Project Grant R43AG059471

The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded Purdue University $299,836 under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) on February 15, 2026. The award funds development of a next-generation prebiotic derived from agricultural waste streams, designed to selectively promote growth of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii in the human gut. The research encompasses food-grade isolation protocols to extract the prebiotic from waste feedstock, chemical...

The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded the Board of Regents of Nevada System of Higher Education (operating as University of Nevada, Reno) $630,500 on February 15, 2026, under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI, CFDA 10.310) to investigate N-glycans—complex carbohydrates bound to proteins in milk, soybeans, eggs, and other food ingredients—as an unrecognized source of dietary fiber. The research will test whether N-glycans, when freed...

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases awarded Medosome Biotec LLC $356,251 on July 15, 2026, under the Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.847) to develop genetically engineered probiotics capable of producing and delivering glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) for treatment of metabolic diseases including type 2 diabetes and obesity. The project addresses limitations of existing GLP-1 receptor agonist therapies—poor patient...

The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $271,443 Project Grant under the NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program (CFDA 47.084) to Mammae Biosciences, Inc., a minority-owned, for-profit, woman-owned business and manufacturer, to develop an enzymatic method to produce compounds found in human milk at commercial scale. The goal is to assess an affordable enzymatic process for generating marketable natural compounds usually found in human milk, such as N-acetylglucosamine...

The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health awarded Rutgers The State University of New Jersey, doing business as RBHS-School of Nursing, $592,063 on July 20, 2026, under the Research and Training in Complementary and Integrative Health program (CFDA 93.213) for mechanistic research into probiotic interactions with host diet, digestive metabolism, and the microbial system. The award funds investigation of two metabolic pathways by which Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG regulates gut...

This National Science Foundation (NSF) Biological Sciences (CFDA 47.074) project grant awarded to Adelphi University for $311,035 provides funding to identify prebiotic peptides or small proteins that may have played a role in the origin of biological energy generation at the start of cellular life. The 3-year project aims to use artificial intelligence and experimental validation to discover prebiotic oxidoreductases composed only of amino acids available under prebiotic conditions, which could...

Exopolymer, Inc. received a $648,366 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Project Grant from the Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture to develop new fermentation-derived biopolymer ingredients. Under this two-year award running from September 2021 to August 2023, Exopolymer will finalize the commercial development of one or more biopolymer products that outperform hyaluronic acid in moisture binding and skin penetration performance. Work will include...

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases awarded Northwestern University $794,032 on September 1, 2026, under the Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.847) to investigate mechanisms of intestinal barrier dysfunction in people living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy and to evaluate restoration of the glycan A1,2-fucose as a therapeutic intervention. The research addresses persistent gut leakiness and microbial translocation in...

The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded North Carolina State University $641,000 under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) on February 15, 2026, to investigate the interplay between nutrition and gut health in swine, with particular focus on prebiotic fiber's role in intestinal barrier function during critical early-life periods. The research examines mechanisms driving intestinal health outcomes in suckling and weanling pigs in response...

This five-year, $2.5 million Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074) supports research at Stanford University to systematically dissect complex synthetic gut bacterial communities. Principal Investigator Dr. Lance Palmer and collaborators at the University of California, Berkeley will develop an integrated model spanning molecular to community levels focusing on corrinoid metabolites. They will synthesize gut-relevant corrinoids and...