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Abstract or Project Description

Abstract or Project Description

Fully funds SEEDS coaching and training for OUSD K-2 tutors, City of Oakland Head Start teachers and family childcare providers, and several Oakland charter schools.

Abstract or Project Description

The Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano is a nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting hunger in California’s Contra Costa and Solano counties by collecting donated food and distributing it to those in need through a network of community-based organizations. They also offer nutrition education programs to promote healthy eating habits and self-sufficiency among their clients.

Abstract or Project Description

To provide general support in memory of Brian Igoe.

Abstract or Project Description

An evening of choreographic experiments conducted in three hour-long parts that integrates contemporary dance, installation, sound production and community engagement to blur the lines between Black sociality, spectatorship and performance. “DIASPORATICA” explores Black gatherings that center collective rest, play, somatic experimentation as resistance and strategies that challenge the insidiously oppressive labor practices in dance and performance.

Abstract or Project Description

Supports deepened efforts in the areas of data sharing, literacy advocacy and sector alignment.

Abstract or Project Description

For 30 years, FUTURES has led groundbreaking initiatives worldwide to end violence against women and children, including training professionals and collaborating with advocates and policymakers. Their vision is a future without violence, fostering education, safety, justice and hope. The Courage Museum will be the worldÕs first interactive, immersive learning center designed to simulate a world in which violence is not an inevitable part of the human experience, and where visitors can instead learn how to create change that will help their families, schools and communities become free from violence, bullying and harassment.

Abstract or Project Description

To support ImPulsTanz tuition for five Bay Area emerging experiment dancers.

Abstract or Project Description

The Good Energy Project, Inc. (“Good Energy Stories”) is a nonprofit story consultancy for the age of climate change. Funded in 2019 by Anna Jane Joyner, they support TV and film creators in telling wildly entertaining stories that honestly reflect the world we live in nowÑa world thatÕs in a climate crisis.

Abstract or Project Description

Supporting the film “WARRIOR MOTHERS” and the impact campaign for the project.

Abstract or Project Description

To support underprivileged youth across the East Bay Area with full access Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu scholarships.

Abstract or Project Description

To support an Artist Payment Accelerator Prototype and Implementation.

Abstract or Project Description

Pain is a major component of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), increasing the suffering of patients and decreasing their quality of life. However, the underlying cellular basis for pain in IBD and the role of pain-mediating neurons in driving gut dysfunction are not well known. Our goal is to characterize the role of neurons that mediate pain in IBD, and to determine whether inhibiting or activating these neurons leads to changes in the gut that can treat pain and inflammation.

Abstract or Project Description

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is characterized by non-resolving pathological inflammation leading to erosion of the colon tissue. Recent studies analyzing gene expression signatures in UC patients highlighted specific colonic fibroblast populations that may contribute to inflammation and disease progression. While these studies emphasize the proinflammatory function of activated intestinal fibroblasts, it is unknown whether subsets of intestinal fibroblasts may fulfill protective regulatory functions required to limit intestinal inflammation. Our studies leverage a novel spatial transcriptomics method (MERFISH) to generate a detailed cellular and molecular atlas of the colon, with an emphasis on elucidating the function of fibroblasts in mouse and human colitis. We discovered a new population of regulatory fibroblasts (Fregs) that differentiate during colitis and suppress intestinal inflammation. In particular, we found that Fregs appear in non-inflammatory regions and promote the differentiation of regulatory B cells (Bregs) and tolerogenic dendritic cells (tolDCs). The goal of this project is to define the molecular framework governing Freg, Breg and tolDC interactions during colitis, and establish the nature of these interactions in human UC. These studies will demonstrate how Fregs orchestrate immune tolerance to colitis and whether failure of this mechanism may contribute to tolerance breakdown in UC.

Abstract or Project Description

Besides the brain, the gastrointestinal tract has the highest number of neurons in the entire body. The enteric nervous system (ENS) is often referred to as the second brain as it commands all manner of intestinal function, from nutrient absorption to defecation control. In patients suffering from Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), the ENS undergoes major disruption resulting in many debilitating complications impacting the quality of life. We have recently uncovered that the ENS also controls intestinal inflammation and regulates the balance of “good” vs. “bad” bacteria in the gut. As the ENS has the unique capacity to rapidly relay signals from the gut directly to the brain and, by extension, to all other organs, we hypothesized that ENS might act as front-line sensors of gut inflammation to warn the body of impending infections. Our preliminary data indicate that when intestinal neurons are activated, they can trigger inflammation in other organs to protect against bacterial invasion. This novel protective mechanism has never been reported before and in this project, we aim to elucidate this unknown pathway of inflammation. Going forward, we will further explore if this axis is aberrantly activated during chronic intestinal inflammation and if it directly contributes to non-intestinal inflammatory complications exhibited in patients with IBD to aid in novel therapeutic design.

Abstract or Project Description

Supports the extention of its work to four OUSD and Eduction for Change school sites. Services consist of principal coaching, launching family engagement teams to develop a literacy-focused action plan, and training for educators.

Abstract or Project Description

To hire three additional case managers to support 72 Oakland households with financial literacy and resources to preserve their housing stability and prevent educational disruption.

Abstract or Project Description

Accumulating data supports the concept that Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) has a preclinical period that may be amenable to early diagnosis and intervention. Understanding the molecular underpinnings of this preclinical period in disease pathogenesis offers new opportunities in risk prediction and prevention. We have recently reported the first data from a large study using longitudinal pre-diagnostic samples from the US Department of Defense Serum repository, the PREDICTS study, where we assessed the predictive value of a panel of antimicrobial markers and a proteomic panel (>1100 proteins). Additional –omics data including glycan profiles, metabolome and exposome are currently generated on these same samples that span from up to 5 years before diagnosis to first clinical symptoms and confirmed diagnosis. We will integrate these massive multi-omics datasets to develop machine-learning based models predictive of future progression of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis years before diagnosis, and to discover driver biomarkers and biological processes responsible for disease initiation. This will be achieved by constructing time-varying disease-specific networks capturing the associations across all biomarkers measured at different years before diagnosis available through the PREDICTS initiative. We will make all results publicly available via a user-friendly web-platform to facilitate the easy query, exploration and utilization of these data.