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Abstract or Project Description

Abstract or Project Description

The human gut is home to trillions of bacteria affecting our health. Even more abundant are viruses that specifically infect these bacteria. These viruses are called bacteriophages and have the ability to control the number and function of the bacteria that live within us. Individuals with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, have an imbalance in their gut bacteria that causes the activation of the underlying immune system, chronic inflammation, and tissue injury. We predict that changing the bacteriophages in the gut of patients with IBD could provide a new therapeutic approach to limit inflammation and disease progression. However, the specific type of bacteriophages that live in the gut and their influence on this important ecosystem are not known. Using mice in which the normal gut microbes have been replaced with bacteria and bacteriophages from healthy individuals or from patients with IBD, we will determine how each of these microbial components contribute to immune dysfunction and susceptibility to animals models of human colitis. Results generated from our work will identify how viruses can be harnessed to ameliorate intestinal inflammation and disease.

Abstract or Project Description

Menstrual Health Hub is a platform for menstrual health advocacy, run by Uninhibited, whose mission is to improve gender equity, health and wellbeing of marginalised menstruators.

Abstract or Project Description

An evening-length dance piece choreographed and directed by Sara Shelton Mann with music and soundscape by composer Pamela Z. ECHO is a site-specific work that will use the three studios in Dance Mission and the 24th Street BART Plaza opposite the theater to engage audiences in an experience of active viewing and listening.

Abstract or Project Description

A new work which uses drag and movement to expose the performativity of gender, while challenging and confronting archetypal constructions of womanhood.

Abstract or Project Description

MISSSEY is dedicated to preventing girls and gender-expansive youth from falling into sexual exploitation and violence while also aiding those currently experiencing exploitation to exit such circumstances. Additionally, they provide ongoing support and partnerships to help these individuals avoid re-entering exploitative situations and live liberated from harmful relationships.

Abstract or Project Description

Movement Strategy Center is a collective ecosystem providing intermediary services and thought partnership to Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC), women and LGBTQIA+ movement leaders addressing systemic racism, environmental destruction and economic exploitation. Sixteen teams from all across the country and various movements gathered in Northern California for the Practice of Place Lab, knowing that it is in the economy, ecology and decision making closest to our lives that we have the greatest possibility to generate new, community-led, participatory models of democracy that nurture wholeness, community power, mutual abundance and justice.

Abstract or Project Description

The Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to combating neuromuscular diseases through funding research, providing support services and advocating for improved treatments and policies. MDA’s efforts aim to enhance the lives of individuals and families affected by muscular dystrophy and related conditions, ultimately striving for a future free of these debilitating diseases.

Abstract or Project Description

National Performance Network’s 32nd Annual Meeting will provide professional development opportunities, networking and performance opportunities to Bay Area artists.

Abstract or Project Description

A new play by artist and community activist Jewelle Gomez about the life of Black lesbian singer/songwriter Alberta Hunter.

Abstract or Project Description

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is less common in parts of the world with parasitic worm infections than in the developed world. Understanding why may lead to new types of therapy. We recently found that infection by parasitic worms increases the number of beneficial anti-inflammatory Clostridiales bacteria in the intestine, and that these bacteria can outcompete harmful disease-causing bacteria. Therefore, one reason why people living in the developed world are more likely to develop IBD may be because their intestines are no longer colonized by these beneficial bacteria. To restore a healthy “gut microbiome”, we may need to recolonize patients with these beneficial bacteria as a way to treat IBD. We propose to isolate beneficial Clostridiales bacteria from indigenous people of Malaysia who are infected by parasitic worms. These bacteria are potentially more beneficial when administered to IBD patients. We will test this by examining their ability to kill harmful disease-causing bacteria and restore a healthy gut microbiome. We will also use an animal model of IBD to determine whether this approach can reverse disease. If successful, we believe that Clostridiales from indigenous Malaysians, or products that these bacteria produce, can be used to treat IBD.

Abstract or Project Description

The Oakland Leaf Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing youth development programs and educational opportunities in Oakland, California. Through a range of after-school and summer programs, they aim to empower young people with academic support, leadership skills and creative expression, fostering a stronger sense of community and resilience.

Abstract or Project Description

To support the Oakland Public Library’s Children’s Literacy Programming Fund, which supports early literacy and promotes a love of reading through a range of services, with a focus on initiatives that create access to books (e.g., summer reading, winter bingo, books for wider horizons, and Share the Love outreach distribution).

Abstract or Project Description

To support a Research Associate position that will focus on pre-kindergarten to third grade alignment of educational programs, student outcomes through data, and continuous improvement of early literacy strategies district-wide.

Abstract or Project Description

A collaboration between ODC/Dance and the San Francisco choral group Volti. Taking place at Grace Cathedral, Blink of an Eye is a site-specific performance which will explore the concept of pilgrimage.

Abstract or Project Description

To support the distribution of Talk, Read, Sing materials to 2,800 families with young children ages 0-3, via Oakland clinics. Emphasis will be placed on children 0-1 at the time of delivery and the well child checkup so that messaging can get to families as early as possible.

Abstract or Project Description

At Our Lady of Grace’s mission encompasses fostering personal faith growth, practicing Christian stewardship, promoting hospitality, engaging youth and younger adults and serving the greater community with gospel values of unity, service and compassion.

Abstract or Project Description

The Pacific Writers’ Connection (PWC) is a Hawai’i based nonprofit organization dedicated to encouraging nature and place writers, youth writing and reading programs to strengthen a network of global citizens who share concerns about their environments, communities, place, people and cultures.

Abstract or Project Description

An evening-length work composed of two, large-scale projects, XY and XX that feature Randee Paufve’s collaborations with male choreographers and a series of solos created alongside female artists, examining violence against women and female empowerment.

Abstract or Project Description

Gastrointestinal (GI) health is essential for overall body health. Inflammatory insults to the GI mucosa often cause profound and irreversible changes of GI homeostasis, including disrupted enteric neural regulation and subsequent alteration of GI function. Mucosal inflammation causes irreversible structural changes of the enteric nervous system (ENS), demonstrating a strong linkage between inflammation and GI innervation. Understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms that link mucosal inflammation with the loss/regeneration of enteric neurons are the focus of this proposal.

We characterized a phenotypically and transcriptionally distinct subset of intestinal macrophages that reside along the neural fibers of enteric neurons and are particularly enriched at the level of myenteric neural plexus of the ENS; we discovered a novel mechanism of crosstalk between these macrophages with enteric neurons. By using infectious and non-infectious murine models of transient mucosal inflammation and state of the art immunological and physiological techniques we will determine the role of mucosal inflammation, ENS-associated macrophages and the factors that they produce in regulation of homeostasis and function of enteric neurons during mucosal inflammation. The proposed studies will substantially advance our understanding of the pathophysiology of post-inflammatory enteric neuropathy known as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) common in patients with IBD.