Radiance Technologies, LSU Health Shreveport, and LA Tech unite for $5.85M DARPA contract to fuel defense biology innovations

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 Louisiana
State University (LSU) Health Shreveport and Louisiana Tech University to develop
whole-cell modeling and simulation capabilities for Escherichia coli (E. coli).

This marks Radiance’s first collaboration with DARPA BTO and establishes North Louisiana
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.

“This partnership represents exactly the kind of innovative collaboration that drives
real breakthroughs,” said Radiance CEO Bill Bailey. “It’s exciting to see North Louisiana
becoming a real player in advanced biotech research.”

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.
Louisiana Tech University 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: “This is a bold new chapter in research for North Louisiana.
Each partner in this collaboration brings something unique to the table. Together,
we are forming a true research corridor along I-20.”

“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 Louisiana Tech’s research efforts for the project.

“CHIMERA has the potential to revolutionize how we understand and engineer microbial
systems, delivering real-world benefits for national security and beyond,” 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’t be accomplished alone.