A half-century partnership

From In Greater Focus
By Clémentine Sicard

Foundations and corporate organizations have played an essential role in UC Davis’ Expect Greater campaign, contributing $1,173,263,484 through research exchange and donations.

One such partnership between UC Davis and Mars spans nearly 50 years of history, with wide ranging collaborations driving significant advancements across the food, health and agriculture sectors.

Notable projects include pioneering plant genomics research that has improved crop resilience and sustainability, as well as studies in human and pet health that have led to enhanced nutritional standards and innovative food ingredients.

A hallmark of this partnership is its multidisciplinary approach, bringing together government research institutions, industry partners, philanthropic foundations and universities to foster groundbreaking advances in food safety, sustainable agriculture and global food security.

This collaboration has also extended into education, providing scholarships, internships and research opportunities that nurture future leaders in food science and agribusiness.

Mars has been an integral part of the UC Davis scientific community since the 1970s, beginning with a collaboration in veterinary nutrition. Over the decades, the partnership has expanded to address global challenges like more nutritious crops in Africa and more efficient methods for manufacturing sugar alternatives.

“Our team constantly looks ahead for groundbreaking scientific and technological discoveries, balancing business goals with a commitment to the greater good. Our longstanding partnership with UC Davis has been key in fostering innovations that bring measurable value to Mars while supporting people, pets and the planet,” said Darren Logan, vice president of Research and Science Discovery at Mars.

Solving the radiology shortage in veterinary medicine

A day in the life of Craig Brown, D.V.M. ’19, a fourth-year resident in radiology, includes conducting medical scans like ultrasounds of dogs and cats, but also, on other memorable occasions, a black bear, a ball python, and a pudu, the world’s smallest deer.

Radiologists like Brown provide an expert eye to interpret scans and diagnose what illness or injury may be occurring in a wide variety of patients. However, over the last decade, the veterinary field has experienced a shortage of this specialty as the number of images increases due to advancing technology.

Antech Diagnostics, a Mars company, sponsored the addition of four new residencies in radiology at the School of Veterinary Medicine in 2020 to increase resident numbers and support the need for more of these specialists in the country.

“Part of our mission is to train future veterinarians and specialists. Antech has been a very supportive and collaborative partner in developing the program to do this,” said Allison Zwingenberger, professor in the Department of Surgical and Radiological Sciences. “Being able to expand our program would not otherwise have been possible.”

Radiology has become increasingly important with scans like ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and positron emission tomography (PET) joining X-ray as integral tools for the diagnostic workup of patients.

“Our residents are all trained in these upcoming technologies, and they’re very well equipped to go out into practice or academia and build on that,” said Zwingenberger.

“It’s a privilege to spend four years training and getting to know our residents. Every one of them is unique and offers something special to the veterinary community after they graduate,” she said.

Brown, whose specialty is small animals, enjoys how supportive and tight-knit the program is, and says he appreciates the opportunity to learn from world-class faculty and technologies.

“It’s really fun to be a part of a large group of residents that has become its own family with a culture and a community,” Brown said.

Innovative sugar alternatives

A key achievement enabled by the longstanding strategic partnership between Mars and UC Davis is the creation of the Innovation Institute for Food and Health (IIFH), launched in 2015. The IIFH is a unique center that harnesses the power of industry-academic collaborations, ensuring sustainable and health-oriented innovations drive meaningful global change.

“Some of the world’s biggest challenges in both planetary health and human health can be impacted through food system research,” said Justin Siegel, director of the IIFH and professor of chemistry, biochemistry & molecular medicine. “The IIFH is intentionally structured for industry-academic partnerships.”

Last year, IIFH scientists made a breakthrough discovery, finding a method that more efficiently produces a low-calorie sugar alternative. In many parts of the world, a major challenge is reducing consumption of simple carbohydrates and sugars, leading to a focus on suitable alternatives.

“A constant question is how to create a sugar alternative that still satisfies,” said Siegel. “We have to love what we eat; it’s part of our culture and our core genetics.”

A solution was found in a naturally occurring rare sugar available in fruits like figs and raisins that provides about 70% of the sweet flavor as sucrose (aka traditional sugar) that also has less impact on blood glucose and insulin levels.

The existing manufacturing process is complex, limiting its wider scale adoption. The IIFH team has discovered a process that simplifies production utilizing precision fermentation.

Training top plant scientists in Africa

The collaborative partnership between Mars and UC Davis has been supported through funds and capacity building for the African Plant Breeding Academy (AfPBA) to train scientists in Africa on increasing the yield, nutritional value and resilience of staple food crops to improve public health.

The primary goal of the work has been to enhance the nutritional value of local crops through plant breeding. This approach is a unique strategy that experts are using to address malnutrition in Africa, where one in three children under five suffers from stunting due to poor diets (2022 Global Nutrition Report).

“The academy is taking a fundamental step in helping to eradicate chronic hunger, malnutrition and stunting in Africa,” said Allen Van Deynze, co-founder and instructor of the AfPBA and director of the Seed Biotechnology Center at UC Davis.

The six-week program is hosted at the World Agroforestry Centre in Nairobi, Kenya and is part of the African Orphan Crops Consortium (AOCC). Orphan crops are healthy but little-studied food crops that have not benefited from breeding research and practices. The academy focuses on 101 crops—like the spider plant and vegetable amaranth, popular leafy greens eaten across Africa—that are adapted to local environments and cultures.

The program has also received support from entities including Alliance for Green Revolution for Africa (AGRA) and Jon and Terese Curtis.

“The program’s graduates are not only better scientists due to their academy experience, but together, they have become key players in their national agricultural programs, local communities and governments and the continent,” said Van Deynze.

Mars has been an invaluable partner to helping us train experts on the on the latest strategies and technologies in plant breeding. Their vision and consistent funding over the last 10 years has allowed us to train 151 plant breeders from 28 African countries on the latest strategies to incorporate genomics into breeding programs.

— Allen Van Deynze, co-founder and instructor, African Plant Breeding Academy; director, Seed Biotechnology Center at UC Davis