University of Michigan’s Natural Products Discovery Core Assessed “Awardable” for DARPA ERIS Marketplace
The Natural Products Discovery Core (NPDC) at the University of Michigan Life Sciences Institute, home to one of the world's largest libraries of bioactive natural products, has achieved “Awardable” status through DARPA Expedited Research Implementation Series (ERIS) Marketplace. The ERIS Marketplace is a transformative digital platform designed to accelerate acquisition velocity and advance national security innovation. This repository houses 7-minute pitch videos of awardable solutions that have undergone rigorous assessment through competitive procedures and are available to Government customers with an ERIS Marketplace account.
The NPDC’s solutions are designed to translate cutting-edge natural product science into innovative therapeutic, dermatological and agricultural applications. The team partners with academic and industry clients to advance both scientific progress and commercial goals.
Through our platform and existing strategic partnerships, we can provide a national framework through which discovery, deployment and containment converge to secure the food supply and strengthen U.S. bioresilience.
“We are excited about the opportunities that this recognition on the DARPA ERIS Marketplace opens, and eager to help transform agricultural defense from reactive to proactive,” said Ashu Tripathi, Ph.D., director of the NPDC. “Through our platform and existing strategic partnerships, we can provide a national framework through which discovery, deployment and containment converge to secure the food supply and strengthen U.S. bioresilience.”
The NPDC’s video, “AI-Accelerated Microbial Countermeasures against Fusarium Threats,” accessible only by government customers on the DARPA ERIS Marketplace, presents an actual use case in which the team will apply their tools and expertise to build an unparalleled rapid-response system for agricultural biodefense. Their platform combines AI-driven design with nature’s evolved chemistry to deliver field-ready biofungicides targeting any emerging pathogen within weeks of threat identification—fast enough to protect a growing season.
The NPDC was recognized among a competitive field of applicants to the ERIS Marketplace whose solutions demonstrated innovation and potential impact on DoD missions. Government customers interested in viewing the video solution can create an ERIS Marketplace account at www.darpaconnect.us/eris.