University News

UC Davis Microbiome Special Research Program Awards Seed Funding to Seven Collaborative Research Projects

The UC Davis Microbiome Special Research Program and the Office of Research are pleased to announce the recipients of seven seed funding awards. Each awarded proposal will receive $40,000 over two years. The seed funding program is designed to catalyze new projects and innovations in microbiome sciences with an emphasis on new interdisciplinary collaborations within UC Davis.

UC Davis BME Lewis Lab Seeks Solution to Shellfish Allergy

UC Davis Biomedical Engineering’s Dr. Jamal Lewis isn’t just researching dangerous shellfish allergies: He lives with them every day. So it’s especially meaningful that his lab has been awarded a two-year, $150,000 grant to research solutions that would help himself and the approximately 1.4 percent of Americans — about 4 million people — who share his health condition. The National Institute of Health/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases grant will enable the Lewis Lab – which specializes in using biomaterials to control the immune system – to research using materials derived from gut-resident bacteria to avoid unwanted allergic responses.

Record Number of UC Davis Startups for 2017-18

The University of California, Davis, enabled the foundation of 16 commercial companies during the fiscal year ending June 30, an all-time high for the university. This brings the total number of startups made possible by UC Davis technologies during the past 10 years to 137. Among those startups, Evolve BioSystems, which builds on university research on infant gut microbiome and breast milk components, recently completed a $40 million Series C financing, co-led by Horizons Ventures and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, to expand sales of its flagship infant probiotic product worldwide.  

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