Tregs) to fight both system inflammation and neuroinflammation. That means that maladies in their sights include neurodegenerative, metabolic, and autoimmune diseases, all of which may be caused by dysfunctional Tregs. Specifically, those might include currently hard-to-fight battles like ALS, Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, and Parkinson’s disease.

With the expanded partnership, "the development and production of exosomes from patients’ regulatory T cells will be funded by the Johnson Center for Cellular Therapeutics with participation of the SRA," according to a news release.

Coya’s therapeutic platforms include Treg-enhancing biologics, Treg-derived exosomes, and autologous Treg cell therapy. The new joint effort with HMRI will focus primarily on advancing the exosome technology in the direction of a first-in-human clinical study that will explore novel, synergistic drug combinations with one of Coya's lead candidates, COYA 301. Biologic combinations form the basis of Coya’s approach in addressing the complex pathophysiology of diseases, but they also create future opportunities for strategic collaborations.

COYA 301 is the company’s proprietary investigational low-dose interleukin-2 (IL-2). It’s designed to enhance the anti-inflammatory function of Tregs and is administered subcutaneously.

Hopefully, it will follow the success of COYA 302, which is not yet approved by the FDA or any other agency, but is well on its way, thanks to results from a proof-of-concept, open-label clinical study that evaluated commercially available LD IL-2 and CTLA-4 Ig in a small cohort of patients with ALS, conducted at the HMRI. During the 48-week treatment period, patients tolerated the treatment well and showed significant amelioration in the progression of the disease.

As Coya advances its therapies, ALS and other neurodegenerative ailments could one day be far less doom-filled diagnoses.

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The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas recently announced fresh funding for cancer researchers, and Houston organizations received more than 40 percent of it. Photo via Getty Images

Here's what Houston cancer researchers secured fresh funding from Texas nonprofit

grants incoming

The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) has awarded around $40 million in grants to cancer researchers and cancer research institutions in the Houston area.

The Houston-area grants represent more than 40 percent of the statewide grants recently approved by Austin-based CPRIT.

The largest local grant, $6 million, went to Hongfang Liu and the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. The grant helped attract Liu to UTHealth Houston. She is a pioneer in biomedical informatics, an emerging field in cancer research.

Liu comes to Houston from the Mayo Clinic. At UTHealth Houston, she will be director of the Center for Translational Artificial Intelligence in Medicine within the School of Biomedical Informatics as well as vice president for learning health systems.

In a news release, Dr. Giuseppe Colasurdo, president of UTHealth Houston, says the recruitment of Lui “will strategically enhance the position of Texas as a national and international leader in data science, artificial intelligence, and informatics applications in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of cancer.”

Other CPRIT grant recipients at UTHealth Houston were:

  • Lara Savas — $2,499,492 for early detection and treatment of breast and cervical cancer among Latinas
  • Chao Hsing Yeh — $1,046,680 for an acupressure program to help patients manage cancer-related pain
  • Belinda Reininger — $999,254 for a lifestyle intervention program in South Texas
  • Paula Cuccaro — $449,959 for a targeted approach to boosting HPV vaccinations

What follows is a rundown of other CPRIT grant recipients in the Houston area.

University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

  • Kenneth Hu — $2 million to recruit him as a first-time, tenure-track faculty member
  • Dr. Kelly Nelson — $1,998,196 to support a program for early detection of melanoma
  • Robert Volk — $1,988,211 for a lung cancer screening program
  • Jian Hu — $1.4 million for research into brain and spinal cord tumors in children
  • Die Zhang — $1,399,730 for research into cognitive issues caused by radiation treatment
  • Peng Wei — $1,199,994 for research into the evolution of bladder cancer
  • Boyi Gan — $1,050,000 for the study of cell death in breast cancer patients
  • Sue-Hwa Lin — $1,050,000 for a novel immunotherapy to treat the spread of prostate cancer to the bones
  • Joseph McCarty — $1,050,000 for research into invasive cells in patients with brain or spinal cord tumors
  • Cullen Taniguchi — $1,049,997 for the study of immune responses related to pancreatic cancer
  • Dr. Andrea Viale — $1,049,985 for the study of immune responses related to pancreatic cancer
  • Michael Curran —$1,049,905 for research into blocking DNA damage related to radiation therapy and immunotherapy
  • Wantong Yao — $1,049,854 for research into a novel therapy for pancreatic cancer
  • Eleonora Dondossola — $1,025,623 for the study of therapy resistance among certain patients with prostate or kidney cancer
  • Niki Zacharias Millward — $1,019,997 for the study of a type of kidney cancer that begins in the lining of small tubes inside the organ

Baylor College of Medicine

  • Xi Chen — $2 million for the study of immunotherapy resistance among some breast cancer patients
  • Melanie Bernhardt — $1,392,407 for research aimed at improving treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children
  • Pavel Sumazin — $1,371,733 for research into hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common type of liver cancer
  • Maksim Mamonkin — $1,050,000 for improving treatment of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia and lymphoblastic lymphoma

University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston

  • Ana Rodriguez — $2,257,898 for an HPV vaccination program in the Rio Grande Valley

Houston Methodist Research Institute

  • Ewan McRae — $1,999,977 to recruit him to Houston from the United Kingdom’s Cambridge University as an expert in RNA therapeutics

University of Houston

  • Lorraine Reitzel — $448,726 for lung cancer screening programs
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West Coast innovation organization unveils new location in Houston suburb to boost Texas tech ecosystem

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Leading innovation platform Plug and Play announced the opening of its new flagship Houston-area location in Sugar Land, which is its fourth location in Texas.

Plug and Play has accelerated over 2,700 startups globally last year with corporate partners that include Dell Technologies, Daikin, Microsoft, LG Chem, Shell, and Mercedes. The company’s portfolio includes PayPal, Dropbox, LendingClub, and Course Hero, with 8 percent of the portfolio valued at over $100 million.

The deal, which facilitated by the Sugar Land Office of Economic Development and Tourism, will bring a new office for the organization to Sugar Land Town Square with leasing and hiring between December and January. The official launch is slated for the first quarter of 2025, and will feature 15 startups announced on Selection Day.

"By expanding to Sugar Land, we’re creating a space where startups can access resources, build partnerships, and scale rapidly,” VP Growth Strategy at Plug and Play Sherif Saadawi says in a news release. “This location will help fuel Texas' innovation ecosystem, providing entrepreneurs with the tools and networks they need to drive real-world impact and contribute to the state’s technological and economic growth."

Plug and Play plans to hire four full-time equivalent employees and accelerate two startup batches per year. The focus will be on “smart cities,” which include energy, health, transportation, and mobility sectors. One Sugar Land City representative will serve as a board member.

“We are excited to welcome Plug and Play to Sugar Land,” Mayor of Sugar Land Joe Zimmerma adds. “This investment will help us connect with corporate contacts and experts in startups and businesses that would take us many years to reach on our own. It allows us to create a presence, attract investments and jobs to the city, and hopefully become a base of operations for some of these high-growth companies.”

The organization originally entered the Houston market in 2019 and now has locations in Bryan/College Station, Frisco, and Cedar Park in Texas.

Uniquely Houston event to convene innovation experts across aerospace, energy, and medicine

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Every year, Houston's legacy industries — energy, medicine, and aerospace — come together to share innovative ideas and collaborate on future opportunities.

For the eighteenth year in a row, the annual Pumps & Pipes event will showcase and explore convergence innovation and common technology themes across Houston’s three major industries. The hosting organization, also called Pumps & Pipes, was established in 2007 in Houston and is dedicated to fostering collaboration amongst the city's three major industries.

With NASA in its backyard, the world’s largest medical center, and a reputation as the “Energy Capital of the World,” Houston is uniquely positioned to lead in cross-industry convergence innovation and is reflected in the theme of this year’s event – Blueprint Houston: Converge and Innovate.

Here's what you can expect to explore at the event, which will take place this year on December 9 at TMC Helix Park. Tickets are available online.

The state of Texas’ aerospace investments

How are the recent strategic investments in aerospace by the State of Texas transforming the space economy and driving growth in adjacent industries? What is the case for cultivating a more dynamic and vibrant aerospace R&D environment?

These are the key questions explored in the opening session of Pumps & Pipes, moderated by David Alexander (Director, Rice Space Institute). Joining the discussion are distinguished leaders Norman Garza, Jr., Executive Director of the Texas Space Commission (TSC); as well as two members of the TSC board of directors: Sarah “Sassie” Duggelby, CEO/Co-Founder of Venus Aerospace; and Kathryn Lueders, GM at Starbase, SpaceX.

This panel will spotlight Texas’ critical role in shaping the future of aerospace, with a focus on its cross-sector impact, from space exploration to innovation in energy and health care. We’ll explore how the state’s investments are fueling research and development, creating economic opportunities, and fostering a more interconnected, high-tech ecosystem for the future.

Real-world applications of robotics and synthetic biology

Explore the groundbreaking intersection of syntheticbiology and robotics as they reshape industries from aerospace to energy to health care. Experts from academia and industry — Rob Ambrose of Texas A&M University, Shankar Nadarajah of ExxonMobil, Shalini Yadav of the Rice Synthetic Biology Institute, and Moji Karimi of Cemvita — will discuss the real-world applications and future possibilities of these two fields, including innovative uses of robotics and drones to monitor emissions from deep-sea oil rigs, and synthetic microbes that convert carbon dioxide into valuable chemical products.

Discover how synthetic biology and robotics are paving the way for a more sustainable, autonomous, efficient, and interconnected future.

The total artificial heart – a uniquely Houston story

Heart failure affects millions globally, yet only a small fraction of patients receive life-saving heart transplants. The Total Artificial Heart (TAH), developed by BiVACOR, offers a revolutionary solution for patients with severe heart failure who are ineligible for a transplant.

Luminary leader, Dr. Billy Cohn, will discuss the groundbreaking BiVACOR TAH, a device that fully replaces the function of the heart using a magnetically levitated rotary pump. This innovative approach is part of an FDA-approved first-in-human study, aiming to evaluate its use as a bridge-to-transplant for patients awaiting heart transplants.

Moderated by Dr. Alan Lumsden (Chair Dept. of CV Surgery at Houston Methodist Hospital), join Dr. Cohn as he shares insights, and the story-behind, this pioneering technology and its potential to reshape the future of heart failure treatment, offering new hope to thousands of patients in need.

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Stuart Corr is the director of Innovation Systems Engineering at Houston Methodist and executive director of Pumps & Pipes.

Houston schools shine on annual ranking of top institutions for 2025

best in class

Several Houston elementary and middle schools are at the top of the class when it comes to educating and preparing the next generation for a successful life and career, according to U.S. News & World Report's just-released list of 2025 Elementary and Middle Schools Rankings.

One such school – T.H. Rogers School in Houston ISD – is the No. 8 best middle school in Texas for 2025.

U.S. News ranked over 79,000 public schools on the state and district level using data from the U.S. Department of Education. Schools were analyzed based on their students' proficiencies in mathematics and reading/language arts on state assessments, and tie-breakers were decided based on student-teacher ratios.

Texas' best middle schools for 2025

Three Houston middle schools achieved spots among the top 10 best Texas middle schools for 2025, according to U.S. News.

T.H. Rogers School has a total enrollment of 1,063 students, with 87 percent of the student population scoring "at or above the proficient level" in mathematics, and 90 percent proficiency in reading. The school has a student-teacher ratio of 17:1, with 62 full-time teachers.

T.H. Rogers School also topped the district-wide list as the No. 1 best middle school in HISD.

Houston Gateway Academy - Coral Campus also ranked among the statewide top 10, coming in at No. 9 with a total enrollment of 914 students. U.S. News says 82 percent of HGA students are proficient in math, and 80 percent are proficient in reading.

"Houston Gateway Academy - Coral Campus did better in math and better in reading in this metric compared with students across the state," U.S. News said in the school's profile. "In Texas, 51 percent of students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 41 percent tested at or above that level for math."

Right behind HGA to round out the top 10 best Texas middle schools is Houston ISD's Briarmeadow Charter School. This middle school has 600 students, 69 percent of which are proficient in math and 74 percent are proficient reading.

Briarmeadow's student-teacher ratio is 16:1, which is better than the district-wide student-teacher ratio, and it employs 38 full-time teachers.

U.S. News also ranked Briarmeadow as the second best middle school in Houston ISD.

Six additional Houston-area schools ranked among the top 25 best middle schools in Texas, including:

  • No. 18 – Cornerstone Academy, Spring Branch ISD
  • No. 19 – Mandarin Immersion Magnet School, Houston ISD
  • No. 21 – Smith Middle School, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD
  • No. 22 – Seven Lakes Junior High, Katy ISD
  • No. 23 – Houston Gateway Academy
  • No. 25 – Beckendorff Junior High, Katy ISD

The best elementary schools in Texas

Jesus A. Kawas Elementary school in Laredo was crowned the No. 1 elementary school in Texas for 2025, while two Houston-area schools made it into the top 10.Tomball ISD's Creekside Forest Elementary in The Woodlands is the No. 7 best elementary school statewide, boasting 656 students, 42 full-time teachers, and one full-time counselor. Students at this school, which U.S. News designates is situated in a "fringe rural setting," scored 90 percent efficiency in math and 94 percent efficiency in reading.Following one spot behind Creekside Forest in the statewide ranking is Sugar Land's Commonwealth Elementary School in Fort Bend ISD, coming in at No. 8. Commonwealth has a student population of 954 with 55 full-time teachers, and two full-time counselors. The school's student-teacher ratio is 17:1, and 90 percent of students are proficient in math, and 94 percent in reading.U.S. News says student success at Commonwealth is significantly higher than the rest of Fort Bend ISD."In Fort Bend Independent School District, 59 percent of students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 47 percent tested at or above that level for math," U.S. News said in Commonwealth's profile. "Commonwealth Elementary [also] did better in math and better in reading in this metric compared with students across the state."Other Houston-area schools that were ranked among the 25 best in Texas are:
  • No. 13 – Bess Campbell Elementary, Sugar Land, Lamar CISD
  • No. 20 – West University Elementary, Houston ISD
  • No. 23 – T.H. Rogers School, Houston ISD
  • No. 25 – Griffin Elementary, Katy ISD

"The 2025 Best Elementary and Middle Schools rankings offer parents a way to evaluate how schools are providing a high-quality education and preparing students for future success," said LaMont Jones, Ed.D., the managing editor for Education at U.S. News. "The data empowers families and communities to advocate for their children’s education. Research continues to indicate that how students perform academically at these early grade levels is a big factor in their success in high school and beyond."

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

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