Venture Catalyst is Hiring an Associate Director Position Focused on Life Sciences Innovation
UC Davis Names Recipients of 2020 Chancellor's Innovation Awards
US Davis named the recipients of the 2020 Chancellor’s Innovation Awards, which recognize faculty, project teams and community partners for their work, dedication and success in improving the lives of others and addressing the needs of our global society through innovative solutions. The program includes awards for Innovator of the Year, Innovative Community Partner and Lifetime Achievement in Innovation. The recipients in each award category were:

Innovators of the Year
Ramsey Badawi and Simon Cherry , for development of EXPLORER, the world’s first total-body positron emission tomography, or PET, scanner.

Daniela Barile, Bruce German, Carlito Lebrilla, David Mills, Jennifer Smilowitz and Mark Underwood , for advancing infant health through microbiome restoration.

Innovative Community Partner Award
Mayor Darrell Steinberg and the City of Sacramento for their support in advancing the vision and execution of Aggie Square, a 1.3 million square-foot innovation district currently in development.

Lifetime Achievement Award in Innovation
Bruce Hammock , Distinguished Professor in the Department of Entomology and Nematology, who holds a joint appointment with the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center. Hammock, a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, has distinguished himself nationally and internationally in multiple areas. He has authored or co-authored more than 1,200 peer-reviewed publications and holds more than 95 patents in agriculture, environmental science and medicinal chemistry.
UC Davis Venture Catalyst Knowledge Exchange Webinar
Anatomy of a UC Davis Patent License Agreement 
Featuring:
  • Robin Stears, PhD, MBA, Associate Director, UC Davis InnovationAccess
  • Kristine H. Johnson, JD, Associate Director, UC Davis InnovationAccess

Have you ever wondered what is involved with licensing technology from UC Davis? This webinar will help demystify the university patent license and provide a unique opportunity to engage with leadership from the university’s licensing team. UC Davis Innovation Access  Associate Directors RobinStears and Kristine Johnson will discuss what you will find in a patent license agreement and what to expect when negotiating with the university. During this talk, the speakers will highlight a few example case studies representing different types of technologies.

When: Wednesday, July 22, 2020, 10:30 – 11:45 am
UC Davis Startup Develops Monitor That Measures Baby’s Blood Oxygen Saturation in the Womb
Soheil Ghiasi, a professor in the UC Davis Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, launched a startup, Storx Technologies, to commercialize a noninvasive pulse oximeter that can measure a baby’s blood oxygen saturation while it is still in the womb. The innovation may lead to safer deliveries and enable new fetal research. With current fetal monitors, the health of a baby is inferred from her heartrate and mother’s uterine contractions, but the baby’s exact level of oxygen is not known ... . Read More
New Technique Allows 3D Printing of Flexible Materials
Engineers at UC Davis developed a new approach to 3D printing that allows printing of finely tuned flexible materials. By using a droplet-based, multiphase microfluidic system, the team was able to efficiently print materials with potential applications in soft robotics, tissue engineering and wearable technology.... Read More
UC Davis Researchers Adapt Amyloid Technology to Catch Coronavirus
Daniel Cox, professor of physics, and Michael Toney, professor of chemistry at UC Davis, are adapting their patented technology for beta amyloid protein scaffolds to combat coronavirus. The researchers used antifreeze proteins with a similar structure to grow tiny fibrils that act like scaffolds and can be engineered to create new materials with specific functions. They hope the technique could be used in diagnostic tests or for virus-neutralizing masks and other protective equipment.... Read More
Satya Dandekar Honored with Prestigious NIH MERIT Award for HIV Research
Satya Dandekar, professor of microbiology and the chairperson of the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology at UC Davis, received a prestigious MERIT award from the NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Dandekar, who holds a joint appointment in the Department of Internal Medicine and the Division of Infectious Diseases in the UC Davis School of Medicine, received the award for her critical work on mechanisms of HIV and viral persistence. For her new NIH-funded study, Dandekar is hoping to move ever closer to finding a cure for AIDS .... Read More
Going Viral
Although viruses are known for causing diseases like COVID-19, they can also be very beneficial. From producing and purifying drugs for humans in space to inspiring new tools for biotechnology, viruses are being re-engineered to help humans who are suffering from injuries or diseases. UC Davis chemical engineering professor Karen McDonald and her group use viruses to produce human drugs in plants using plant viruses. Similarly, chemical engineering assistant professor Priya Shah's group looks at mammalian flaviviruses to understand how they control cell processes and imitate that with their own tools for biotechnology production. Both labs aim to take their virus research in new directions to help humanity face the challenges of the 21st century. ... . Read More
UC Davis Chancellor Gary May Selects Mary Croughan as Next Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor
UC Davis Chancellor Gary S. May selected Mary S. Croughan as the next provost and executive vice chancellor. Croughan is a seasoned administrator in higher education with 30 years of experience with the University of California and three years at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. As UC Davis’ chief academic officer, her responsibilities will include partnering with deans and faculty to achieve excellence across our academic mission of education, research and service. She will oversee the university budget and daily campus operations, and partner with Chancellor May to develop Aggie Square.... Read More
UC Davis Ranked Among World’s Top Universities
According to the 2021 QS World University Rankings, UC Davis ranked 13 th  among U.S. public universities and 33 rd   overall in the United States. The University received similar rankings from the Center for World University Rankings .... Read More
Stay Informed of Latest COVID-19 Research and Information from UC Davis: COVID-19 Research Working Group
Startup News
Shasqi Demonstrates Chemistry-based Platform Produces Local and Systemic Anti-tumor Response in Preclinical Cancer Model
Shasqi, a developer of chemistry-based cancer drugs, reported that their novel drug product, SQ3370, produced significant anti-tumor responses in a preclinical cancer model. As a new therapeutic modality, the SQ3370 can control the duration of exposure and magnitude of activation at local sites in the body... . Read More
Arcadia Biosciences Receives Foundational Patents for Non-GMO Herbicide Tolerant Wheat Traits
Arcadia Biosciences announced the Australia Patent Office has granted the company a foundational patent covering herbicide tolerance in wheat. The patent grants intellectual property protection for mutations to the wheat genome to make it herbicide tolerant. The company also received a U.S. Notice of Allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for the same technology.... Read More
Arcadia Biosciences to Expand With New Acquisition (Sacramento Business Journal)
Through its acquisition of Industrial Seed Innovations, Arcadia Biosciences will increase its hemp breeding and seed production capabilities as it prepares to sell hemp seeds later in 2020.... Read More
Startup of the Month: RAIVES (Comstock’s Magazine)
Sacramento-based RAIVES, a patented medical clip developed to organize hospital equipment, was featured as Comstock’s Magazine’s Startup of the Month.... Read More
Startup Career Opportunities
Career Opportunities at AnimalBiome
AnimalBiome is currently hiring for an animal care specialist and a laboratory technician.... Learn more
Career Opportunities at Arcadia Biosciences
Arcadia Biosciences is hiring for a Technical Seed Sales & Agronomy Advisor .. .. Learn more
Career Opportunities at Evolve Biosystems
Evolve Biosystems is currently hiring for two research associates and a management position.... Learn More
Career Opportunities at Novoheart
Novoheart is currently hiring for an engineer and  three scientist positions .... Learn more
Career Opportunities at Sage Therapeutics
Sage Therapeutics is hiring for a wide range of positions from Vice President of Pharmacovigilance & Drug Safety to director level positions.... Learn more
Regional News
2020 California Economic Impact Report (Biocom)
The California life sciences industry generated over $370 billion in economic activity and received $4.6 billion in NIH funding in 2019. The Bay Area accounted for nearly 38% of the total economic activity at close to $140 billion. The region also received $1.87 billion in NIH funding and houses roughly 1,500 life science innovation companies..... Read More
Innovation Insights
Precision Protein: The Key to a Future-Proof Food System (AgFunder News)
It is estimated that the world population will reach 10 billion in 2050 and in order to provide sufficient nutrition to the growing global population, innovations in different protein sectors, both plant- and animal-based, is necessary. While there is no golden formula as to how much and what type of protein needs to be consumed for optimal nutrition, protein advancements will pave way for solving chronic undernutrition on the global scale as well as provide a better understanding of our food systems .... Read More
How COVID-19 Has Changed Investing, According to VCs at Sequoia, Insight, Forerunner, 500 Startups, and More (Fast Company)
COVID-19 is changing the investing landscape. For example, Sequoia Capital is more actively investing in enduring companies and encouraging its later stage portfolio companies to grow even faster. Insights Partners, on the other hand, is encouraging its companies to focus heavily on efficiency. Similarly, Forerunner Ventures suggests the COVID-19 slow down is an opportunity to focus and prioritize.... Read More
TEConomy/BIO: Bioscience Economy Report
The Bioscience Economy report from TEConomy and BIO highlights the latest findings on the bioscience industry. The industry directly employs almost 2 million and has an economic impact output of $2.6 trillion. Other highlights include academic R&D expenditures in bioscience-related fields reached $47.2 billion with NIH awarding nearly $31 billion in extramural research funding. Furthermore, between 2016 and 2019, there were 108,000 awarded patents in a wide range of bioscience areas, of which 30,000 were in 2019. ... Read More
Government-Funded Research Increasingly Fuels Innovation (NSF)
A study published in the journal Science find that one-third of all US patents issues from 1926 to 2017 relied on federal research funding. ... Read More
Funding Opportunities
Petri Accelerator
Application Deadline: August 1, 2020.... Learn More
CITRIS Foundry Incubator
Application Deadline: early-August, 2020.... Learn More
Berkeley SkyDeck Accelerator Full Cohort Program
Application Deadline: August 8, 2020.... Learn More
CITRIS Core Seed Funding
Application Deadline: September 10, 2020.... Learn More
Y Combinator Winter Cohort
Application Deadline: September 23, 2020.... Learn More
IndieBio Accelerator
Application: Currently accepting.... Learn More
Open SBIR/STTR Grant Topics. ... Learn More
Educational Opportunities
California Life Sciences Institute FAST Advisory Program
Application Deadline: July 17, 2020.... Learn More
FoodBytes! Pitch Competition
Application Deadline: August 8, 2020.... Learn More
Founder Institute Global Food Program
Application Deadline: August 30, 2020.... Learn More
UC Davis Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship UC Entrepreneurship Academy
Dates: October 6-8, 2020.... Learn More
Regional Events
AgStart Office Hours
Date: Ongoing.... Learn More
Small Business Development Center Workshops
Date: Ongoing.... Learn More
Silicon Valley USPTO Workshops
Date: Ongoing.... Learn More
Bay Area NSF Innovation Corps Immersive Short Courses
 Date: Ongoing.... Learn More
1 Million Cups
Date: Weekly (Wednesdays).... Learn More
Industry Events
Indoor Agtech Innovation Summit (Virtual)
Date: July 23, 2020.... Learn More
Ag Innovation Showcase (Virtual)
Date: August 27-28, 2020. ... Learn More
Animal Agtech Innovation Summit (Europe, Virtual)
Date: September 14, 2020.... Learn More
World Agritech Innovation Summit (Europe, Virtual)
Date: September 15-16, 2020.... Learn More
BIO Impact: Discover the Future of Ag & Environmental Biotech (Raleigh, NC )
Date: September 21-24, 2020.... Learn More
SynBioBeta: Global Synthetic Biology Conference ( Oakland, CA)
Date: September 29-October 1, 2020.... Learn More
BIO Investor Forum ( San Francisco, CA)
Date: October 13-14, 2020.... Learn More
TechConnect Business Summit & Showcase, Defense Innovation Summit, and SBIR/STTR Innovation Conference ( National Harbor, MD)
Date: November 16-19, 2020.... Learn More
JLABS Virtual Educational Events
Date: Ongoing.... Learn More
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.  
 
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