Green Bay Microenterprise Grant

A pioneer for women in business, Olga Loizon persevered through every obstacle to create one of metro Detroit’s most iconic restaurant concepts, Olga’s Kitchen. In honor of Olga Loizon and her legacy, TEAM Schostak Family Restaurants and Olga’s Kitchen have founded the Olga Loizon Memorial Foundation. The foundation focuses on entrepreneurial women who would be unable to attain the resources necessary to start a business or otherwise continue with their business development. Grants of up to $10,000 are available to women-owned businesses in Michigan.

The Biosensing program is part of the Engineering Biology and Health cluster, which also includes 1) the Biophotonics program; 2) the Cellular and Biochemical Engineering program; 3) the Disability and Rehabilitation Engineering program; and 4) the Engineering of Biomedical Systems program. The Biosensing program supports fundamental engineering research in the monitoring, identification and/or quantification of biological analytes and phenomena using innovations that exist at the intersection of engineering, life sciences, and information technology. Projects submitted to the program must advance both engineering and life sciences. The Biosensing program encourages proposals that, in addition to advancing biosensing technology, address critical sensor needs in biomedical research, public health, food safety, agriculture, forensics, environmental protection, and homeland security. Proposals are especially encouraged in areas of critical need: sensing technologies that can enable monitoring and surveillance of the environment and/or individuals for novel infectious agents; platform technologies that can readily be modified as soon as new agents are detected, sequenced, and/or otherwise characterized to enable rapid deployment of sensors in clinics and the environment; and adaptive and/or multiplex sensing technologies that can help the nation prevent the spread of the next global pandemic. Major areas of interest for the program include: -Novel signal transduction principles and mechanisms that enable sensitive and specific biosensors, suitable for measurements in multiple areas; -Design of novel biorecognition elements and appropriately designed transducing systems to enable adaptable and/or reconfigurable operating parameters in response to environmental changes or application needs at levels of device, system, or data analysis; -Development of adaptive and/or evolvable biosensing systems for detection of novel target analytes or analytes under novel conditions; -Novel synthetic biology approaches for the development of cell-free and cell-based biosensors; and -Combining biosensors with artificial intelligence (AI) methods to improve sensor specificity and response time.

Businesses in Danville can receive partial reimbursements up to $5,000 for making improvements to their storefronts and building exteriors.

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) encourages applications for investigator-initiated mid-phase clinical trials of natural products(i.e., botanicals, dietary supplements, and probiotics), which have a strong scientific premise to justify further clinical testing. For this NOFO, natural products include promising nutritional regimens that standardize the amount of a specific naturally occurring nutritional compound (e.g., omega-3 fatty acids, anthocyanidins, or polyphenols) and have compelling preliminary evidence. All applications submitted under this NOFO must be supported by sufficient preliminary data demonstrating bioavailability (if applicable) and documentation that the natural product produces a reproducible and measurable impact on target engagement (i.e., measure of the mechanism of action). Only in cases when it is not possible/practical to measure target engagement in the patient population of interest or when there is a fundamental understanding of the products mechanism of action will this preliminary data requirement be waived. Applications submitted to this NOFO should propose a mid-phase clinical trial to do the following: determine the optimal dose or formulation of a given natural product for use in a future multi-site efficacy trial; or determine which patient phenotypes will be responders versus non-responders to the natural product to inform inclusion/exclusion criteria of a future efficacy trial. Clinical trials submitted under this NOFO are expected to be hypothesis based, milestone-driven, and directly related to the research priorities and mission of NCCIH. This NOFO will not support single-site or multi-site efficacy or effectiveness trials, nor will it support trials to test natural products for the treatment or prevention of cancer. Applicants are encouraged to contact the appropriate NCCIH Scientific/Research contact for the area of science for which they are planning to develop an application prior to submitting to this NO

The Lifting Up Small Businesses in Woodbridge Grant provides Woodbridge, New Jersey small businesses with $5,000 grants to support business expansion and growth-related activities, with 25 businesses selected to receive funding. Administered through a partnership between Optimum Business and the Woodbridge Metro Chamber of Commerce, the program is designed to strengthen and empower the local small business community and foster broader economic growth across the Woodbridge area. To be eligible, applicants must operate a business with a brick-and-mortar location in one of ten designated Woodbridge zip codes, have 10 or fewer full-time employees, and be in good standing with all federal, state, and local laws and taxing jurisdictions. Eligible business entity types include Business Corporations, Not-for-Profit Corporations, Limited Liability Companies, General Partnerships, Limited Partnerships, and Sole Proprietorships. Each applicant must designate a Primary Contact who is at least 18 years old, owns at least 51 percent (or is the largest equity owner) of the business, and is duly authorized to apply on behalf of the company. All applicants must agree to a background check. Previous Lifting Up Small Business Grant recipients are not eligible to reapply. Woodbridge Chamber of Commerce membership and Optimum Business customer status are not considered in the evaluation, and applicants who are not current Chamber members receive a 6-month complimentary membership upon applying. Grant funds may be used solely for business expansion and growth-related activities and cannot be used to pay past or existing debt. Approved grants are distributed by check made out to the business.