New Orleans biotech Informuta just landed a $1.25 million Phase II grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation to take its antibiotic-resistance forecasting out of the lab and into hospitals — real doctors, real patients.
Here’s the part that gets us: Informuta graduated VILLAGEx, The Idea Village’s 16-week accelerator, in April. By September, co-founders Kalen Hall and Leo Williams had a $1.25M NSF grant to show for it. The momentum built in one room in New Orleans doesn’t stay in that room.
What the money does.
NSF makes only about 80 Phase II awards a year nationwide. This one funds clinical studies with UPMC, which has partnered with Informuta since Phase I, and UC Irvine. Those studies will test whether the platform can warn clinicians before an infection turns resistant.
Why it matters.
Most tests tell a doctor what a bacterial infection resists right now. Informuta reads the bacteria’s DNA for patterns that show where resistance is headed next. Hall, Informuta’s CEO, started on this problem during her PhD at Tulane.
Questions, answered.
Q: What did Informuta win?
A: A $1.25 million Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation, announced September 2026.
Q: What does Informuta do?
A: Antibiotic-resistance forecasting — reading a bacteria’s DNA for patterns that show where resistance is headed next, so clinicians get warned before an infection turns resistant.
Q: Who runs Informuta?
A: Co-founders Kalen Hall (CEO) and Leo Williams. Hall started on this problem during her PhD at Tulane.
Q: What is VILLAGEx?
A: The Idea Village’s 16-week startup accelerator in New Orleans. Informuta graduated in April 2026.
Q: What is an NSF Phase II grant?
A: A Small Business Innovation Research award for taking lab-stage technology into real-world use. NSF makes only about 80 Phase II awards a year nationwide.
Sources
- Informuta’s announcement
- NSF SBIR program
- Tulane founder profile (Hall & Williams)
- Tulane on the resistance-prediction research
- 2026 VILLAGEx cohort announcement
- The Idea Village
Rendered with Renaissance Instruments.
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