Researchers with unique ideas on helping farmers protect their crops selected as Bayer 2021 Grants4Ag awardees

Monheim, June 2, 2021 - 24 proposals, designed to accelerate precision agriculture, reduce chemicals to enhance soil health or fight pests to preserve biodiversity, make up this year’s Bayer Grants4Ag winners. The successful researchers will receive grants (ranging from 5,000 to 15,000 euros) to fund their projects. Bayer will also pair each winner with one of the company’s own scientists to provide guidance on each project as it progresses.

"I was thrilled to have my project chosen!" says microbiologist Vanessa Nessner Kavamura. "As a postdoc scientist, it’s not often that we get to develop our own project, making this a great opportunity to develop my research ideas. Bayer offers a lot of support from its experienced team, and I hope I have some exciting results which could lead to additional future collaborations".

Proposals like Kavamura’s, on fighting fungal disease in wheat with microbes, centered around solutions aimed at helping farmers around the world protect their crops. For those researchers selected, Bayer Grants4Ag provides both financial support and scientific guidance to develop their ideas to advance agriculture. For Bayer, those grants could end up as an investment in a larger, longer-term collaborations with the scientist.

"Ideas from this year’s winners represent all research and development areas in crop science," says Phil Taylor, Open Innovation Lead for Bayer’s Crop Science Division. "We love the idea that, given support, these research proposals could develop into the next advancement that helps farmers."

In partnership with Halo, a partnering platform for scientific innovation, Bayer received more than 600 proposals from 39 countries around the world during a five-week submission window this past fall. Bayer Grants4Ag awardees retain all intellectual property rights to their projects. 

2021 Grant4Ag Awardees 

• Addie Thompson - Michigan State University
• Ana Laura Torres Huerta - Monterey Institute of Technology
• Bryan Berger - University of Virginia
• Eduardo Rodriguez - Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology of Rosario
• Elizabeth Skellam - University of North Texas
• Enrico Bonello - Ohio State University
• Haoyu Niu - University of California, Merced
• Ian Henderson - University of Cambridge
• Ingrid Span - Heinrich Heine University
• Jishnu Bhatt - Penn State University
• Maria DeRose - Carleton University
• Megan Rúa - Wright State University
• Ming-Zhi Zhang - Nanjing Agricultural University
• Sigfredo Fuentes - The University of Melbourne
• Sivam Krish - GoMicro
• Vanessa Nessner Kavamura - Rothamsted Research
• Yinghui Mu - South China Agricultural University
• Yulia Poroshenko - Agrohub
• Yi-Zhen Deng - South China Agricultural University
• Yongle Li - University of Adelaide - Waite Campus
• Yuxi Zhang - Monash University
• Zihau Zhou - China Agricultural University

Learn more about the 2021 Grants4Ag awardees and their research.

About Halo
Halo is a partnering platform where companies and scientists join forces to bring new innovations to market. Through a simple, streamlined RFP process, companies can quickly review proposals with their team, learn about new technologies and cultivate relationships with the scientists behind them. For more passive scouting and brand building, companies can highlight existing research partnerships and technology interests on their innovation page. Since launching in January 2020, PhD scientists and startups across 65 countries and 6 continents have submitted more than a thousand proposals on Halo. To learn more, visit halo.science/sponsors.

About Bayer
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition. Its products and services are designed to help people and planet thrive by supporting efforts to master the major challenges presented by a growing and aging global population. Bayer is committed to drive sustainable development and generate a positive impact with its businesses. At the same time, the Group aims to increase its earning power and create value through innovation and growth. The Bayer brand stands for trust, reliability and quality throughout the world. In fiscal 2020, the Group employed around 100,000 people and had sales of 41.4 billion euros. R&D expenses before special items amounted to 4.9 billion euros. For more information, go to www.bayer.com.

Find more information at www.bayer.com.

Forward-Looking Statements 
This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer’s public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.