The UC Davis Mike and Renée Child Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship awarded almost $100,000 in grants and startup residencies Tuesday evening during the 26th annual Big Bang! Business Competition awards night.  

This year’s $25,000 first-place prize went to First Bite, an all-UC Davis undergraduate team developing a medical device designed to help secure breathing tubes for intubated infants in neonatal and pediatric intensive care units. The First Bite team developed the device to address the critical challenge of breathing tubes becoming displaced during treatment, putting vulnerable patients at risk. 

“For intubated children in the neonatal and pediatric intensive care units, keeping their breathing tube in place is a matter of life or death,” said Camilla Lindh, First Bite CEO and UC Davis biomedical engineering major. Lindh explained that current methods of securing breathing tubes involve an often-ineffective adhesive that can damage fragile baby skin. “First Bite combines the idea of a pacifier and a breathing tube holder into one device, utilizing a modified pacifier and a dual-plane head strap to safely secure the tube.” 

Lindh said the device is simple to use, quick to install and provides oral soothing through the pacifier component, reducing patient discomfort while facilitating development of the natural sucking reflex. This minimizes oral aversion and enhances feeding habits once patients are discharged, ultimately reducing hospital costs and facilitating long-term recovery.

The team plans to use the prize funding to support manufacturing efforts, finalize prototyping and testing, conduct outreach with hospitals and distributors, and continue work with the UC Davis Technology Transfer Office on a provisional patent.

In addition to Lindh, the team includes Rachel Amstutz, David Melnichuk, Lakshmi Penumasta, all biomedical engineering students; and Phineas Tucker, a student in biomedical engineering and pre-med. 

This year’s awards ceremony celebrated ventures addressing challenges in veterinary health, education, healthcare, sustainability, food systems and social impact. In addition to the $25,000 first-place award, six sector winners each received $10,000 prizes and three teams received residencies valued at $4,000 each.

26 years of Big Bang!

Since 2000, the UC Davis Big Bang! Business Competition has supported entrepreneurs as they develop and launch new ventures. The competition begins each fall and provides participants with free workshops, mentoring, networking opportunities and pitch preparation throughout the academic year.

The competition is open to teams with at least one founder affiliated with a California college or university. Prizes are funded through support from corporate, university, nonprofit and community sponsors. 

In all, 91 teams entered, and 17 made it to the finals.

Functional pudding for cognitive health

Davis-based Proof Pudding received the $10,000 Food and Agriculture sector award for its functional pudding products designed to support brain health and memory. 

“Dementia rates are projected to rise to 152 million people globally by 2050, and nutrition is an often overlooked and powerful lever for prevention,” said Kasey Schalich, Proof Pudding’s co-founder and UC Davis postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Food Science and Technology. “To address this, Proof is formulated with two bioactive ingredients that support cognition and memory. It’s made with only clean, recognizable ingredients, is low in sugar, and is a good source of protein.”

The team, which also includes co-founder and UC Davis food science undergraduate Jade Schoenfeld, said participating in Big Bang! helped them refine their business model and market fit while connecting with mentors and industry professionals.

Proof Pudding plans to use the funding for pilot-scale production, shelf-life testing, local retail sampling and continued validation of its cognitive health ingredients as they move toward a market-ready product.

Genomic verification for high-value crops

Ground Truth Genomics earned the $10,000 Social Entrepreneurship sector award for its genomic certification services for clonally propagated crops. The company helps nurseries, breeding companies, tissue-culture labs and growers verify crop identity and detect mutations before they result in crop loss, propagation setbacks or intellectual property disputes.

The company provides what it calls a “clonal integrity certificate,” translating complex genomic data into accessible documentation that supports decision-making for agricultural producers working with high-value crops.

The team said the Big Bang! competition helped shift its perspective from focusing primarily on technology to concentrating more directly on solving customer problems and product value.

“We were focused on the power of our technology, but a Big Bang! mentor encouraged us to think more about delivering clear value by solving specific customer problems,” said Marie Klein, co-founder and UC Davis postdoctoral researcher studying plant breeding and genetics. “That shift in thinking changed how we frame everything about Ground Truth Genomics.” 

Klein and her co-founder Grey Monroe, a UC Davis associate professor of plant sciences, plan to use their funding to expand laboratory capabilities, scale genomic verification services and support pilot studies with early adopter customers.

Other winners

An additional $40,000 in sector prizes were awarded Tuesday evening to ventures focused on human health, energy and sustainability, animal health and social impact.

• Stork Labs Medical of Santa Cruz: Human Health and Industry sector award, $10,000. The company is developing a tool to support emergency childbirth and plans to use the funding to build a finalized prototype and conduct usability studies with clinicians. The venture was co-founded by UC Santa Cruz alumni Maryam Tebyani and Breanna Baltaxe-Admony.

• Data Pigeon of Davis: Energy and Sustainability sector award, $10,000. The team is developing machine learning tools to improve electric vehicle charger reliability and maintenance. The venture plans to expand partnerships across the EV industry and continue development of its predictive models. The all-undergraduate team includes Suhani Shokeen and Atin Kumar Singh, UC Davis computer science students; Senara Millawabandara, UC Davis student in computer science and engineering; and Sina Vaghefi, a Sacramento State University computer science student.

• Pharmstead of Davis: Animal Health and Industry sector award, $10,000. Pharmstead is focused on biotechnology innovation and plans to use the funding for research and development, patent filing and customer outreach. Team members include Yofi Wyle, UC Davis graduate student (molecular, cellular and integrative physiology); Anindya Karmaker, a UC Davis graduate student in chemical engineering; and Intern Dom Wuu, a UC Davis undergraduate student in biotechnology.

• CuraVoice of Irvine: Education sector award, $10,000. CuraVoice is developing an AI-powered platform that helps healthcare students practice communication skills through voice simulation technology. Team members include Sakhi Patel, a UC Irvine pharmacy student; and Shrey Modi, a California State University, Long Beach graduate. The team plans to use the funding to expand its AI feedback systems and continue scaling university pilot programs.

Residency awards

The competition also awarded residency prizes valued at $4,000 each to support continued venture development.

• Ground Truth Genomics received the Woodland, California-based AgStart residency award. 

• First Bite and HerdSense received residency awards from the Davis-based startup incubator Inventopia. The HerdSense team includes Jeremy Twumasi Ampofo, Kyle Ayisi, and Jovoney Williams, all with MSBAs from UC Davis. The team also included Rebecca Panayi, University of Nicosia, Cyprus (veterinary medicine).