Venture Catalyst, in partnership with the UC Davis Health Ventures Office, is now accepting applications for the Science Translation & Innovative Research (STAIR™) Grant Program, which provides funding and resources to translate basic UC Davis research with commercial potential by demonstrating proof-of- concept and establishing market viability.
The program plays an important role in helping campus innovators overcome the primary hurdle of access to funding during one of the most challenging phases in new technology development.
For this eleventh cycle, the STAIR proof-of-concept program is focusing on the theme of Tomorrow’s Health Care Today, funding interdisciplinary innovations that may provide breakthrough solutions for problems encountered in human health.
The 2024 STAIR™ grant will provide awardees $60,000-100,000 to perform a 1-year translational research aimed at advancing university-created intellectual property closer to the point that it is attractive to external investment, which is important for commercial success and societal impact. To date, with over $3M in grants awarded, grantees have gone on to raise $170M in follow-on funding (including non-dilutive public funding from SBIR/STTR programs, or private equity investments by angels or venture capitalists).
Program Overview
Key features of the STAIR Program include: 1) targeted funding to bridge the gap between basic research and early-stage commercialization efforts, 2) project work conducted over a 12-month period, 3) a Review Committee consisting of industry representatives with corporate, investor, and entrepreneurial expertise, 4) feedback and guidance on commercialization from members of the Review Committee and the Venture Catalyst team, and 5) structured entrepreneurial training.
Eligible Projects
Successful projects will advance human health-focused UC Davis technologies towards commercialization by achieving specific research and development milestones. Outcomes that might be enabled by STAIR Grant funding include, but are not limited to:
- Generating translational data or research results to create more robust foundational intellectual property (IP), therefore strengthening patent claims
- Testing commercial and market feasibility
- Building a working prototype or second iteration prototype to prepare for commercialization
- Demonstrating scale-up development potential that would be compelling to external partners
If you would like to request an overview presentation and/or a Q&A session for your department or unit, please email [email protected].
The deadline for applications is Friday, March 29, 2024 at 11:59 pm PDT
Applications can be submitted through the Office of Research’s InfoReady grant application platform (use your Kerberos login to apply).
For more information and application instructions, please visit the Venture Catalyst proof-of-concept programs website.
Please email questions about the program to [email protected].
