Ava Vargason helps READDI ready the world

“Universities are the foundation of creativity and innovation in the sciences,” says Ava Vargason ’22 (PhD), program manager for the Rapidly Emerging Antiviral Drug Development Initiative, which was launched by three Carolina virologists with help from Eshelman Innovation. “If you look back through history and the sciences, our biggest advancements have happened when you give researchers the freedom to go after those really challenging ideas.”

The freedom to explore is only the beginning, however, Vargason says. Turning great ideas into therapeutics and technologies that benefit people requires commercialization. That’s where Eshelman Innovation comes in.

“Eshelman Innovation is the bridge,” she says. “Eshelman Innovation helps researchers that are tackling those really big questions and getting answers … drive them to have a real-world impact, an impact on patient lives. With READDI, we’ve seen that at every step of the journey.”

Vargason is the latest guest in the video series “North Carolina Innovators You Should Know,” hosted by Eshelman Innovation Executive Director John Bamforth. 

“What excites me most is that it’s now been two or three years since a lot of our scientific projects have kicked off, and we’re starting to see the benefit,” says Vargason about the initiative’s drug discovery efforts. “We’re starting to see the results come in. READDI needs time to develop these drugs, but we now have molecules that are active against viruses that currently have no approved therapeutics.”

Through its video series, Eshelman Innovation introduces viewers to UNC-Chapel Hill innovators, like Vargason, and those at other institutions and companies.

“A rich ecosystem of innovation exists in North Carolina,” Bamforth says. “This video series shines a light on trailblazers across the state.”

Thank you to the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media for filming this interview at the Curtis Media Center.