As 2025 comes to a close, we are reflecting on a year of accelerated collaboration, scientific breakthroughs, and expanding visibility across the global food and health ecosystem. Thank you for your continued partnership and engagement as we prepare for an ambitious 2026. Please enjoy the final Partner Update for 2025!
📌 At-a-Glance: Executive Summary
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AI + Nutrition Innovation: UC Davis awarded $2 million from the Bezos Earth Fund to advance AI food formulation.
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Strategic Collaborations: Partnerships with AG1 and Nestlé Health Science expand our precision nutrition impact potential.
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Ecosystem Growth: IIFH’s expanding network of startups, fellows, and research partners is fueling commercialization and investment — from new global fellowships to startup funding.
🔹 Major Announcements
- Bezos Earth Fund Phase 2 Grant — UC Davis, The Periodic Table of Food Initiative, and the American Heart Association receive $2 million to advance AI-driven food design as part of the Bezos Earth Fund $30 million AI Grand Challenge. Read More
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AG1 × IIFH Partnership — Advancing precision nutrition through industry-academic collaboration.
Read More
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Nestlé Health Science x IIFH Collaboration — New partnership to accelerate metabolic health innovation and translational research.
Read More
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NSF Invests $32 Million — Justin Siegel, the Faculty Director for the Innovation Institute for Food and Health, receives funding for his lab from NSF for two AI-driven protein-design technologies to strengthen the U.S. bioeconomy.
Learn More
📘 IIFH White Paper
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GLP-1 & Metabolic Hormones: IIFH explores the science of metabolic hormones and precision nutrition in the “Ozempic Era.” This white paper explores the science at the intersection of metabolic hormones and precision nutrition. It traces the discovery of incretin biology and the rise of multi-target therapies like tirzepatide (GLP-1 + GIP) and retatrutide (GLP-1 + GIP + glucagon), and shows how their widespread effects across brain, adipose tissue, muscle, bone, and the microbiome open new opportunities for nutritional intervention. Read full White Paper
🎤 IIFH Events & Engagement
- 2025 IIFH Discovery Forum: Metabolic Hormones & Precision Nutrition in the Ozempic Era
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Hosted at Aggie Square, our two-day Discovery Forum focused on how this tectonic shift is impacting food, behavior, science, product innovation, and systems of care. This event convened leaders across clinical practice, nutrition science, biotech, CPG, regulatory affairs, academia, and innovative startups. What emerged was not just shared curiosity but a clear recognition that the scale and speed of change demands coordinated, cross-sector action. This is a paradigm shift in motion – a call to reimagine how we approach food, science, health, and care in a fundamentally different landscape. Read more in this
Event Recap
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2025 IIFH Discovery Forum – Decoding Caffeine Biology: Precision Nutrition from Bean to Body
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Caffeine—the world’s most widely consumed psychoactive compound—was the focus of a two-day gathering at UC Davis that brought together researchers, industry innovators, and students to explore the science, technology, and health implications of coffee. Read more in this
Event Recap
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2026 IIFH Partner Summit | May 12–14, 2026 | Pacific Grove, California
- This invitation-only event for IIFH partners convenes diverse stakeholders from across the food system with a shared vision of making the food we love healthier for people and the planet. Our aim is to foster a diverse network that leverages cutting-edge research and innovative business strategies to address pressing issues within the food system. Through a series of insightful discussions and networking opportunities, we will explore innovative solutions and form strategic partnerships to drive meaningful global change.
🌱 Startup Highlights
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Nucicer & Oobli — Selected for the Unreasonable Fellowship, a collaboration between Mars and Unreasonable Foods, recognizing ventures reshaping the future of food. Learn More
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PrismBio — Spotlighted by Walmart for pioneering a
living color platform that produces vibrant, biodegradable pigments from plants and microbes.
Learn More
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PhenoTap Inc. — Received Helmsley Charitable Trust investment to advance ketone-sensor technology for Type 1 diabetes. Learn More
🌍 Partner Spotlight
The Periodic Table of Food Initiative (PTFI) — Supported by The Rockefeller Foundation and the Bezos Earth Fund, PTFI was recognized as a Bezos AI Grand Challenge awardee for its work mapping the molecular diversity of food. This initiative embodies the IIFH mission — leveraging AI and science to transform our understanding of food’s impact on human and planetary health. Learn More
🧬 Faculty Collaboration Spotlight: Dr. Sean H. Adams
From Molecule to Metabolism: The Hidden Chemistry of Health
Dr. Sean Adams is uncovering how diet and gut microbes communicate through xenometabolites—tiny molecules that influence inflammation, energy use, and metabolic balance. His research reveals how food can rewire metabolism naturally, activating the same pathways targeted by GLP-1 drugs and other metabolic therapies—pointing toward a future where nutrition itself becomes precision medicine. Read the full story
🎓 IIFH Fellow Updates
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2026 launch – California-Denmark Innovator Fellowship program: IIFH is collaborating with leading Danish Universities through an exchange program to develop future innovative leaders in food, health, and sustainability. 2026 will usher in the first cohort with UC Davis students traveling to Denmark, and Danish students traveling to California, each gaining hands-on experience in use-inspired research, innovation frameworks, and more.
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IIFH Innovator Fellow Perspective: Bioactives — Molecules That Matter By Grace LeBleu Read on Medium
📰 In the News: IIFH & Partners Leading Global Food & Health Conversations
