UC Davis Researchers Exploring Data and AI Tools for Animal Health Diagnosis and Treatment

Professor Stefan Keller in the School of Veterinary Medicine is exploring ways to use artificial intelligence for the benefit of animal health. (Vu Q Dao/ UC Davis)

The rise of AI based technology may play an important role in human healthcare from diagnostics to treatment. Using a data-driven approach, AI may be able to help doctors analyze and assess diseases more efficiently. Researchers at the University of California, Davis, are now exploring ways to use AI for the benefit of animal health.

Stefan Keller, an assistant professor and pathologist in the School of Veterinary Medicine, specializes in diagnosing disease in various animal species. A large part of his research is directed toward how to improve outcomes by using data to make more informed diagnostic decisions in healthcare. Toward that end, Keller, with colleagues from the Artificial Intelligence in Veterinary Medicine Interest Group at UC Davis, is exploring ways to use AI in three different projects while providing insight to address some of the apprehensions associated with it.

The project - funded by the UC Davis Venture Catalyst Science Translation and Innovative Research (STAIR) grant program in 2022 - is focused on identifying disease patterns in animals using laboratory data and AI tools, and helping clinicians consider different diagnoses to act upon.

Local Events - See You There!

Join us for a series of upcoming and exciting local events!

Sept. 14 - Seed Central: The Essential Networking Event

Networking, tomato tasting, and featured speakers discuss recent research on tomato reproductive biology.

Sept. 15 - Davis Coworking @ Olive Open House and Happy Hour

Davis Coworking is teaming up with the Davis Chamber of Commerce to host a special Open House & Evening Mingle event.

Sept. 25 - Venture Catalyst Knowledge Exchange Webinar

Join us with special guest Darren Cooke, Executive Director of the Berkeley Life Sciences Entrepreneurship Center, and professional faculty member at the Haas School of Business, for this workshop covering the framework for a model investor pitch, what investors are looking for, and how to anticipate the questions they might have.

Sept. 28 - CleanStart Power Up

Join CleanStart at Lucid Winery in Sacramento for a sustainable event, involving wine! Learn about clean energy and network with like-minded individuals.

Oct. 5 - GFX2023

With Venture Catalyst Interim Director Janine Elliott joining the ecosystem panel! (discount code for students: GFXFOUNDER).

The Annual Big Bang! Business Competition is Back

The annual Big Bang! business competition, managed by the Mike and Renee Child Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, helps you to grow as an entrepreneur and as a leader. You'll find opportunities to connect with fellow innovators, learn and apply business concepts in educational workshops, build your team, grow your network - and compete for cash prizes!

Join us at The Kickoff on October 17 to network, meet fellow Aggie Innovators, hear from past winners, and learn how you can get involved in this year's Big Bang! competition and workshop series.

UC Davis-associated Startup Botanical Solution Raises $7M for Pharma, Ag-tech Production

UC Davis-associated startup and Venture Catalyst START Program member, Botanical Solution Inc., has raised $7 million to scale up its production of rare plant tissue for use in medicine and agriculture. This funding round was led by Palo Alto-based private equity firm Otter Capital LLC, which also led a $6 million funding round for Botanical Solution last year.

The money will be used to scale up production for the company in Chile, as well as to expand its local research and development work in labs and greenhouses in Davis and at The Lab@AgStart’s shared lab space in Woodland.

IN² Announces 12th Cohort Focused on

Climate-aligned Agriculture

The Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN²), a technology incubator and platform funded by the Wells Fargo Foundation and co-administered by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), recently announced it selected seven startups to participate in the program’s 12th cohort.

The companies were nominated by members of IN²’s Channel Partner network, consisting of more than 60 business incubators, accelerators, and university programs nationwide (including Venture Catalyst). The cohort consists of sustainable agriculture companies focused on mitigating and adapting to the impacts of climate change on global food systems, and includes UC Davis-associated startup InnerPlant.

Funding Opportunities

Hello Alice Small Business Grants

Discover small business grants for every stage of your small business adventure, recommended based on your unique profile. Includes grants like FedEx Entrepreneur Fund. Learn more. Deadline: October 6, 2023.

NHLBI Catalyze Funding Opportunities

Facilitates the transition of basic science discoveries into viable diagnostic and therapeutic candidates cleared for human testing. Offers heart, lung, blood and sleep investigators funding, technical services, training, and mentorship. Develops the translational research workforce by helping investigators build their product development and entrepreneurial skills. Supports and funds product definition, preclinical research research, and development of technologies and transformative platforms. Apply here. Deadline: December 21, 2023

McKinney Innovation Fund

McKinney Economic Development Corporation’s Innovation Fund was created with startups like yours in mind. The mission is to spur and accelerate the growth of innovation-focused companies at various levels of revenue and funding stages during the startup lifecycle. Learn more.

SBIR Grants for Women

By awarding $200+ million in research and development (R&D) funding to about 400 startups each year, in three phases, through 11 federal bodies. Grantify helps you apply for funding from one such body, the National Science Foundation (NSF). Learn more.

Growth Factory - Accelerating Venture-Backable Startups

The goal of this local startup accelerator is to help founders of pre-seed to seed stage venture backable companies located in the Greater Sacramento Region rapidly achieve product market fit, positioning them to raise funds and achieve revenue of $1M in ARR within 18 months. Applications are open on a rolling admissions basis. Apply here.

NASE Growth Grant

You could receive up to $4,000 for your small business through the NASE Growth Grants program. Since 2006, the NASE has awarded nearly $1,000,000 to members just like you through the Growth Grants program by providing small business grants. Apply here.

OpenGrants Affiliate Program

The OpenGrants Affiliate Program is a commission-based program that rewards affiliates for referring new customers to the OpenGrants API and WordPress Plugin subscriptions. Affiliates earn a 20% commission on any subscriptions sold to referred customers in perpetuity. Apply here.

AgFunder

AgFunder is a new kind of venture capital firm built on proprietary technology and a global ecosystem of over 85,000 subscribers. We invest in exceptional and bold founders who are committed to building the next generation of agrifood technology companies that will transform our food system. We are one of the most active agrifood tech investors in the world. Apply here.

UC Davis Office of Research - Links to Funding Sources

Browse the listings of funding announcements provided by sponsoring agencies and other pertinent information about obtaining critical research funding. View the complete list here.



Tech Coast Angels

If your company has a strong team with a great defensible idea, has early traction and is set to grow, TCA is ready to invest up to several million dollars through our funds, individually or with our syndicate partners. TCA looks at investments in the United States and Canada. Currently accepting applications

Pioneering Ideas: Exploring the Future to Build a Culture of Health

We are interested in ideas that address any of these four areas of focus: Future of Evidence; Future of Social Interaction; Future of Food; Future of Work. Additionally, we welcome ideas that might fall outside of these four focus areas, but which offer unique approaches to advancing health equity and our progress toward a Culture of Health. Currently accepting applications

Evidence for Action: Innovative Research to Advance Racial Equity

Evidence for Action prioritizes research to evaluate specific interventions (e.g., policies, programs, practices) that have the potential to counteract the harms of structural and systemic racism and improve health, well-being, and equity outcomes. Currently accepting applications

IndieBio Accelerator

Multi-stage investment to support big ideas. #1 in early stage biotech! Currently accepting applications

Open SBIR/STTR Grant Topics

Federal Research/Research & Development with the potential for commercialization. Learn More

Educational Opportunities

Environmental Protection Network

OpenGrants is honored to host this incredible team for a compelling fireside chat about EPN and how you can get involved with their work and mission. This event is perfect for anyone working on technology or community-led efforts that improve clean air, water, land and climate protection. Register here. Date: September 14, 2023.

How to Change the Game in Market Research with AI

Join Adam Mertz, SVP of Marketing at Discuss as he moderates the session with industry stalwarts and Forrester's Analyst who is a thought leader in Generative AI to gain insights into how to navigate this evolving terrain. Shift your focus from the 'wow' factor to practical applications that align with our qualitative research objectives. Register here. Date: September 27, 2023.

OUP Fellowship Programs for Academic Entrepreneurs

Are you an academic researcher, PI, professor, or graduate student with an interest in entrepreneurship? If so, you should know about two excellent fellowship programs for academic founders. Register here. Date: September 28, 2023.

CleanStart 2023 Clean Tech CEO Crash Course

Want to learn how to operate your business as a real CEO? Have a good idea for a business but unsure of what you need to do? Join the CEO Crash Course brought to you by BlueTechValley and CleanStart! Apply here. Application deadline: October 1, 2023

Startup Challenge Fall 2023

Find out what it’s like to take a startup from zero to customer in just 48 hours at the Startup Challenge! Register here. Date: October 13-15, 2023

Startup Pitch Workshop - Monthly

Three startups present their pitch for advice and feedback from a panel of experts. Organized by StartupSac, Startup Folsom and NCID. Apply here. Date: 4th Wednesday of every month.

On-Demand Virtual Entrepreneurship Toolkit Series

The new On-Demand Toolkit Series is a resource of past recordings as well as slides and tools taught throughout the 5-week series. After a short application, you will have access to five recordings and subsequent resource tools. Apply now.

Startup Traction Hotline with JDM

Growth, revenue, product-market fit, pitching, traction, business models, tools, tips, techniques, and whatever else is on your mind. Get advice that’s comprehensive, useful, and immediately actionable. Join every Thursday at 10:00 AM PT on YouTube for a live discussion of whatever’s on your mind. Learn more.

Regional Events

Startup Happy Hour Joins Beer & Geeks

Join StartupSac & the Carlsen Center for a fun evening at Fat Rabbit Pub in Folsom! Network, relax, & connect with fellow startup enthusiasts! Register here. Date: September 14, 2023

Open House & Mingle with Davis Chamber of Commerce

Come mingle with the Davis Chamber of Commerce for an Open House event at Davis Coworking @ Olive. Explore the dynamic workspace of Davis Coworking at the free open house event, and stay for the evening happy hour. (All Davis community is invited!) Register here. Date: September 15, 2023

Ready, Set, Grow by Zendesk

Join us for an engaging conversation with leaders of growing businesses who have used tools to enable operational savings and created a better customer experience. Register here. Date: September 20, 2023

Generative AI Use Cases in Healthcare

Join us to learn Generative AI Use Cases in Healthcare + Reference Architecture in Healthcare, witness the demo of LLMs in Healthcare and share your thoughts on the topic. Register here. Date: September 20, 2023

Bridging Innovation: Startup Speed Dating with NTT

In the exciting time of generative AI bringing meaningful innovation to enterprises in rapid time, it has never been more accessible for large organizations. Join us for a Startup Speed Dating with our ecosystem partners. We are bringing together startups, founders, established platform vendors, enterprise clients, and investors. Register here. Date: September 21, 2023.

Davis Area Women's Network Meeting

Join the next meeting of the Davis Area Women's Network at Davis Coworking @ Olive. It's a great opportunity to connect, network, and share experiences with other inspiring women in the community. Register here. Date: September 25, 2023

E3 Sacramento - Ecosystem Town Hall

Join this interactive Town Hall-style discussion where we will highlight the successes and challenges of the Sacramento region’s diverse entrepreneurs and small business owners. Register here. Date: September 27, 2023

CleanStart Power Up

Join CleanStart at Lucid Winery in Sacramento for a sustainable event. Learn about clean energy and network with like-minded individuals! Register here. Date: September 28, 2023



Growth Factory’s GFX2023

Growth Factory’s annual venture conference & startup showcase brings together the most talented and innovative minds from the Greater Sacramento, Northern CA region and beyond to connect, learn, and support great startups and to build a robust startup ecosystem together. Register now. Date: October 5, 2023

1 Million Cups

Present your early stage company to your peers. Or just grab a coffee and listen.

Date: Every Wednesday.

Business Casual: Get Your Creative Biz Together

Every fourth Saturday of the month, Atrium’s mentorship team will be hosting a free business basics discussion group. Growing your creative business can seem like a daunting task. Atrium is here to help take your ideas from the drawing board to the boardroom with free “get started right” business workshops for creative startups. Come with a laptop and a ready-to-grow mentality. Register now. Date: Ongoing

Sacramento State Carlsen Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship Events and Workshops

Learn More. Date: Ongoing

California Life Sciences Institute FAST Advisory Program

Get the coaching you need to perfect your business model. Apply now. Date: Ongoing

Bay Area NSF Innovation Corps Immersive Short Course

Join the weeklong immersive course for university researchers and early stage startup founders. Apply now. Date: Ongoing

About Venture Catalyst 

UC Davis Venture Catalyst supports the development of new UC Davis-associated 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 

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