Celebrating UC Davis Women in Innovation |
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Women's History Month highlights the contribution of women to events in history and contemporary society. In celebration of Women's history month, Venture Catalyst recognizes these UC Davis researchers advancing important innovations in health and sciences.
Professor Cristina Davis (left photo) | She is the co-founder of two UC Davis affiliated startups, SensIT Ventures Inc., and XTB Laboratories Inc. One of her most recent innovation includes a miniature, handheld device that can measure chemical biomarkers in human breath, which can be used to both diagnose and monitor medical conditions.
Associate Director Ishita Shah (middle photo) | She is the co-founder of Matrubials, a spin-out from the Foods For Health Institute, at UC Davis that is developing novel milk-derived antibacterial therapeutics to address infectious diseases.
Professor You Lo Hsieh (right photo) | She has obtained several patents, written over 200 research papers. Her research integrates polymer chemistry with materials engineering to expand soft material potentials to create new structures, functional nanomaterials and sustainable materials that offer versatile and environmentally-friendly solutions and meet future demands for advanced materials.
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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 $25k 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 12, 2022 at 5:00 pm PDT.
Please click here for more grant information and application instructions.
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Pioneer in Flexible Iontronic Sensing Technology
Prepares to Scale the Business
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START participant, TacSense, a tactile AI solutions provider, launched tactile solutions for the HMI and medical device industries, based on its self-developed flexible pressure sensors, which empower smart devices in these industries with the ability to sense external pressure. The tactile solutions launch was supported by seed and series A funding. In less than two years, the company closed on $15.8 million in a series B financing for business expansion.
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Space Research on Inspection Satellite
Takes the Stage at UC Davis
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Students in the Center for Spaceflight Research at UC Davis are working on technologies for a class of satellites that could inspect other spacecraft, such as the International Space Station (ISS), in collaboration with NASA. The current inspection practice is costly and dangerous for two astronauts to spacewalk and check systems. |
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IPO Window Favors Software Companies
That Use Category Innovation
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Companies in the software industry, where novel ideas are prized, use linguistic tactics to develop new labels (category innovation) for their products to stay ahead of competitors. Using language to signal that something is “new and different” is an important tool for success, as University of California, Davis, research suggests. |
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NSF I-Corps Entrepreneurship Short Course at UC Davis
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Do you have a startup idea? Are you looking for a proven method to validate your idea?
UC Davis is teaming up with UC Berkeley to offer Intro To Lean Startup: NSF I-Corps Method, a free remote 10-day course based on a methodology used by innovators at universities and federal agencies nationwide. The three afternoon sessions on April 25, 27, and May 4 will teach you to identify and refine your value propositions and customer segments, which is essential to de-risking your idea and refining a technology the world really needs. Eligible teams that complete the course with instructor endorsement might also qualify for the National NSF I-Corps program, which includes a $50,000 customer discovery grant. Teams that complete the national program have a much higher funding rate, including SBIR grants and investment.
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UC Davis and Pfizer Partner on two
new COVID-19 Booster Vaccine Clinical Trials
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UC Davis Nanomedicine Scientist Recognized as a Top Biomedical Engineer in the U.S. |
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Yuanpei Li has been elected to the prestigious American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) College of Fellows |
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Li was nominated, reviewed, and elected by peers and members of the College of Fellows for outstanding contributions to the development of intelligent nanomedicine platforms to improve drug delivery.
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New Research Shows Predictors for Diabetes
are Different for Black and White Women
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Candice Price (left photo) an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Molecular Biosciences in the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, has been studying the mechanisms for developing cardiometabolic diseases, including diabetes in Black women, since her postdoctoral research days. Contrary to existing studies demonstrating that Black women are more insulin resistant (a precursor to diabetes) than their white counterparts, she wanted to understand whether the prevalence, or risk for developing insulin resistance, is greater in Black communities.
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UC Davis Is First In Region
To Grow Cancer-Fighting CAR T Cells
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Genetically Modified Cancer-Fighting Cells Are Now Developed On Campus As Part Of A New Cellular Therapy Program |
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UC Davis Health CEO David Lubarsky said "We are starting our CAR T-cell therapy program with blood cancers, but we anticipate using this revolutionary therapy as a breakthrough treatment for many other diseases in the not-too-distant future."
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Davis Founded Marrone Bio Acquired for $236 million |
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In 2006, Pam Marrone founded Davis based Marrone Bio Innovations Inc (Ticker: MBII) which develops and sells biologically based agriculture products that kill pests without harsh chemicals. The public company amassed a robust portfolio of over 400 issued and pending patents around its superior natural product chemistry. The company has won numerous awards including Agrow Best New Biopesticide for Regalia, Grandevo, Venerate and Majestene and IBMA’s Bernard Blum Award for the microbe behind Venerate, Majestene and MBI-014. As of this month, the company reached a new milestone, a corporate takeover. Argentinian company Biocreres Crop Solutions Corps agreed to buy Marrone Bio Innovations Inc in an all-stock deal valued at $236 million.
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Former Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson
Launches VC Firm To Invest In Diverse Businesses
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Former Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson has raised $4.3 million for a venture capital fund that aims to invest in businesses to support communities of color.
A former NBA All-Star, Johnson served two terms as Sacramento mayor from 2008 to 2016, and has long had business and nonprofit interests in Sacramento’s Oak Park neighborhood, where he grew up.
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Climate Change Efforts at the White House
Increase Public Electric Car Chargers to 500,000
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The US Departments of Energy and Transportation announced on Thursday that they will dole out nearly $5 billion over the next five years to help states beef up access to electric-vehicle charging. It's part of the White House's broader goal to curb climate change and get more Americans into zero-emission vehicles.
Biden aims for the US to have 500,000 public EV chargers by 2030, roughly 400,000 more plugs than are available today.
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Spatial Alchemy: Why proximity matters for innovation |
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The Economist puts it, “Physical closeness is part of a formula that enables creativity and co-creation through the clustering of talent and ideas.”
There has been a lot of talk of late about how some companies are embracing remote work while others are gobbling up real estate, doubling down on an in-person post-pandemic future. Most academic researchers do not have a choice. Aside from responsibilities such as planning, coding, data analysis, and writing, which can all be done remotely, continued progress means gathering in physical labs where knowledge is shared and experiments can be performed safely and effectively. Progress also means access to cutting-edge instrumentation and an inclusive environment where learning and ideation are pervasive. Most importantly, true disruption requires that ideas be shared, challenged, refined, and amplified through collisions and synergies across skillsets, disciplines, and schools of thought. While the accelerated adoption of virtual tools facilitates some of these processes, the digital world cannot (yet?) emulate the creative magic that chance interactions spark every day in the real world.
Digital technology once promised 'the death of distance', allowing workers to collaborate from anywhere. But research shows that physical proximity can, in some contexts, promote higher rates of innovation.
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MIT Solve’s Global Challenges is MIT Solve’s Global Challenges seek social entrepreneurs who are using technology to solve today’s most pressing problems.
Application Deadline is March 31, 2022. Learn More
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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 3 (April 27, 2022)
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2022 Indigenous Communities Fellowship is an opportunity for Native innovators in the US build upon traditional knowledge and technology to meet the social, environmental, and economic goals of their communities.
Application Deadline is April 11, 2022. 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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Women in STEM Scholarship is awarded annually to female international/DACA students who are currently enrolled or accepted to study full-time in a STEM degree program at a program MPOWER supports in the United States or Canada.
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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 |
Innovation Institute for Food & Health Innovator Fellows provides winning Innovator Fellows up to $50K in funding for salary, tuition, travel and research expenses over six months.
Application Deadline is March 18, 2022 or until filled. 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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Rosenman Innovators program invites startups in diagnostics, digital health, health services, and medical devices to pitch our panel of judges (a mix of financial/strategic investors, subject matter expertise and clinicians).
Application Deadline is April 11, 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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Stanford Drug Discovery Symposium 2022 provides an invaluable forum for interdisciplinary exchange at the forefront of drug research.
Registration is open for this event (Date: April 25-26, 2022). Learn more
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2022 UCD Research Expo is an annual event that showcases the latest research-related insight, resources, opportunities and tools to help you advance your research.
Registration is open for this event (Date: May 11,2022). Learn more
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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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Biomere West Coast Preclinical Research Symposium is an event features key KOLs covering gene therapy, neurology, ophthalmology and IND best practices.
Registration is open for this event (Date: April 11, 2022). Learn more
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Startup Grind Global Conference is about bridging the gap between web2 and web3.
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NorCal Life Sciences the founding life science hub: Research to Biotechnology, Space Innovations, and Future Expansions.
Registration is open for this event (Date: May 12, 2022). Learn more
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Indoor AgTech Innovation Summit (Virtual) returns gathering the world’s leading growers, retailers, investors, seed companies and technology providers to meet, network and cultivate new commercial partnerships.
Registration is open for this event (Date: June 23-24, 2022). Learn more
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Future Food-Tech Alternative Proteins Summit (Virtual) takes place in New York to reunite the protein industry to explore new approaches to scaling novel technologies. Registration is open for this event (Date: June 21-24, 2022). Learn more
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Venture Summit West connects the most innovative, promising, venture-backed, emerging growth and early stage companies with active investors, investment bankers, advisors and corporate professionals.
Registration is open for this Event (July 19th-20th) . Learn more
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Women’s Health Innovation Forum
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JLABS Virtual Educational Events
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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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