The Genomics Institute at UC Santa Cruz (UCSCGI), led by CITRIS researcher David Haussler, has been awarded seed funding of up to $50,000 for nine multidisciplinary research projects ranging from decoding fungal networks to AI tools reading human genomes.
All of the projects are ambitious early-stage research opportunities with a high-risk, high-reward ratio. UCSCGI wants to back bold ideas before traditional funding will. Funding comes from the Genomics Institute’s Healthier World Fund, which is supported by a 10-year gift from an anonymous donor.
“What excites me most about this year’s cohort is the sheer imagination on display,” said Haussler, scientific director of the UCSCGI. “There are some dream-team collaborations represented here, applying and in some cases building the most cutting-edge AI models and sequencing methods to projects that could have a tremendous impact. This is exactly the kind of bold risk-taking that leads to breakthroughs, and I can’t wait to see the results.”