2026 Reaching Across the Causeway Awards celebrate interdisciplinary research teams

The UC Davis School of Medicine, UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine, UC Davis Clinical and Translational Science Center (CTSC) and UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center recently selected six interdisciplinary research teams to receive 2026 Reaching Across the Causeway Awards.

The annual program supports new collaborations that bring together investigators from both schools to tackle complex biomedical and veterinary health challenges.

Each team consists of at least one principal investigator from either the School of Medicine or the Weill School of Veterinary Medicine and at least one co-applicant from the other school. Each winner receives $50,000 in seed funding to generate preliminary data and position the projects for future extramural funding.

2026 Reaching Across the Causeway Awardees

Adrien Dupanloup

Project: Defining the Cross-Species Immune Landscape of Pituitary Tumors to Enable Immunotherapeutic Strategies

Adrien Dupanloup is an assistant professor of neurology and neurosurgery in the UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine. Dupanloup’s project will examine how the immune system interacts with pituitary tumors in dogs and humans. The project is supported by funding from the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Co-applicants include Kiarash Shahlaie, Han Lee, LiHong Qi, Rachel Brady, Jessica Lawrence, Michael Kent, Kate Hopper, Sean Hulsebosch and Prasanth Surampudi.    

Damian Genetos

Project: Bone-mimetic Engineered Niches as Selective Traps for Early Capture and Molecular Profiling of Skeletal Metastasis

Damian Genetos is a professor of anatomy, physiology and cell biology in the UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine. The goal of Genetos’ project is to develop bone-like implants that can capture and identify the cancer cells most likely to spread to bone.  J. Kent Leach is a co-applicant.

Angela Gomez-Simmonds

Project: Assessing Clostridioides difficile Colonization Resistance and Antimicrobial Resistance Genes Across Patient Samples

Angela Gomez-Simmonds is an assistant professor of infectious diseases in the School of Medicine. The team will study how healthy gut bacteria protect against C. difficile and antibiotic-resistant infections. Co-applicants include Hannah Savage, Andreas Bäumler and Jee-Yon Lee.  

Qizhi Gong

Project: Regulation of Barrier Integrity at the Nose-Brain Interface

Qizhi Gong is a professor of cell biology and human anatomy in the School of Medicine. Gong will study a vulnerable gateway where smell-related nerves connect the nose to the brain to understand how infections and inflammation may affect the brain's natural defenses. Lillian Cruz-Orengo is a co-applicant.

Yin Allison Liu

Project: Bioelectric Modulation of Microglia to Promote Recovery After Acute Ischemic Optic Neuropathy

Yin Allison Liu is an associate professor of ophthalmology and vision science in the School of Medicine. Liu’s project will utilize electrical stimulation, advanced imaging and neuroimmunology to investigate whether bioelectric signals can direct immune cells toward a reparative state and improve recovery after optic nerve injury. Co-applicants include Christine Toedebusch, Weijian Yang and Robert Zawadzki.

The project is supported by funding from the CTSC.

Alessandro Venosa

Alessandro Venosa is an associate professor of molecular biosciences in the Weill School of Veterinary Medicine. Venosa’s project focuses on bile acid signaling pathways that may contribute to inflammation following exposure to air pollution. Bethany Cummings is a co-applicant.