UC Davis Biotech Innovation Gallery (BIG) Event 2025

Please join us in person for the annual UC Davis Biotech Innovation Gallery (BIG) Event 2025 in San Francisco.

Date: Wednesday, January 15, 2025

BIG Networking: 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM PST

BIG Startup Showcase and Reception: 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM PST

Venue: Chandran Gallery, 459 Geary St., San Francisco, CA 94102

The Biotech Innovation Gallery (BIG) pre-accelerator program provides UC Davis-associated startups with targeted mentoring and training around intellectual property and regulatory strategy as well as coaching on business models, market analysis and investor pitches.

The pre-accelerator program runs from September to December and culminates with the Biotech Innovation Gallery Open House, Showcase and Networking Event, which coincides with the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco. The event offers a platform for UC Davis innovators to showcase their emerging biotech companies to industry experts, potential strategic partners, and investors.

Startups from previous BIG showcases

Developing precision nanomedicines that significantly improve the delivery and effectiveness of cancer therapies, with an initial focus on head and neck cancers.

Yuanpei Li
Co-founder

3D-OPS employs a novel fabrication process to develop a line of silk fibroin products that will revolutionize the future of musculoskeletal injury and joint capsular repair.

Haley Noelle
CEO

Histolix represents the next generation of rapid slide-free tissue imaging and decision-support tools that address critical needs in cancer care and medical diagnostics. The technology provides real-time results at half the cost of conventional approaches.

Rob Royea
CEO

Development of a handheld optical medical device for use during fluorescence-guided cancer surgery.

Julien Bec
Co-founder

Development of a platform that automatically generates truly customized foot solutions from motion, science and algorithms.

Martín Irarrázaval
Co-founder

Treatment of congenital defects, particularly spina bifida using placental stem cells from preterm placenta via chorionic villous sampling.

Aijun Wang & Diana Farmer
Co-founders

Delix is developing a novel class of neuroplasticity promoting medicines called psychoplastogens for mental health and neurological disorders.

Mark Rus
Co-founder

BCD Bioscience uses proprietary technology to create novel oligosaccharides from natural products, with a focus on producing ingredients that beneficially modulate the microbiome and immune function.

Matt Amicucci
Co-founder

Eunicera is developing novel therapeutics to treat and cure advanced drug-resistant recurrent prostate cancer.

Allen Gao
Co-founder

Rapid, reliable mental health triage and clinical consultation with research-grade asynchronous telepsychiatry, built for health systems, schools, and clinical research organizations (CROs).

Peter Yellowlees
Co-founder

KiBio has developed new small molecule inhibitors of galectin-1 for malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST) and prostate cancer.

Tsung Shih
Founder

VGN Bio is developing viral protein-derived peptide drugs that selectively kill cancer cells, while keeping normal cells intact. The developed peptide complexes with the MYC gene leading to cancer cell death.

Michiko Shimoda
Co-founder

Histolix represents the next generation of rapid slide-free tissue imaging and decision-support tools that address
critical needs in cancer care and medical diagnostics. The technology provides real-time results at half the cost of conventional approaches.

Rob Royea
CEO

Machine Intelligence Learning Optimizer is a turnkey health software tool that provides a fully automated ML/AIsolution to improve patient care and save lives.

Hooman Rashidi
Co-founder

Molecular Matrix is developing an innovative platform technology for tissue regeneration applications. Osteopoietic Systems™ is their first clinical solution to the need for value-driven and safe bone regeneration products.

Charles Lee
Founder

Mirnova Therapeutics is developing small molecules and microRNA drugs for treatment of traumatic brain injury and other neurological disorders.

DaZhi Liu
Founder

InVixa

InVixa is developing lung-targeted therapies to treat Covid 19, using inhaled statins to allow for a more targeted, effective treatment with lower doses and side effects.

Amir Zeki
Founder

Botanical Solutions

Botanical Solutions has a proprietary R&D platform for sustainable and improved production of consistent, high quality Advanced Botanical Materials (ABM).

Gaston Salinas
Co-founder

Neo Pose Medical

NeoPOSE is revolutionizing the way we diagnose Critical Congenital Heart disease in newborns, enabling doctors to catch these conditions sooner and save lives.

Heather Siefkes
Founder

Innate Biology is the world’s first biotech company dedicated to the research and development of fasting mimetics designed from human research to extend lifespan and improve cellular health.

Chris Rhodes
Co-founder

Protein Architects

Protein Architects are developing solutions for the detection, protection, prediction, and adaptive therapeutics against zoonotic threats.

Rick Davis
Co-founder

Ravata Solutions

Ravata Solutions has developed an innovative diagnostic tool to measure human embryo quality for use in In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF).

Gurkern Sufi
Founder

Seven Biosciences

Seven Biosciences is a GPCR targeted drug discovery company which engineers and uses cutting-edge fluorecent biosensor technology.

Grace Mizuno
CEO & Co-founder

Storx Technologies

Storx Technologies develops non-invasive fetal oximetry.

Soheil Ghiasi
Founder

Tendel

Tendel Therapies is developing first-in-class genetic adjuvants to direct novel, potent, and durable immune responses with a command line level of control.

Corey Miller
CEO

Tesio

Tesio Pharmaceuticals is developing best-in-class therapeutics to treat and prevent osteoarthritis.

Dominik Haudenschild
Founder

AmCyt

AMCYT is developing the first automated rapid onsite evaluation (ROSE) device.

Alejandro Mendoza
Founder

Ariz

ARIZ Precision Medicine targets epigenetic changes that occur early in cancerization with siRNA-based therapeutics delivered directly to tumor cells.

Brad Niles
Co-founder

Astrid Pharma

Astrid Pharma is specialized in the next-generation nanocarrier drug delivery systems with their non- infectious HEVNP encapsulation platform.

Chun-Chieh Chen
Founder

BCD Biosciences

BCD Bioscience catalogs the broadly untapped world of natural carbohydrate structures to efficiently create and commercialize novel prebiotics, synbiotics and immuno-modulatory therapies for human and animal health.

Matt Amicucci
Co-founder

Buto

Buto Corp specializes in developing novel therapeutics for metabolic diseases.

Gino Cortopassi
Founder

Certus Critical Care has designed the EVAC System as a next-generation endovascular technology for precision control of hemodynamics in patients with stroke, cardiac arrest, or uncontrolled hemorrhage.

Austin Johnson
Co-Founder

Cognivive

Cognivive is solving neuro-rehabilitation’s most intractable problem – the absence of effective, motivating treatments for patients to use at home. We translate unique science into digital medicines delivered via Virtual Reality.

Tony Simon
Founder

Delix

Delix Therapeutics is applying modern tools of pharmaceutical development to some of nature’s most ancient therapies, psychedelics.

Nicholas Haft
CEO

Digestiva

Digestiva is a company focused on improving the nutritional efficiency of protein utilization.

Joel Cherry
Co-founder

Effector

EffectorBio is developing novel peptide therapeutics to treat pulmonary fibrosis which is currently a large unmet need.

Reen Wu
Founder

EicOsis

EicOsis is a clinical stage pharmaceutical company developing a first-in-class once daily oral therapeutic for neuropathic and inflammatory pain, targeting a novel enzyme, soluble epoxide hydrolase, to alleviate pain without the side effects such as sedation, addiction, or GI side effects found in current analgesics.

Glenn Croston
COO

Furanica

Furanica is developing drug therapeutics to treat various metabolic syndromes, including severe hypertriglyceridemia and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Fei Chang
Co-Founder

inStatin

InStatin is developing lung-targeted therapies to treat chronic respiratory diseases, starting with severe asthma.

Amir Zeki
Co-Founder

Ixchel Pharma

Ixchel Pharma is developing small-molecule drugs to treat mitochondrial diseases.

Gino Cortopassi
Founder

Mara Biosystems

Mara BioSystems is developing autism-oriented specialty clinical diagnostic tools to identify prospective mothers, prior to conception, who have a high risk of producing ASD children.

James Woody
CEO

Matrubials is developing therapeutics from mammalian milk to combat severe bacterial infections and modern diseases with an initial focus on women’s health.

Ishita Shah
Co-founder

Pandomedx is developing therapeutics to treat and cure advanced prostate cancer.

Allen Gao
Co-Founder

Paramag Biosciences is developing a novel small molecule platform to treat and diagnose disorders associated with protein misfolding, including Alzheimer’s Disease, Huntington’s Disease and others.

John Voss
Founder

Sanguinity Diagnostics has developed a unique biomarker platform to accurately identify patients that will best respond to a given drug.

Boryana Stamova
Co-Founder

Sierra Biopharma is developing therapeutics that selectively neutralize, remove, and destroy immune components that lead to the autoimmune disease myasthenia gravis.

Vu Trinh
Co-Founder

Syncanica is developing synthetic cannabinoids as a more effective, legal, safer, and less expensive alternative to cannabis-derived CBD for consumer and therapeutic uses.

Larry Shaeffer
CEO

Theranostec is an early stage start-up developing precision medicines for cancer-specific drug delivery and improved cancer patient care.

Aaron Lindstrom
Co-founder

VasoBio is developing vascular grafts and other blood contacting devices for surgical disease treatment.

Aijun Wang
Founder

Verndari is developing a novel vaccine delivery technology, VaxiPatch, a proprietary painless skin patch, with various virus-like particle vaccines including SARS-COV2, Hep B, HPV, and Flu vaccines, to achieve simpler delivery and high efficacy.

Daniel R. Henderson
CEO

ViVita Technologies has developed a process to make human tissue and organ replacements to overcome the donor organ and tissue shortage.

Maelene Wong
Co-Founder and CEO

If you are interested in connecting with any of the Biotech Innovation Gallery (BIG) accelerator participants,

please click here