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Abstract or Project Description

The Rest and Care Award is a one-time, invite-only program for current and past Education and Arts nonprofit grantees, offering six-week sabbaticals with pro-rated salary, benefits, leave expenses and organizational support, recognizing the dedication and resilience of leaders in our grantee community. PUSH Dance Company creates interdisciplinary contemporary dances that examine issues of identity and cultures alongside a dance education outreach program and dance/cultural center, the Sanctuary. Founder and Artistic Director Raissa Simpson has led the organization for 19 years.

Abstract or Project Description

Increases alignment between the University’s current credentialing coursework and California’s new Teacher Performance Expectations.

Abstract or Project Description

ScholarCHIPS empowers youth with incarcerated parents by providing college scholarships, mentorship and mental health support to help them complete their education and build a stable future. Founded in 2010 by Yasmine Arrington during her own college journey, ScholarCHIPS fills a critical gap by offering scholarships tailored to these students’ needs and inspiring them to overcome systemic barriers to success.

Abstract or Project Description

The Rest and Care Award is a one-time, invite-only program for current and past Education and Arts nonprofit grantees, offering six-week sabbaticals with pro-rated salary, benefits, leave expenses and organizational support, recognizing the dedication and resilience of leaders in our grantee community. Shakespeare San Francisco makes the words of Shakespeare accessible to everyone through arts education and free community performances in parks throughout the Bay Area. Executive Director Toby Leavitt has led the organization for 25 years.

Abstract or Project Description

The Rest and Care Award is a one-time, invite-only program for current and past Education and Arts nonprofit grantees, offering six-week sabbaticals with pro-rated salary, benefits, leave expenses and organizational support, recognizing the dedication and resilience of leaders in our grantee community. Sins Invalid is a disability justice-based performance project led by disabled people of color that incubates and celebrates artists with disabilities, artists of color and LGBTQ/gender-variant artists. Co-founder, Executive and Artistic Director Patty Berne has led the organization for 18 years.

Abstract or Project Description

To support evidence-based summer programming for participating students in Oakland Unified School District (OUSD).

Abstract or Project Description

Despite advances in understanding Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), research has been constrained by the inability to sample the intestinal microenvironment under physiological conditions. Current methods utilize fecal specimens, constraining our comprehension of regional differences within the gut, or use invasive biopsies from colonoscopy-accessible areas, which represent less than 25% of the intestine. Furthermore, these biopsies are usually performed in fasted, sedated patients who have undergone rigorous bowel preparation. Unfortunately, all of these actions significantly change the intestinal microenvironment and limit our knowledge of how the microbiome influences IBD pathology.

Utilizing CapScan, a novel sampling device the size of a common vitamin pill, and our team’s expertise in integrating multi-omics investigations, we aim to fill crucial knowledge gaps, particularly in understanding the intricate interplay between the human microbiome and IBD pathophysiology. This pill technology passively samples the colon and crucially, the largely unexplored small intestine under physiologic conditions.
For the first time, we can directly assess the regional gut microenvironment (including the microbiome, inflammatory proteins, drug metabolites/levels, as well as host and bacterial metabolites) under natural conditions.

Leveraging our expertise in machine learning, we will correlate changes in the intestinal microenvironment with clinical characteristics including medical/dietary exposures. Our approach will address the pressing need for a more comprehensive understanding of IBD pathology, laying the groundwork for improved diagnostic/prognostic biomarkers and personalized treatments.

Abstract or Project Description

Support for research into climate change and arts organizations, as well as the development of an impact evaluation report.

Abstract or Project Description

Provides administrative support to OUSD’s Structured Literacy Initiative.

Abstract or Project Description

Provides general support.

Abstract or Project Description

The Rest and Care Award is a one-time, invite-only program for current and past Education and Arts nonprofit grantees, offering six-week sabbaticals with pro-rated salary, benefits, leave expenses and organizational support, recognizing the dedication and resilience of leaders in our grantee community. The Teaching Well supports educator retention by consulting with school leaders on human-centered policies and providing educators with trauma healing and wellness programming. Their executive director for three years is Lindsey Fuller.

Abstract or Project Description

Provides anti-racist and healing programming for educators and leaders.

Abstract or Project Description

To support responsive communications and operations needs.

Abstract or Project Description

Clinical decision making in ulcerative colitis relies on practice guidelines and physician experience, but both have limitations. Guidelines offer broad advice that may not apply to individual patients while physician experience is subjective and error prone. Dr. Rudrapatna will address these limitations using reinforcement learning, a type of artificial intelligence that learns to make optimal decisions over time. Reinforcement learning has successfully been used in autonomous driving and it will now be adapted and applied to ulcerative colitis.

Abstract or Project Description

Our skin and gut house multitudes of bacteria that influence our health via interactions with key immune sentinel cells that engulf these microbes and respond dynamically to their signals. Previously we have had to rely heavily on animal models to try to decode this language between our immune sentials and the bacteria they sense, because we have lacked to tools to meaningfully capture the relevant information from human tissues. To overcome this hurdle we have recently developed a novel single-cell genomic method for simulatenously capturing and sequencing DNA from both these immune sentinel cells and the bacteria they contain, therby providing us with an unprecendented view into the nature of these bacteria-immune cell interactions. By applying this novel approach to samples of healthy human skin and gut, we hope to shed new light on how helpful and harmful bacteria are sensed at these barrier tissues, how the immune system decides when (and what) to attack, and the molecular and cellular cues that guide these decisions. These studies will transform our understanding of bacterial influences on our health and set the stage for future work to interrogate their role in specific human diseases such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Abstract or Project Description

T cells are major drivers of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) but the full set of factors promoting inflammatory intestinal T cell accumulation in affected individuals is not understood. We have found that deficiency in a signaling molecule (G-protein) in mouse hematopoietic cells leads to a reduction in inflammatory intestinal T cells. Here we will define the cell types requiring this signaling pathway for induction of inflammatory T cells in the intestine, and the upstream receptors involved. We will characterize how the pathway controls cell behavior to promote inflammatory T cell accumulation and determine the importance of the pathway in a mouse colitis model. These studies will provide a foundation for defining the contribution of the signaling pathway to human IBD and may lead to the identification of new avenues for therapeutic intervention to treat this condition.

Abstract or Project Description

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory disorder that affects the colon. There are multiple types of cells that drive inflammation and injury to the lining of the colon. Vedolizumab (VDZ) is a medication that blocks circulating immune cells from gaining access to the colon, but there are conflicting data about the primary cell types affected by this treatment. To identify the inflammatory cells that contribute to colitis and respond to VDZ, we performed a comprehensive single-cell transcriptomic and proteomic analysis of peripheral blood and colonic biopsies of patients with and without UC. We identified inflammatory cells called mononuclear phagocytes (MNPs) as a primary target of VDZ. We then used four new, complementary methods to look at where these cells are located in fixed tissue sections, and we discovered increased density and proximity of MNP and fibroblast subsets in UC biopsies when compared to HC, with inhibition by VDZ. We now want to confirm and extend these findings by looking in more detail at these cell types in tissue sections before and after therapy. We also want to culture epithelial cells from patients with MNPs and fibroblasts to see how these cells interact when grown in the lab.

Abstract or Project Description

The intestinal immune system must maintain a delicate balance between harmless bacteria in the gut and immunity against dangerous pathogens. Dysregulation of this balance can lead to Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) such as ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease. Many treatments for IBD focus on blocking inflammation and fail to repair damaged tissue and restore the integrity of the tissue. We have identified a long non-coding RNA that is only expressed in the colon. When this RNA is present the tissue is healthy and functional. In patients with ulcerative colitis however, the levels of this lncRNA decrease. To model this state, we generated mice lacking this lncRNA and like patients with UC, these mice develope colitis. The lncRNA localizes to the mitochondria in cells of the healthy colon. When the lncRNA is lost, the mitochondria in the cells in the colon are damaged, produce reactive oxygen species and damage colonic tissue. These findings provide new insights into how a lncRNA can help mitochondria work well to maintain homeostasis in the gut. These studies suggest new opportunities to restore tissue health by controlling the levels of this lncRNA.