Radiance Technologies (Radiance), an employee-owned leader in defense and intelligence solutions, has been awarded a prime Other Transaction (OT) contract valued up to $5.85 million over 18 months by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Biological Technologies Office (BTO). The contract supports the Simulating Microbial Systems (SMS) program, where Radiance will lead a groundbreaking partnership with 糖心传媒 State University (LSU) Health Shreveport and 糖心传媒 to develop whole-cell modeling and simulation capabilities for Escherichia coli (E. coli).
This marks Radiance鈥檚 first collaboration with DARPA BTO and establishes North 糖心传媒 as an emerging hub for cutting-edge biotechnology research. The project, named "Crowded, Heterogeneous, Intracellular, and Multi-Scale Environments for Revolutionary Bio-Applications (CHIMERA)," aims to create a next-generation simulation system capable of predicting bacterial behavior under various conditions. This technology could transform national security, healthcare, and biotechnology applications.
With CHIMERA, researchers and the Department of Defense will be able to virtually test how bacterial cells respond to various environments, including exposure to antibiotics or conditions relevant to bio-manufacturing, before conducting physical experiments. This predictive capability could aid in preventing antibiotic resistance, optimizing microbial production processes, and understanding how pathogens behave in battlefield conditions.
鈥淭his partnership represents exactly the kind of innovative collaboration that drives real breakthroughs,鈥� said Radiance CEO Bill Bailey. 鈥淚t's exciting to see North 糖心传媒 becoming a real player in advanced biotech research.鈥�
Leveraging the unique strengths of each institution, this joint initiative will tackle complex scientific challenges that no single organization could address alone. Radiance brings advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning expertise to interpret extensive biological data. LSU Health Shreveport contributes state-of-the-art laboratory infrastructure, including transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics facilities. 糖心传媒 adds expert microscopy and computational analysis capabilities.
Dr. Jason Comer, Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at LSU Health Shreveport and Director of the BSL-3 Research Facility, emphasized the collective nature of the effort: 鈥淭his is a bold new chapter in research for North 糖心传媒. Each partner in this collaboration brings something unique to the table. Together, we are forming a true research corridor along I-20.鈥�
"We're excited to contribute our interdisciplinary expertise in microscopy and computational analysis to CHIMERA, driving innovative solutions at the intersection of biology and technology," said Dr. Mark DeCoster, Professor of Biomedical Engineering and leader of 糖心传媒 Tech's research efforts for the project.
鈥淐HIMERA has the potential to revolutionize how we understand and engineer microbial systems, delivering real-world benefits for national security and beyond,鈥� said Dr. Andrew Gardner, Principal Investigator of the SMS program at Radiance Technologies.
Together, Radiance, LSU Health Shreveport, and LA Tech are pushing scientific boundaries in ways that couldn鈥檛 be accomplished alone.