Ishita Shah and Matrubials Inc
Aim to Turn Milk into Medicine
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A spinout from the UC Davis Foods for Health Institute, Matrubials Inc., is the winner in the Biopharma category of this year's Sacramento Region Innovation Awards! The company is developing the anti pathogenic molecules from human milk into topical therapeutics. The first indication is Bacterial Vaginosis (BV), which impacts almost a third of all women.
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2022 UC Davis Chancellor's Innovation Awards |
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Nominate a person or team for the Innovator of the Year
by March 14, 2022
The UC Davis Chancellor’s Innovation Awards are designed to recognize faculty, community partners, and industry leaders for their success in developing new technologies, social platforms or other innovations based on university research or academic endeavors. These innovators play an essential role in translating university research to improve the lives of others and address the needs of our global society.
The Innovator of the Year award recognizes individual UC Davis faculty or staff members, or teams (that may include UC Davis faculty, students, and staff) whose inventive, innovative or entrepreneurial activities have had a measurable societal impact in the last year, or those whose activities or achievements in the last year have a very strong potential to make a significant impact in the future. This award is open to all academic disciplines, including social sciences, humanities, law, business, life sciences, physical sciences, medicine, computational sciences, and other areas of research and academic study. Up to two awards will be presented and recipients will receive a cash award of up to $10,000, which can be applied to further their research or innovative activities.
Anyone at UC Davis can nominate an individual or team for the Innovator of the Year award by completing and submitting the nomination form by March 14, 2022. Please note that self-nominations will not be accepted for these awards.
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Venture Capital Backed Botanical Solution Inc Expands Production and Footprint |
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After agreeing to the UC Davis Worldwide Accelerated Research Partnership, Botanical Solution Inc. a Chilean innovator of Advanced Botanical Materials for agricultural and pharmaceutical applications, entered the US market through this soft landing framework managed by Venture Catalyst. The connections made in the Venture Catalyst's START Program helped the company successfully close $6.1 million in a Series A round led by Palo Alto based VC Firm, Otter Capital. This round of funding will enhance BSI’s value proposition by facilitating the geographic expansion of its current botanical-based products and development of a new product pipeline derived from its proprietary biotech platform.
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Venture Catalyst Launches
the 2022 STAIR Grant Program Cycle
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Venture Catalyst will accept applications for the ninth cycle of the Science Translation and Innovation Research (STAIR) Grant Program, which provides funding and resources to translate basic UC Davis research with commercial potential by demonstrating proof-of-concept and establishing market viability.
Key features of the STAIR Grant program include: 1) targeted funding to bridge the gap between basic research and early-stage commercialization efforts, 2) project work conducted over a 12-month period, 3) Review Committee consisting of industry representatives with corporate, investor, and entrepreneurial expertise, 4) feedback and guidance on commercialization from members of the Review Committee and the Venture Catalyst team, and 5) structured entrepreneurial training.
If you would like to request an overview presentation and/or a Q&A session for your department or unit, please email stairgrant@ucdavis.edu.
The application submission period starts on January 27, 2022 and ends on March 17, 2022 at 11:59 pm PDT.
Please click here for more grant information and application instructions.
Venture Catalyst has engaged campus and industry partners to expand potential funding available to particular technologies and projects through the STAIR Grant Program. Partners include Triple Ring Technologies, TurtleTree, the UC Davis College of Biological Sciences, the UC Davis College of Letters & Science, the UC Davis School of Medicine, and the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.
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UC Davis to Lead a Climate Resistant
Wheat Breading Project
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USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture taped the University of California, Davis to lead a $15 million research project to accelerate wheat breeding to meet those new climate realities, as well as, to train a new generation of plant breeders. The grant provides federal funding to standup a coordinated consortium of 41 wheat breeders and researchers from 22 institutions in 20 states, as well as, researchers from Mexico and the United Kingdom. Further, the grant underscores the importance of wheat breading efforts at public institutions like UC Davis. |
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IIFH and Venture Catalyst Revamps the
the 2022 Food System Innovation Award Program
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Venture Catalyst and the UC Davis Innovation Institute for Food & Health (IIFH) co-created the the Food Systems Innovation Award Program. The Food Systems Innovation Award program funds proof-of-concept innovations utilizing cutting-edge technologies to improve metabolic health outcomes by providing easily accessible food and health choices that support happier, healthier, longer lives for everyone. In addition to the awards, the applicants obtain early feedback on inventions from investors interested in early stage technology at UC Davis.
The application consists of an application form, a one page executive summary of the technology and biographical sketch of the PI. If the project is a good fit for this award program, the application will receive an official invitation from Venture Catalyst to submit a pitch deck and present to a group of investors.
If you would like to request an overview presentation and/or a Q&A session for your department or unit, please email stairgrant@ucdavis.edu.
The application deadline is Tuesday, April 5, 2022 at 5:00 pm PDT.
Please click here for more grant information and application instructions.
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Aggie Square: UC Davis breaks ground on $1 Billion Innovation District in Sacramento |
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UC Davis has officially broken ground on the new Aggie Square Project, a mixed-used innovation district adjacent to the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento. The first phase of this construction project is underway on the $1 billion 8-acre life science campus in Sacramento. This campus expansion will create a state of the art hub for research, innovation and education. Anchor tenants of the innovation hub include IBM, Amazon Web Services, Thermo Fisher Scientific and Alice Waters Institute for Edible Education. According to the university, this project will create 25,000 jobs and pump $5 billion into the Sacramento region each year.
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Perspectives on Investing in Agriculture Startups
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SBDCtech will host an agriculture investment panel discussion. Investors will share different perspectives on venture capital and technical expertise across the value chain, from seed improvement, land stewardship to agtech. Entrepreneurs will learn what trends to take advantage of and how to position yourself most effectively to food & ag investors.
Featured Panelist:
John Selep, Co-Founder & Board Chair of the AgTech Innovation Alliance (AgStart)
Isabella Fantini, Food & AgTech Specialist, REMUS Capital
Yanniv Dorone, Senior Investment Associate, Fall Line Capital
Michael Pereira, Principal, Granum Services LLC.
Virtual Panel:
March 3, 2022
11:00 AM -12:00 PM
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Federal Work Study Pilot Links Students
to Local Startups and Small Businesses
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UC Davis is the recipient of the Federal Work Study Experiment funding for the academic year 2021–2022. Under this experimental program, students will be able to work for startups and small businesses, learning relevant and applicable skills as a complement to their academic studies. In this scenario, employers are reimbursed 75% of the hourly wage student employees earn. Employers commit to hiring students at $15.00 per hour, for a 10 hours per week minimum while providing the requisite training and supervision of entry level employees or interns.
Instructions:
Students may contact the Work-Study manager at workstudy@ucdavis.edu to obtain an a work study application.
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Knowledge Exchange: Getting Your
Startup Story Straight
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Tools to Create Better Customer-Focused Solutions, Motivate Backers and Dominate the Market
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Talk: UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, Executive-in-Residence, David Riemer, will share his approach for building and telling the story of your business. He will describe the art and science behind storytelling by providing a narrative framework, techniques to tap into emotion, and examples of compelling innovation stories. David has employed this approach with hundreds of Bay Area startups, including rising stars Databricks, Anyscale, Upwork and Splashtop.
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UC Davis Venture Catalyst
Knowledge Exchange
March 22, 2022; 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
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City of Elk Grove Launches Inaugural Startup Pitch Event
Pitch competition deadline is February 18 at 11:59 p.m. Learn more
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Sacramento Kings Capitalize Contest is the NBA's first crowdsourced startup competition offers mentorship and funding.
Application deadline is February 25, 2022. Learn more
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Foodshot Global seeks transformative innovation to food system challenges
Nominations for the Groundbreaker Prize are due by March 1, 2022. Learn more
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World Bank Youth Summit 2022 Pitch Competition is looking for proposals from people under the age of 36 years old who have innovative and action oriented solutions and projects.
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CalTech Rocket Fund provides grants to cleantech and sustainability startups.
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Startup Redding is hosting a Pitch Competition at the Redding Venture Conference
Pitch competition deadline is March 8, 2022. Apply here
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FS6 Food System Accelerator is a cohort style business development programs designed to pair innovators with resources and networks for food system restoration.
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Big Bang! Connect. Learn. Compete. sponsored by the Mike and Renee Child Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship is a business competition designed for aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs.
Application Deadlines:
Round 1 (February 10, 2022)
Round 2 (March 10, 2022)
Round 3 (April 27, 2022)
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Skydeck offers an 6-month acceleration program for promising startups in any vertical who are affiliated with UC Berkeley, any UC campus, Lawrence Berkeley Lab, or global founders.
Batch 14 Application deadline is February 28th, 2022. available online. Learn more
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2022 Cleantech Open Accelerator provides founders training and resources they need to startup and expand cleantech businesses.
Application deadline is April 17, 2022. Learn more
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CITRIS Foundry Incubator helps innovators and entrepreneurs bridge the gap from lab to market and actualize rigorous, validated solutions to society’s biggest challenges.
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IndieBio Accelerator aims to turn scientists into entrepreneurs who can save lives and save the planet.
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Educational Opportunities |
UC Davis Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship present
Ideas into Actions: Developing and Presenting Your Startup Slide Deck
Registration is open for this Event (Date February 22, 2022). Learn more
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UC Davis Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship present
Ideas into Actions: Put Your Best Foot Forward
Registration is open for this Event (Date March 3, 2022). Learn more
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Registration is open for this event (Date: March 11-12, 2022). Learn more
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Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship UC Entrepreneurship Academy
Registration is open for this event (Date: April 5-8, 2022). Learn more
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UCD Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship and Blackstone Launchpad UC Davis Think. Do. Discover. Speaker Series:
A Conversation with Michael Colglazier , CEO of Virgin Galactic
Registration is open for this event (Date: April 20, 2022). Learn more
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UC Davis I-Corps
Application will be available in April 2022.
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Regional Educational Opportunities |
Sacramento Entrepreneurship Academy
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Sacramento State Carlsen Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship
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Small Business Development Center Workshops. Learn more
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California Life Sciences Institute FAST Advisory Program. Learn more
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Bay Area NSF Innovation Corps Immersive Short Course. Learn more
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StartupSac and the Carlsen Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Sac State) will host a Happy Hour featuring Matrubials CEO Ishita Shah
Registration is open for this event (Date: February 22, 2022). Learn more
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SXSW Conference is a destination for creative people and professionals to achieve their goals.
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World AgriTech Innovation Summit is an meeting place for the global agtech ecosystem.
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Startup Grind Global Conference is about bridging the gap between web2 and web3.
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Future Food-Tech Alternative Proteins Summit is dedicated to connect global food leaders to map out the future of protein.
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About Venture Catalyst
UC Davis Venture Catalyst supports the development of new ventures fueled by university research and technology. Venture Catalyst offers several innovative programs that bridge the gap between early-stage research and commercialization and provide entrepreneurs the resources, support, and connections needed to successfully form and grow technology-based startups. With a focus on accelerating technology-led economic development in the Davis-Sacramento region, Venture Catalyst also works closely with partners in the regional innovation and economic development ecosystems.
Contact Venture Catalyst
For more information or for editorial comments, please email us.
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