Project Grant N629091812155

This Project Grant award of $548,949 from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) under the Discovery and Applied Research for Technological Innovations to Improve Human Health program (CFDA 93.286) will fund the development of a novel DNA recorder system. The system uses living biosensors to record extracellular DNA as they traverse the gut, preserving a record of the internal microbial composition and spatial structure. This innovative approach aims to provide a...

Biomesense Inc. received a $883,212 Project Grant award from the National Institutes of Health's National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences to develop a novel biosensor to accelerate investigations of the gut microbiome. The grant will support validating the microbial lysis and DNA isolation functions of a prototype biosensor over a 6-month period ending December 31, 2021. The biosensor is intended to enable dense, time-longitudinal sampling of participants' gut microbiomes in their...

This $976,771 Cooperative Agreement awarded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (CFDA 47.084) program will support Biomesense Inc., a for-profit biotechnology company, in the development of a novel measurement platform to enable large-scale, longitudinal studies of the gut microbiome. The key products to be delivered through this project include: (1) refinement of processes for capturing and storing microbial RNA from gut samples, (2)...

Biomesense Inc. received a $255,658 National Science Foundation SBIR Phase I Project Grant to develop a novel biosensor to accelerate investigations of COVID-19 and the gut microbiome. Funded under the NSF Engineering program (CFDA 47.041), this six-month award beginning January 15, 2021 supports the company's work to design a portable, low-cost biosensor device capable of rapidly detecting SARS-CoV-2 and analyzing gut microbiome composition directly from patient samples. The NSF Directorate for...

This Project Grant award for $295,780 from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) under the Research and Training in Complementary and Integrative Health program (CFDA 93.213) supports the development of a high-throughput in vivo screening platform for identifying novel probiotic and postbiotic bacterial strains. The grantee, Nemalife Inc., a for-profit biotechnology company, will leverage the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a model organism to rapidly test and...

This Project Grant award from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), under the Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.847), provides $584,750 to Foli Bio Inc. to validate the functional utility of their EXFO-SEQ technology. EXFO-SEQ is an innovative platform that enables the precise and robust quantification of host gene expression directly from stool samples, providing a non-invasive means to longitudinally profile...

This $233,250 Project Grant award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855), will fund research to develop a novel platform for gene therapy targeting the human microbiome. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will work to engineer self-recirculating, non-replicating bacteriophages as vectors for precise genetic modifications of specific commensal bacteria within complex microbial...

This National Science Foundation (NSF) Biological Sciences (CFDA 47.074) program award of $376,301 to the University of Rochester supports research to develop an innovative platform that leverages horizontal gene transfer to self-regulate and stabilize microbial consortia. The project aims to create programmable microbial populations capable of maintaining stability across diverse conditions, with applications in areas such as bioproduction, environmental cleanup, and human health. Key...

This Project Grant award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855), provides $840,500 to the University of Chicago to investigate the role of alpha-defensins, antimicrobial peptides, in regulating the gut microbiome and host immune responses. The research aims to use advanced genetic and gnotobiotic (germ-free) approaches to define the specificity and homeostatic functions of alpha-defensins in...

This Project Grant award from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), under the Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.847), provides $548,802 to Ancilia Biosciences Inc. to enhance the colonization of the probiotic E. coli Nissle 1917 (ECN) using CRISPR-Cas technology. The goal is to improve the engraftment and therapeutic efficacy of ECN as a live biotherapeutic product (LBP) for treating inflammatory bowel disease...