UC Santa Cruz Research Teams Awarded Innovation Catalyst Grants

Two UC Santa Cruz research teams have been selected as recipients of the university's inaugural Innovation Catalyst Grants program for their breakthrough advancements in drug discovery and human health outcomes. These grants, administered by the Innovation & Business Engagement Hub, aim to support early-stage technology innovations developed by UCSC researchers.

Distinguished professor of biomolecular engineering and scientific director of the Genomics Institute, David Haussler, a recipient of the new Innovation Catalyst Grant program.

The grant recipients for this year are David Haussler, Mircea Teodorescu, and Ted Holman. Haussler and Teodorescu received $50,000 for their work on developing a revolutionary approach to cell culture. Their innovation eliminates the need for traditional incubators in cell culture by using "incubator-free" vessels that do not rely on air intermediates for gas regulation. Ultimately this technology helps enhance the realism and scalability of experiments in biological research, leading to new discoveries in areas such as cancer treatment, stroke, heart attack, and brain development research. Yohei Rosen, a postdoctoral scholar, is leading the project.

Professor of biochemistry and chemistry, Ted Holman, is working on developing a therapeutic for heart bypass and transplant patients and was awarded $41,520 in funding. Holman's project focuses on jumpstarting the drug discovery process for cardiac ischemia-reperfusion injury (CIRI). Holman has developed a novel human 12-lipoxygenase (12-LOX) inhibitor which has shown success in mouse models. This innovation could potentially save lives by preventing CIRI, which affects over 90,000 people in the United States each year.

The Innovation Catalyst Grant program aims to foster transformative change and societal impact through innovation. The program provides targeted training, funding, mentorship, and support to UC Santa Cruz researchers with the goal of de-risking potentially cutting-edge technology innovations from the university and validating its implementation and adoption.

Ted Holman, professor of chemistry and biochemistry, is working on a therapeutic for heart bypass and transplant patients which was awarded a grant from the Innovation Catalyst Grants Program.

Haussler and Holman's teams also participated in the Lean Launchpad workshop series, which equipped them with foundational skills to identify pathways for adoption and implementation, create scalable business models, and how to better translate their scientific findings to secure possible funding opportunities. In addition, both teams also received guidance from industry mentors who are able to provide them with valuable market insights.

The Innovation Catalyst Grant program fills a crucial gap in the innovation capital landscape by providing resources to de-risk and validate early-stage innovations. It not only supports researchers in securing investment capital but also equips them with the knowledge and tools necessary to navigate the pathway to innovation implementation and adoption. For more information about the Innovation Catalyst Grant program and the groundbreaking research at UC Santa Cruz, please visit the Office of Research website.