Two College of Biological Sciences faculty members—Keith Baar, professor of neurobiology, physiology and behavior, and Laura Bogar, assistant professor of plant biology—received a STAIR Grant and a Hellman Fellowship, respectively.

These campus awards recognize faculty for their contributions and research potential. The Hellman Fellows Program, administered by Academic Affairs, supports early-career faculty during a critical phase of their research trajectory. The Science Translation and Innovative Research (STAIR) Grant Program provides early-stage support to help advance promising technologies toward commercial and societal impact.

Supporting Early-Career Faculty

Laura Bogar, who studies symbiotic interactions between plant roots and soil fungi, is among the 11 new Hellman Fellows on campus who will receive support for their work.

“It can be immensely helpful to provide direct research funding to faculty members after their second or third year, when their work is ramping up but initial funding is running out,” said Phil Kass, vice provost of Academic Affairs. “This support helps provide a boost for their work and is vital in securing external funding.”

This year’s Hellman grants range from $15,000 to $40,000, totaling $320,000 awarded across campus. Bogar’s funded project is titled “Untangling Symbiotic Networks with CRISPR for a Root-Associated Fungus.”

“These faculty members have already made great strides in their respective fields, and we are excited to help them continue to make further progress here,” Kass said.

Bogar joins this year’s cohort of fellows representing fields across campus, including psychology, mathematics, design, plant biology, and more.

The Hellman Fellowships were established in 1995 through gifts from Chris and Warren Hellman to UC San Diego and UC Berkeley. The program eventually expanded to all UC campuses, including UC Davis in 2008, and became permanent in 2020 through campus endowments. UC Davis’ $6 million endowment ensures that these awards will continue in perpetuity through the Society of Hellman Fellows.

Advancing Research with Commercial Potential

Keith Baar, whose research investigates how resistance exercise affects muscle growth and repair, was one of two faculty members awarded $100,000 through the fall 2025 cohort of the Science Translation and Innovative Research (STAIR) Grant Program. The program supports scientists developing early-stage technologies with strong commercial promise.

Baar’s project, “Turning Weakness into Strength with Improved Musculoskeletal Health,” focuses on addressing tendinopathy, a widespread and debilitating condition affecting millions of adults. To support tendon health, Baar’s team has developed the Aeneas Heel—an Achilles tendon-loading device with integrated Bluetooth—as a non-surgical, at-home option for proactive tendon conditioning. The STAIR award will fund development of working prototypes and a clinical study to evaluate the device’s effectiveness.

The fall cohort of the STAIR program, now in its second year, is funded by the UC Davis Innovation and Economic Development Office (IEDO) and managed by Venture Catalyst, a unit within IEDO. The program plays a key role in the innovation pipeline by helping research teams establish proof of concept and assess market viability.

“Funding from the STAIR Grant Program continues to play a critical role in helping our faculty advance promising new technologies along a path toward societal impact,” said Simon Atkinson, vice chancellor for research at UC Davis.

Early-stage technologies developed at universities often face a funding gap because they are seen as too high-risk for commercial investment. The STAIR program helps bridge that gap by supporting proof-of-concept studies and de-risking innovations from UC Davis.

“This year’s projects exemplify the impact of UC Davis research, and we look forward to supporting their next phases of development,” said George Baxter, chief innovation and economic development officer for UC Davis.