Driving innovation through uncommon collaboration
OUR VISION
To accelerate deployment of products or processes that enable safe, sustainable and secure nutrition for all.
OUR MISSION
To catalyze and support uncommon collaborations that address global nutritional challenges.
Who we are…
IIFH is a premiere innovation institute at UC Davis focused on developing and deploying breakthrough solutions to global issues across the food system. Our research and funding network spans faculty and students from a myriad of academic disciplines, and strategic industry, finance and technology partners.
What we do…
IIFH nurtures and accelerates innovation through industry-academic collaborations and experiential learning programs. Focused on tackling the most pressing food system challenges, IIFH harnesses strategic partnerships, provides research funding and hosts convening events at the interface of food, ag and health.
How we do it…
By bridging the gap between sectors and disciplines, IIFH advances new technologies, products and processes along the entire innovation continuum, from research to commercialization. Our Request For Innovation (RFI) funding call, Innovator Fellowships and evolving strategic programs work to extend ideas beyond proof‐of‐concept to scalable application and impact.
Justin B. Siegel
As a UC Davis Associate Professor in Chemistry, Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, Dr. Siegel’s scientific focus is the design and discovery of enzymes relevant to issues in modern society – from treating Celiac disease to optimizing biofuel production and food system sustainability. As the IIFH Faculty Director, he works with academic and industry groups in building a vibrant translational research ecosystem across the food sector.
Kyeema L. Zerbe
With a passion for developing and deploying innovation at scale across natural resource management, health care, agriculture and food systems, Ms. Zerbe integrates academic and industry approaches into operational success. As the IIFH Associate Director, she builds on fifteen years of international innovation management with industry sectors, governments, investors and academies to design interdisciplinary programs that advance innovation across the food system.
Elizabeth Wagstaff
Elizabeth joined the IIFH as the interim Program Administrator in August 2019 and recently graduated from UC Davis in June 2019, with a BS in Clinical Nutrition. Over the past three years, she has worked for Human Resource Department at UC Davis as a Talent Acquisition Assistant; in addition, for the past two years, she has served as a Reproductive Health Educator for a local health clinic.
Kit Duggan
Kit is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in English at UC Davis. He is a practiced copywriter and educator with expertise in social media marketing and online publishing. Strong communication skills include event promotion, multi-media content creation, copy-editing, video production, and targeted distribution of multi-media content on a variety of online platforms.
Samuel Utomo
Samuel is working on a Bachelor of Science degree with Food Science & Technology at UC Davis. Since joining the IIFH team, Samuel has supported program development, communications, and digital marketing through data-driven approaches and design. He is passionate about filmmaking and is currently the Vice President of the Davis Filmmaking Society.
Deema Tamimi
Deema brings a deep interest in sustainable, innovative and equitable food management to IIFH, built on her tech background with the likes of YouTube, Xbox, and Flipboard. Motivated to bridge the gap between today’s food systems and tomorrow’s community needs, she cultivates collaborators in food, farming, gardening, food policy, food justice, food waste, and food tech.
