Biocodex Microbiota Foundation Announces Open Call for 2020 US Research Grant Applications

BEDMINSTER, N.J., June 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Biocodex Microbiota Foundation, an organization founded by Biocodex and committed to inspiring scientific projects that investigate the implication of microbiota in human health, has announced the open call for applications for its annual US research grant, now in its fourth year. The $50,000 research grant, juried by a panel of medical and scientific experts in the field, will be awarded to a US-based, early-career investigator studying gut microbiota and chronic disease, the theme of the 2020 grant award, and can be applied to a new or existing study. The application can be downloaded here and deadline for entry is October 15, 2020, 5PM EST.

"With a mission to advance the research and understanding of human microbiota, the Biocodex Microbiota Foundation is calling on inspired early career researchers in the microbiome field to submit proposals for funding to help support their projects," says Juan C. Motta, General Manager of Biocodex, Inc. "The ideal candidate is a US-based researcher with five or less years of research experience within the microbiota field seeking to establish themselves as an independent researcher."

This will be the fourth consecutive year of the Biocodex Microbiota Foundation US grant program. Dr. Tao Yang received the grant in 2018 for his investigation into how intestinal microbes may cause dysfunctional gut-brain connections. With the help of the Biocodex Microbiota Foundation grant, Dr. Yang was able to publish his study providing strong support that targeting the gut to rebalance the gut-brain axis may increase the efficacy of antihypertensive drugs.

"I was so thankful for the opportunity," says Dr. Yang. "People take a lot of daily medications  to keep their blood pressure low, and initially, that is what inspired me to pursue this research to one day cure or improve the treatment of hypertension."

Previous grant recipients include Dr. Rashim Singh for her 2017 research on flavonoids and microbiome interactions via triple recycling and their roles in food-borne carcinogen-induced colorectal cancer. Dr. Arpana Gupta was the most recent US grant recipient in 2019 for her research on the prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) and how its complications continue to rise in the US and around the world.

The Biocodex Microbiota Foundation's annual call for grant applications is part of a multi-year research initiative to understand the interaction between microbiota and different pathologies. The applications will be reviewed, and recipient selected, by the US Biocodex Microbiota Foundation's scientific board, comprised of Dr. Ruth Ann Luna from Texas Children's Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine, Dr. Emeran Mayer from University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), and Dr. Erica Sonnenburg from Stanford University.

All completed applications must be sent to [email protected] by the October 15, 2020 deadline. Late or incomplete applications, or those that don't meet the criteria of the grant program or 2020 research topic will not be considered.

To learn more information about Biocodex Microbiota Foundation and the 2020 US grant program click here.

About the Biocodex Microbiota Foundation
The Biocodex Microbiota Foundation's mission is to support research into microbiota and its interaction with various pathologies. Research is supported through grants given to projects that investigate the implication of microbiota in human health. The Biocodex Microbiota Foundation supports both foundational and applied research, and projects are selected annually by a committee of independent scientists.

The foundation's primary activity remains the awarding of annual grants to innovative scientific research projects that explore the structure and impact of microbiota. In addition, the foundation also runs and helps establish programs to improve our understanding of microbiota and disseminates this knowledge as widely as possible, including scientific communities and via public projects aimed to help improve human health.

The Biocodex Microbiota Foundation is a non-profit, general interest organization. For more information about the foundation's international research grants, visit here.

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Deirdra DeLio
RLA Collective
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SOURCE Biocodex Microbiota Foundation