The University of Washington Population Health Initiative, in partnership with CoMotion, has announced the joint award of a $75,000 Innovation Gap Fund grant to a research team led by Mari Winkler, associate professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering. This funding will support TheraT, a project that advances the University of Washington’s vision of improving population health while also aligning with the CoMotion Innovation Fund’s goal of enabling research with sustainable commercial or social impact.
TheraT is developing a drinkable hydrogel bead therapy for chronic kidney disease (CKD) that works entirely within the gut to capture harmful toxins—such as phosphate, urea and protein-bound uremic toxins—before they enter the bloodstream. This approach addresses significant gaps in current treatments, as many dialysis patients continue to struggle to control toxin levels due to limited efficacy, high pill burden, and side effects.
The team’s solution uses pH-activated beads containing microbes, enzymes, and binders that capture multiple toxins simultaneously and are safely excreted. The drinkable format improves patient adherence, reduces risks associated with systemic drugs, and offers a customizable, scalable platform with potential applications beyond CKD.