UC Davis was awarded a two-year, $800k grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support the Ecosystem for Biophotonics Innovation - Building Sustainability program at the Center for Biophotonics Science & Technology (CBST). The NSF funding is matched at least 1:1 by 3rd party investments from our partners.

The EBI program was created under a previous NSF grant, to facilitate translation of research results into marketable products, startup companies, and jobs. The new award, Ecosystem for Biophotonics Innovation – Building Sustainability (EBI-2), will build upon the successes and lessons of EBI to accelerate commercialization of technologies and ensure that the infrastructure of the ecosystem is sustainable into the future.

The goals of the EBI-2 program for its two year tenure are to:

• Build upon and extend the biophotonics innovation ecosystem.

• Test and optimize different concepts for the ecosystem by accelerating the commercialization of four identified technologies.

• Continue and refine the EBI education and mentorship program (eFellows).

• Stimulate new economic growth and job creation by training postdoctoral researchers and students in the process of technology commercialization, making them more suitable for jobs in the $53B/yr biophotonics industry.