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Rockefeller Foundation: New Report Warns AI Could Close a 70-Year Gap in Weather Forecasting for Health or Widen It Without Deliberate Action
NEW YORK, Sept. 23 (TNSrpt) -- The Rockefeller Foundation posted the following news release:
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New Report Warns AI Could Close a 70-Year Gap in Weather Forecasting for Health or Widen It Without Deliberate Action
A 10-day forecast now takes minutes to produce, on a single computer chip, putting life-saving warnings within reach of the world's most vulnerable communities.
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NEW YORK, NY | September 22, 2026 -- A new report from the University of Chicago's Institute for Climate and Sustainable Growth, supported by The Rockefeller Foundation, finds that Artificial Intelligence (AI) could
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NEW YORK, Sept. 23 (TNSrpt) -- The Rockefeller Foundation posted the following news release:
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New Report Warns AI Could Close a 70-Year Gap in Weather Forecasting for Health or Widen It Without Deliberate Action
A 10-day forecast now takes minutes to produce, on a single computer chip, putting life-saving warnings within reach of the world's most vulnerable communities.
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NEW YORK, NY | September 22, 2026 -- A new report from the University of Chicago's Institute for Climate and Sustainable Growth, supported by The Rockefeller Foundation, finds that Artificial Intelligence (AI) couldput locally tailored weather forecasts within reach of the low- and middle-income countries facing the greatest health risks from climate change, at a cost they can afford. However, the report warns that without deliberate action, AI forecasting will leave behind the same populations that conventional forecasting did. The status quo, it argues, is now a choice rather than a necessity.
This is possible because artificial intelligence is transforming weather forecasting. AI weather models now match or beat the best physics-based models behind most forecasts today, and they run at a fraction of the cost and time. For decades, producing a reliable weather forecast required a supercomputer that cost around $100 million. A trained AI model now produces a 10-day forecast in minutes on a single computer chip.
"AI weather models offer the opportunity to democratize forecasting, so that 70 years of progress can finally reach everyone," says report author Amir Jina, an assistant professor at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. "By putting this tool in the hands of health experts and meteorologists around the world, forecasts can now be tailored to the decisions they need to make to protect health and ultimately save lives."
Eighty-one percent (81%) of national meteorological services report providing climate services for health, while just 23 percent of health ministries operate a surveillance system that uses meteorological information (World Meteorological Organization, 2023). The report finds this is not only a delivery failure. Forecasts have rarely been built around the decisions they are meant to serve, leaving health officials with information they cannot act on. Until public health authorities state which decisions they need weather information for, and at what lead time, forecast producers have nothing to build toward.
Many of the health decisions that matter most fall at lead times where forecasts barely exist. Among the potential applications that would benefit from this kind of advance warning are heat response and vector-borne disease control: Two to four weeks of advance warning would let a health system stage its response to a heat episode instead of reacting to one, and would let a malaria program time spraying and larval source management to when they would be most effective rather than to a fixed calendar. The report identifies that window as the least invested-in range in forecasting.
Evidence from the Field: Nigeria
A case study in the report documents the mismatch. In a cross-sector exercise in Nigeria, nearly every preparedness action participants identified required weeks of notice, while the forecast products they requested were available only in days or in seasons. No participant asked for anything in the intervening range, because no such product had ever been available to them.
"AI-powered weather forecasting can bring critical information to communities facing the greatest health risks from climate change and the least capacity to prepare," said Dr. Naveen Rao, Senior Vice President of Health at The Rockefeller Foundation. "But the technology alone isn't enough -- we need to invest in the data, training, and local ownership that makes these early warnings worth acting on."
Four Priorities for Action
Better forecasts on their own will not be enough. Fixing forecasts that were too coarse, too late or too poorly tailored is a real achievement, the report says, but it is not the same as improving health decisions or outcomes. Accurate, locally tailored forecasts must be paired with the health data to evaluate them, the institutions to act on them, and clear responsibility for who acts when a warning arrives.
The report sets out 22 recommendations across four types of investment. It identifies a top priority in each category:
* Discovery: Build benchmarking that evaluates forecasts on whether they support a real health decision, beginning with extreme heat. How models are evaluated determines which models are developed next.
* Evidence: Require every service to start by stating the health decision it serves, then fund evaluation against that decision from the first cycle. Scaling funders need evidence that services improve health before they will commit, and so far there is very little.
* Scaling: Create a dedicated mechanism to carry proven climate-health services to national scale, brokering between governments and development banks. Small grants at this stage determine whether far larger loans include a well-designed health component.
* Sustainability: Write health into the national AI and data policy frameworks now being drafted, which are on short cycles and difficult to reopen. Climate policy is the cautionary example: all 59 national adaptation plans reviewed in 2025 name health as a vulnerable sector, yet fewer than half name a lead agency for it and 0.2 percent of international adaptation finance goes primarily to health.
The report also argues these changes have to be built where they are most needed. That means situating decision-making, budgets, ownership and long-term control of AI weather tools in the countries carrying the greatest burden, starting with the training that lets weather forecasters and health practitioners there test, adapt, use and eventually build AI forecasts themselves.
Human-Centered Weather Forecasts Initiative
These approaches are already being tested. Through the Human-Centered Weather Forecasts Initiative, University of Chicago researchers have worked with the Indian government and are now working with the Ethiopian government to build forecasts around locally identified needs, disseminate them and measure whether they change outcomes.
The same team, with partners, is training meteorologists from 30 low- and middle-income countries on how to build AI weather forecasts and tailor them for their local needs.
The AI Weather Forecasts for Health report received input from experts in meteorology, public health, climate, technology, and the social sciences representing 20 organizations. The organizations included the World Health Organization/World Meteorological Organization Joint Office for Climate and Health, NVIDIA, the African Centre of Meteorological Application for Development and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology.
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About the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Growth
The Institute for Climate and Sustainable Growth leverages the University of Chicago's unique legacy and resources to balance the risks of a changing climate with the essential need for human progress. It does so by combining frontier research in economics and policy, climate systems engineering, and energy technologies with a pioneering approach to energy and climate education. The Institute also seeds interdisciplinary research that explores new topics in this ever-evolving field and deploys practical, effective solutions in countries central to this challenge. For more information, visit climate.uchicago.edu and follow us on LinkedIn @uchicago-climate-energy-institute, X @UChiClimate and Instagram @uchiclimate.
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About The Rockefeller Foundation
Investing $30 billion over the last 113 years to promote the well-being of humanity, The Rockefeller Foundation is a pioneering philanthropy built on unlikely partnerships and innovative solutions that deliver measurable results for people in the United States and around the world. We leverage scientific breakthroughs, artificial intelligence, and new technologies to make big bets across energy, food, health, and finance, including with our public charity, RF Catalytic Capital (RFCC). For more information, sign up for our newsletter at www.rockefellerfoundation.org/subscribe and follow us on X @RockefellerFdn, Instagram @rockefellerfdn, and LinkedIn @the-rockefeller-foundation.
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REPORT: https://climate.uchicago.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/AI-Weather-Forecasts-for-Health-Report.pdf
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Original text here: https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/news/report-ai-70-year-gap-weather-forecasting-health/
Reason Foundation: Youth Vaping Has Collapsed, But Lawmakers Want $500 Million to Fight It Anyway
LOS ANGELES, California, Sept. 23 -- The Reason Foundation issued the following news:
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Youth vaping has collapsed, but lawmakers want $500 million to fight it anyway
As youth vaping drops to its lowest level in 12 years, the Preventing Opportunities for Teen E-Cigarette and Tobacco Addiction Act is largely redundant.
Guy Bentley
Director of Consumer Freedom
September 22, 2026
A recent joint press release from the offices of Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) trumpeted a bill that would provide $500 million in funding for a Centers for Disease
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LOS ANGELES, California, Sept. 23 -- The Reason Foundation issued the following news:
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Youth vaping has collapsed, but lawmakers want $500 million to fight it anyway
As youth vaping drops to its lowest level in 12 years, the Preventing Opportunities for Teen E-Cigarette and Tobacco Addiction Act is largely redundant.
Guy Bentley
Director of Consumer Freedom
September 22, 2026
A recent joint press release from the offices of Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) trumpeted a bill that would provide $500 million in funding for a Centers for DiseaseControl and Prevention (CDC) initiative targeting an "alarming rise" in youth vaping. However, both the press release and the proposed initiative get the entire direction of youth e-cigarette consumption backward. Youth vaping is declining, not rising.
Reintroduced in August for the fourth time, the Preventing Opportunities for Teen E-Cigarette and Tobacco Addiction (PROTECT) Act would fund CDC research on youth and young adult vaping, including the product types and flavors they use, exposure to marketing, and levels of nicotine dependence. It would also fund a public education campaign coordinated with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Office of the Surgeon General, develop clinical and school guidance, and evaluate e-cigarette prevention strategies.
"Youth vaping in our schools and communities is an epidemic, fueled by Big Tobacco aggressively targeting yet another generation of young people," stated Sen. Blumenthal, one of PROTECT Act's sponsors, in the press release.
Contrary to these claims, youth vaping among high schoolers has actually plummeted by 74 percent since its peak in 2019. Middle school vaping similarly dropped by 75 percent over the same time period, according to the National Youth Tobacco Survey.
The most recent data from the 2025 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) shows 7.1 percent of high schoolers and 2.6 percent of middle schoolers use an e-cigarette at least once a month. In 2019, those figures were 27.5 percent and 10.5 percent, respectively. Youth vaping stands at its lowest level in 12 years.
Each time the PROTECT Act has been introduced-in 2019, 2021, 2023, and 2026-youth e-cigarette use has stayed flat or declined. There isn't a youth vaping epidemic, and that should be celebrated.
Aside from senators asking taxpayers for substantial resources to fight a problem that is declining in both substance and salience, the PROTECT Act is largely redundant, and the proposed public information campaigns could be counterproductive.
On the first point, much of the research the PROTECT Act seeks to fund is already conducted via numerous surveys, including the NYTS, Monitoring the Future survey, National Survey on Drug Use and Health, Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, and the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study.
The PROTECT Act's promise of more anti-vaping educational campaigns and prevention strategies could also prove counterproductive. There is an ongoing problem, recognized by the FDA itself, that much of the public, including smokers, believes that vaping nicotine is just as or more harmful than smoking. If these misperceptions continue to be pervasive, it means that many smokers who might have switched to safer products like e-cigarettes will fail to do so and go on to suffer from smoking-related diseases. Analysis published in the journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research found that misperceptions of the risks of e-cigarettes rose following the roll-out of anti-vaping campaigns.
In the abstract, there is little that's objectionable in discouraging those under the age of 21 from using e-cigarettes, and there are already substantial investments by the FDA and others in doing so. But there are young adults aged 21 and over who smoke cigarettes who would benefit from switching to e-cigarettes. Educating the public about the potential harms of e-cigarettes while failing to make clear that they are a dramatically safer alternative to regular cigarettes presents a one-sided and inaccurate picture of the relative risks of different nicotine products.
On July 30, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published recommendations for U.S.-based clinicians from an expert panel of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT), concluding that: "The significant burden of cigarette smoking, coupled with scientific evidence supporting e-cigarettes for smoking cessation, clearly indicates that it is appropriate to include e-cigarettes in discussions of evidence-based pharmacologic treatment for smoking cessation to reduce the harms of cigarette smoking."
Founded in 1994, SRNT is one of the world's longest-standing academic anti-smoking bodies and is cited as an expert source in the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (TCA), which gave the FDA authority to regulate tobacco products and mandates the agency to encourage innovative products. If the PROTECT Act is going to fund the development of clinical guidance, will that guidance also include the harm reduction potential of e-cigarettes for young adults who are currently smoking, along the lines suggested by SRNT?
While youth e-cigarette use at any level is a problem, there is nothing in the data to suggest that it's increasing and certainly not to the level to justify an extra $500 million in federal funding. Such a program might worsen the already widespread misperceptions that e-cigarettes are as dangerous as traditional cigarettes.
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Guy Bentley is the director of consumer freedom at Reason Foundation.
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Original text here: https://reason.org/commentary/youth-vaping-has-collapsed-but-lawmakers-want-500-million-to-fight-it-anyway/
Freedom From Religion Foundation: Arkansas Families Urge Appellate Court to Block 10 Commandments Law
MADISON, Wisconsin, Sept. 23 -- The Freedom From Religion Foundation issued the following news release:
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September 22, 2026
Arkansas families urge appellate court to block 10 Commandments law
Attorneys for 10 Arkansas families presented oral arguments today urging an appellate court to uphold a district court injunction blocking defendant school districts from implementing a Ten Commandments state law.
Act 573 requires displays of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom and library. The attorneys for the multifaith and nonreligious families argued before the 8th U.S. Circuit
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MADISON, Wisconsin, Sept. 23 -- The Freedom From Religion Foundation issued the following news release:
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September 22, 2026
Arkansas families urge appellate court to block 10 Commandments law
Attorneys for 10 Arkansas families presented oral arguments today urging an appellate court to uphold a district court injunction blocking defendant school districts from implementing a Ten Commandments state law.
Act 573 requires displays of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom and library. The attorneys for the multifaith and nonreligious families argued before the 8th U.S. CircuitCourt of Appeals that the injunction is necessary to protect the religious freedom of these families under the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment.
The organizations representing the families in Stinson v. Fayetteville School District No. 1 -- the Freedom From Religion Foundation, the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas, the ACLU, and Americans United for Separation of Church and State, with the law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP serving as pro bono counsel -- issued the following statement:
"Arkansas families -- not politicians -- have the right to decide how and when their children engage with religion. Act 573 tramples families' fundamental religious-freedom rights by forcing a government-selected version of the Ten Commandments on children for nearly every hour of the school day, throughout their entire public education. The district court correctly recognized that public schools exist to educate, not to impose the state's preferred religious doctrine on children. We are proud to support these courageous families and will continue defending the constitutional promise of religious freedom for students and parents of every faith -- and those who practice no religion at all."
Learn more about Stinson v. Fayetteville School District No. 1.
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The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to defending the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters relating to nontheism. With about 41,000 members, FFRF is the largest association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics and humanists) in North America. For more information, visit ffrf.org.
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Original text here: https://ffrf.org/news/releases/arkansas-families-urge-appellate-court-to-block-10-commandments-law/
[Category: Religion]
Foundation for Economic Education Issues Commentary: Home Is Where the Gold Is
DETROIT, Michigan, Sept. 23 -- The Foundation for Economic Education issued the following commentary:
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September 22, 2026
Home Is Where the Gold Is
Mark Nayler
Central banks are buying--and moving--more gold than ever before.
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For decades, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has been seen by the world's governments as a safe haven for a portion of their gold deposits. But under the mercurial reign of President Donald Trump, and in a general atmosphere of geopolitical turbulence, that is quickly changing. Several European countries have already relocated--or are under pressure to relocate--their
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DETROIT, Michigan, Sept. 23 -- The Foundation for Economic Education issued the following commentary:
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September 22, 2026
Home Is Where the Gold Is
Mark Nayler
Central banks are buying--and moving--more gold than ever before.
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For decades, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has been seen by the world's governments as a safe haven for a portion of their gold deposits. But under the mercurial reign of President Donald Trump, and in a general atmosphere of geopolitical turbulence, that is quickly changing. Several European countries have already relocated--or are under pressure to relocate--theirgold from New York to domestic vaults, prompted by concerns about the stability of the regulatory environment under Trump. According to the World Gold Council, 59% of the world's central banks now prefer to keep their gold at home, compared to 41% just two years ago.
Trump's tariff wars and his attack on Iran have both contributed to the run on New York's foreign gold reserves. But Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and the G7 nations' retaliatory freeze of Russian assets held abroad, have also played a major role. Nonaligned countries were especially spooked by the unprecedented economic sanctions imposed on Russia: India has carried out one of the largest gold repatriations since 2022, and now holds around 77% of its total stash in Mumbai and Nagpur. According to Carsten Menke, a researcher at the Swiss private banking group Julius Baer, the war in Ukraine is "the main factor that has caused the change in gold's role as a geostrategic asset." Menke believes that a reversal of the repatriation trend is unlikely, even when a peace agreement is finally reached over Ukraine.
The dollar's international convertibility into gold ended under Richard Nixon in 1971, amid fears of a run on US reserves. But gold's reputation as a safe investment, especially during geopolitical turmoil, remains undiminished. Increased demand from central banks has caused the precious metal's price to soar by 140% over the last three years. In 2025 alone, it increased by roughly 65%, and it hit a record price of just over $5,000 per ounce in January this year. According to a report by the European Central Bank (ECB) in June, gold has overtaken US Treasury bonds as the world's top reserve asset and now accounts for 27% of the total, up from 20% in 2025. Central banks purchased a record 289 tons in the second quarter of this year alone, five times the amount bought in the first quarter.
As well as buying more bullion, some of Europe's central banks are busy moving it around. The Netherlands has recently relocated 86 of the 313 tons it held in the US and Canada to London "in view of increasing geopolitical unrest." It sold 59 tons of gold in New York to buy new bars in London, but physically transported over 27 tons to the Bank of England--the most popular vault for international gold, holding around 400,000 bars worth an estimated $200 billion. "We expect that we will never need to use [this gold]," said Olaf Sleijpen, the governor of the Dutch central bank, "but we do need to strengthen our resilience and preparedness."
France has recently completed a gold repatriation project that began in the 1960s under President Charles de Gaulle. Fearing a devaluation of the dollar (correctly, as it turned out), de Gaulle converted all France's American currency into gold and had it transported back to Paris from London and New York between 1963 and 1966. Operation "Vide Gousset," as it was called ("Empty Pockets"), required 44 top-secret boat trips and 129 flights to repatriate over 3,000 tons of gold. This lengthy homecoming was completed between January 2025 and 2026, with the French central bank's sale of 129 (metric) tons of gold bullion held in New York--about 5% of the country's total reserve--and purchase of new, higher-quality bars in Paris. France made around $15 billion from this conversion, which it says was performed for logistical, rather than political, reasons.
Not all EU nations, however, are bringing home the gold. Germany's reserve of 3,350 tons--worth about $475 billion--is the second-largest in the world after North America's. Just over half is held in Frankfurt, with around 37% stashed in New York and 13% in London. In March, the center-right AfD party called for all of Germany's gold to be returned to Berlin, a suggestion now backed by some of the country's leading economists. Both Emanuel Monch, former head of research at Germany's federal bank, and Michael Jager, head of the European Taxpayers' Association and the Association of German Taxpayers, have said that the 1,236 tons held in New York are not safe under Trump. So far, the German government and central bank have resisted these calls, arguing that the Frankfurt stash guarantees the country's ability to withstand international crises. Some German economists have also suggested that a portion of the gold should be sold off and the proceeds injected into the country's struggling economy.
Despite having Europe's fifth-largest economy, Spain's gold stash is embarrassingly small compared to those of its neighbors--just 281 tons, valued at about $40 billion, placing it 20th in the global rankings. Spanish gold reserves were severely depleted during the 1936-39 Civil War, when the Republican government raided the coffers to combat Francisco Franco's (ultimately victorious) Nationalist troops. Between 2004 and 2007, the Socialist leadership of Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero authorized the sale of over half of Spain's remaining gold reserves, claiming that the precious metal was no longer profitable (a crazy decision in hindsight, and one which violated central bank autonomy). Although the majority of its remaining hoard is held by the Bank of Spain, the exact disbursement is kept secret, with smaller amounts stored in London, Basel, and New York. Some commentators have suggested that the repatriation of Spanish gold would help bolster the eurozone's fiscal autonomy, but so far neither the country's central bank nor its government shows any signs of doing so.
Italy's gold reserve of 2,452 tons, worth around $350 billion, is the world's third-largest, and distributed between Rome (45%), New York (43%), and London and Bern (both 6%). But in Rome, the debate is centered on the question of gold reserve ownership, rather than repatriation. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's center-right government claims that the Bank of Italy's stash belongs to the state and Italian people--whereas a country's gold reserves are typically seen as the exclusive property of its central bank, operating independently of the government. Meloni's Brothers of Italy party claims that it wants to ensure that the reserves are not used recklessly or sold off; but the EU has warned that any dilution of central bank autonomy would violate the bloc's fiscal regulations, under which gold, along with foreign currency reserves, underpins the stability of the euro. For that reason, it is off-limits to central governments.
As a global fixed benchmark, the gold standard has long since ceased to exist. But the precious metal has lost none of its allure for human beings, either as a symbol of indestructible wealth or a dependable investment in troubled times. New York's vaults might be slightly emptier than they were a few years ago--but many across the rest of the world now house more gold than ever before.
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Mark Nayler is a freelance journalist and critic based in Malaga, Spain. He writes regularly for The Spectator and Times Literary Supplement and is working on a biography of the philosopher Bryan Magee, due to be published by Bloomsbury (London) in 2028.
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Original text here: https://fee.org/articles/home-is-where-the-gold-is/
OMRF receives $1.9 million to study cause of infertility, congenital disorders
OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma, Sept. 22 -- The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation posted the following news:
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OMRF receives $1.9 million to study cause of infertility, congenital disorders
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Through studies funded by a new four-year federal grant, an Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation scientist hopes to better understand the cause of errors that lead to miscarriages and genetic conditions like Down syndrome.
The National Institutes of Health awarded a $1.9 million grant to Roberto Pezza, Ph.D., whose lab studies meiosis, a special type of cell division that results in egg and sperm cells.
DNA
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OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma, Sept. 22 -- The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation posted the following news:
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OMRF receives $1.9 million to study cause of infertility, congenital disorders
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Through studies funded by a new four-year federal grant, an Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation scientist hopes to better understand the cause of errors that lead to miscarriages and genetic conditions like Down syndrome.
The National Institutes of Health awarded a $1.9 million grant to Roberto Pezza, Ph.D., whose lab studies meiosis, a special type of cell division that results in egg and sperm cells.
DNAis compactly organized and packaged into 23 pairs of chromosomes inside the nucleus of these reproductive cells. These chromosomes also contain the instructions for building and running our bodies. During meiosis, matching pairs of chromosomes - one each from the mother and father - must find each other, pair up and eventually separate correctly.
This project will focus on how a group of proteins manages chromosomes to keep the process running smoothly. Mistakes in this process can have serious reproductive consequences, including Down syndrome, which occurs when a baby is born with an extra copy of one chromosome. The most common chromosomal condition in the U.S., Down syndrome occurs in about 1 in every 700 births.
More frequently, errors during meiosis result in fertilization failure or in embryos that stop developing and ultimately die, usually during the first trimester of pregnancy.
Pezza will examine this process with an eye toward finding potential points of failure. He compares the research to understanding the inner workings of a car or any other complex piece of machinery.
"Sometimes it breaks, but before you can fix it, you have to understand how the pieces fit together and what makes it run normally," he said. "That's what this study aims to do."
While Pezza's study is specific to reproductive cells, it potentially has widespread implications, said Gary Gorbsky, Ph.D., who leads OMRF's Cell Cycle & Cancer Biology Research Program.
"The protein complex Dr. Pezza is studying is necessary for cellular function in most cell types," Gorbsky said. "So, what he learns from this research could ultimately help scientists prevent the genetic mutations that cause many diseases, including cancer."
Pezza's grant, No. R01GM166726, was awarded by the National Institute of General Medical Services, part of the NIH. His grant application was enhanced by preliminary research funded by the Presbyterian Health Foundation and the Oklahoma Center for Adult Stem Cell Research, a program of the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust.
This content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
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Original text here: https://omrf.org/omrf-receives-1-9-million-to-study-cause-of-infertility-congenital-disorders/
Greater Cincinnati Foundation: Bridge Builder - Night of Celebration and Connection
CINCINNATI, Sept. 22 -- The Greater Cincinnati Foundation issued the following news:
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Bridge Builder: A night of celebration and connection
September 21, 2026
On September 14, 2026, Greater Cincinnati Foundation's annual gathering of professional advisors brought together wealth advisors, estate planning attorneys and accountants for an evening of connection and celebration at the Cincinnati Ballet.
The highlight of the evening was the presentation of GCF's 2026 Bridge Builder Award to Jody Brant, president and CEO of Katz Teller. Since its inception, the award has recognized professional
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CINCINNATI, Sept. 22 -- The Greater Cincinnati Foundation issued the following news:
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Bridge Builder: A night of celebration and connection
September 21, 2026
On September 14, 2026, Greater Cincinnati Foundation's annual gathering of professional advisors brought together wealth advisors, estate planning attorneys and accountants for an evening of connection and celebration at the Cincinnati Ballet.
The highlight of the evening was the presentation of GCF's 2026 Bridge Builder Award to Jody Brant, president and CEO of Katz Teller. Since its inception, the award has recognized professionaladvisors who have partnered with GCF, connecting charitably inclined clients with the foundation's resources while demonstrating a deep commitment to community service.
Brant has dedicated his career to helping families, individuals and business owners navigate estate, wealth and tax planning, with a focus on charitable giving and legacy planning. Beyond his professional contributions, he has strengthened the region through extensive nonprofit leadership. He currently serves on the boards of Cincinnati Squash Academy, The Christ Hospital Foundation, the Cincinnati Country Day School Foundation and the Mayerson JCC. He has also chaired the boards of Easterseals Tristate, Jewish Vocational Service and Cincinnati Country Day School.
GCF is honored to work alongside professional advisors, as an extension of their services, to make a lasting impact for their clients and the causes they care about deeply.
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Original text here: https://www.gcfdn.org/blog/bridge-builder-a-night-of-celebration-and-connection/
Encellin Partners with Breakthrough T1D to Advance Immune-Protected Cell Therapy for Type 1 Diabetes
NEW YORK, Sept. 22 -- Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF) a non-profit dedicated to funding type 1 diabetes research, posted the following news release:
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Encellin Partners with Breakthrough T1D to Advance Immune-Protected Cell Therapy for Type 1 Diabetes
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SAN FRANCISCO, NEW YORK & MONTREAL, Sept. 22, 2026-Encellin, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing Encapsulated Cell Replacement Therapy (ENCRT), today announced a partnership with Breakthrough T1D, the leading global Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) research and advocacy organization, and an award through its Industry Discovery
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NEW YORK, Sept. 22 -- Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF) a non-profit dedicated to funding type 1 diabetes research, posted the following news release:
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Encellin Partners with Breakthrough T1D to Advance Immune-Protected Cell Therapy for Type 1 Diabetes
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SAN FRANCISCO, NEW YORK & MONTREAL, Sept. 22, 2026-Encellin, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing Encapsulated Cell Replacement Therapy (ENCRT), today announced a partnership with Breakthrough T1D, the leading global Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) research and advocacy organization, and an award through its Industry Discoveryand Development Partnership (IDDP) program to support the advancement of Encellin's ENCRT-103-hPI clinical program in T1D.
The new trial (NCT07680673) will bring ENCRT-103-hPI, Encellin's immune-protected implant configuration, into the clinic. ENCRT-103-hPI builds on the successful completion of NCT06408311, Encellin's first-in-human Phase 1 study, which demonstrated non-fibrotic tissue integration, vascularization, and viable human islets within retrieved ENC-201 implants. NCT07680673 is designed to test whether this next-generation implant can safely support and protect transplanted islets in people with T1D, and will be conducted in Canada. The planned study will assess safety, tolerability, and local tissue response, including vascular integration around the implant, the ENCRT membrane's ability to exclude immune cells, and survival of the donor islets.
For people living with T1D, replacing the insulin-producing cells lost to the disease has the potential to address the underlying disease rather than continually managing its consequences. Today, however, islet transplantation requires systemic immunosuppression to protect transplanted cells. Encellin is developing ENCRT with the long-term goal of enabling cell replacement therapies that can survive and function while being protected from the immune system, without the need for immunosuppression.
"People with Type 1 Diabetes manage their disease every hour of every day. Our vision is a future where replacing the cells lost to T1D and protecting them instead of suppressing the patient's immune response can become a practical therapeutic option for many more people," said Crystal Nyitray, PhD, founder and CEO of Encellin. "This study represents an important step toward that goal. We are grateful to Breakthrough T1D for sharing that vision and for supporting the careful clinical work required to determine whether an immune-protected cell replacement approach can ultimately deliver meaningful benefit to people living with T1D."
"Islet Cell replacement has enormous potential to transform the lives of people with Type 1 Diabetes, but protecting transplanted insulin-producing cells from the immune system without the need for immune suppressive drugs remains one of the field's central challenges," said Asja Guzman, Associate Director of Cell Therapy Research at Breakthrough T1D. "Breakthrough T1D is committed to advancing approaches to help overcome this barrier. Encellin's clinical program provides an opportunity to validate a retrievable, immune-protective device can safely support the long-term function of transplanted islets in people with T1D, and we are pleased to collaborate in this next stage of development."
About the Encellin-Breakthrough T1D Collaboration
Breakthrough T1D's Industry Discovery and Development Partnership program supports promising industry programs with the potential to accelerate the development of therapies for the treatment, prevention and cure of T1D. Under the 24-month, $2.5 million award, Breakthrough T1D will support advancement of Encellin's ENCRT-103-hPI clinical program, including the planned Phase 1 study in adults with T1D.
About Encellin
Encellin, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing Encapsulated Cell Replacement Therapy (ENCRT), a retrievable thin-film platform designed to enable therapeutic cells to survive and function in the body. Encellin's lead clinical programs are focused on advancing cell replacement approaches for people living with Type 1 Diabetes.
For more information, visit www.encellin.com.
About Breakthrough T1D, Formerly JDRF
As the leading global type 1 diabetes research and advocacy organization, Breakthrough T1D helps make everyday life with type 1 diabetes better while driving toward cures. We do this by investing in the most promising research, advocating for progress by working with government to address issues that impact the T1D community, and helping educate and empower individuals facing this condition.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding the potential benefit of the ENCRT platform, including its ability to address fibrosis, immune protection, viability of human cells, and potential applications in Type 1 Diabetes and other endocrine or metabolic diseases, development plans and vision for future programs or potential therapeutic applications. The ENCRT platform's development for use with allogeneic islets in patients with Type 1 Diabetes is being evaluated in clinical studies, and its safety and effectiveness for this use has not been established. These statements are based on current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties including risks associated with early-stage clinical development, the possibility of unfavorable preclinical or clinical results, regulatory review and approval process, manufacturing challenges, and the ability to advance programs as planned. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied. Encellin undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information or future events.
The new trial (NCT07680673) will bring ENCRT-103-hPI, Encellin's immune-protected implant configuration, into the clinic. ENCRT-103-hPI builds on the successful completion of NCT06408311, Encellin's first-in-human Phase 1 study, which demonstrated non-fibrotic tissue integration, vascularization, and viable human islets within retrieved ENC-201 implants. NCT07680673 is designed to test whether this next-generation implant can safely support and protect transplanted islets in people with T1D, and will be conducted in Canada. The planned study will assess safety, tolerability, and local tissue response, including vascular integration around the implant, the ENCRT membrane's ability to exclude immune cells, and survival of the donor islets.
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Original text here: https://www.breakthrought1d.org/for-the-media/press-releases/encellin-partners-with-breakthrough-t1d-to-advance-immune-protected-cell-therapy-for-type-1-diabetes/
