Arizona Biosciences

Students flock to biomed program at Gilbert high school

Matt Ellsworth — 2010-09-03

[Source: Arizona Republic]

This academic year is the second that Campo Verde High School in Gilbert has offered the Project Lead the Way program, a non-profit organization that works with school districts to offer the four-year biomedical courses as well as courses in other fields related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). It also offers an engineering program, available in Gilbert Public Schools at Desert Ridge High School in Mesa.

Campo Verde's biomedical program is one of only two in the state - Douglas has the other - and is considered in the nation's top eight, Hardina said.

Four students and two teachers were invited to showcase the school's program in October at a Project Lead the Way conference in Washington, D.C., Hardina said.

The biomedical class is an elective course at Campo Verde, and has 110 students, including 37 in their second year of the program, he said.

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Arizona Heart Institute informs patients of bankruptcy filing

Matt Nelson — 2010-09-03

Arizona Heart Institute has started telling patients that it has filed for bankruptcy and is pursuing a sale to a Tennessee-based health-care company.

A Bankruptcy Court this week ordered the cardiac physicians group to inform patients about its financial standing and planned sale after the court's trustee raised concerns that patients need to know such details to make informed medical decisions about their care.

Heart Institute representatives argued that mandatory notification about the practice's bankruptcy filing and proposed sale to Vanguard Health Systems was unnecessary because it would not affect patients.

STEM education program to complement UA rice-genome research

Matt Ellsworth — 2010-09-03

The National Science Foundation has awarded a $9.9 million grant to a University of Arizona-led team that will study the wild relatives of cultivated rice. As a news release from UA explains:

Part of RICE 2020, an international coordinated effort in rice functional genomics, the NSF funds the undertaking of functionally characterizing the genomes of all 24 rice species, with the goal of transforming not only crop biology but evolutionary biology as well.

Along with the studies that will be conducted by resarchers including BIO5 members Rod Wing, director of the Arizona Genomics Institute, and Michael Sanderson, professor in UA's department of ecology and evolutionary biology, the project includes a strong STEM-education outreach component:

The project will provide training and mentoring to postdoctoral scientists, graduate and undergraduate students and high school students with an interest in genome evolution, plant breeding and careers in academic and corporate science.

As an outreach component, the project will include a biannual Plant Science Family Night program at Ventana Vista Elementary School in Tucson, targeting K-5 students and families, with the goal of getting children and their families in the greater Tucson area excited about plants and the role plant science plays in ensuring a safe, sustainable and secure food supply for our planet.

[More]

Algae fuel company leases 15,000SF

Matt Nelson — 2010-09-02

Heliae Development LLC has signed a 60-month lease at the 202 Business Park in Gilbert. Heliae is a spinoff company that started as part of the algae-based technology program at Arizona State University’s Polytechnic campus in Mesa.

The company is developing a technically viable process to produce aviation fuel from algae.

The lease transaction for 15,070 square feet was announced by Cushman & Wakefield of Arizona, which represented the landlord, Mountain West Industrial Properties in Greenwood Village, Colo. Heliae was represented by CB Richard Ellis in Phoenix.

TGen summer interns recount research

Matt Ellsworth — 2010-09-02

This summer, the Helios Scholars Program at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) provided 44 students with eight weeks of hands-on, intensive research experience. In the video below, interns describe some of what they learned during the experience.

For more information, read this report on the 2010 Helios Scholars.

BioFest 2010

2010-09-01 10:22:39 -0700

BioFest 2010

NCI-SBIR Workshop - Tucson

2010-09-01 10:16:19 -0700

NCI-SBIR Workshop - Tucson

NCI-SBIR Workshop

2010-09-01 10:10:13 -0700

NCI-SBIR Workshop

UA-led group awarded $9.9M to develop ‘super rice’

Matt Nelson — 2010-09-01

A University of Arizona-led consortium has been awarded $9.9 million from the National Science Foundation to develop a deeper understanding of the wild relatives of cultivated rice with the ultimate goal of creating next-generation varities that are better capable of withstanding drought and poorer soils and produce higher yields than current forms of domesticated rice.

The main goals are to study the genes of different wild rice species and identify genes that could be used to improve the crop.

Cereal crops – including rice – provide 60 percent of the calories and protein harvested worldwide, said UA plant scientist Rod Wing, who is director of the Arizona Genomics Institute in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, holder of the Bud Antle Endowed Chair for Excellence professor in the School of Plant Sciences and a member of the BIO5 Institute.

Intel's Craig Barrett argues for education reform

Matt Ellsworth — 2010-09-01

[Source: The Arizona Republic]

By Craig Barrett

As a business leader, I'm very impressed with the new educational strategy outlined in the Race to the Top application submitted by the state of Arizona in the second round of funding. Although Arizona did not receive funding for its application, we must not wait to take action. The time to act is now.

The Race to the Top plan will ensure a strong economic future for Arizona. Clearly, the business of Arizona has changed dramatically during the state's first 100 years. Copper, cotton, citrus, cattle and climate have been and still are key economic drivers. Today, Arizona is committed to high tech, aerospace, biotech and solar energy. Business leaders agree that the continued success of these new efforts and other 21st-century industries depends on college and career readiness and Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education for all Arizona students.

[More]

2010 Arizona Science Teacher Symposium at BIO5

2010-08-31 14:58:05 -0700

2010 Arizona Science Teacher Symposium at BIO5

TGen finds therapeutic targets for rare cancer in children

Matt Nelson — 2010-08-31

The first study of Ewing’s sarcoma that screened hundreds of genes based on how they affect cell growth has identified two potential anti-cancer drug targets, according to a scientific paper by the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) published this month in the journal Molecular Cancer.

Ewing’s sarcomas are rare, but aggressive cancer lesions that occur most frequently in the bones of teenagers. They represent nearly 3 percent of all childhood cancers. Patients are treated with a combination of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. This cancer can reoccur after surgical removal, and often spreads to the lungs, other bones and bone marrow. Once it spreads, or metastasizes, only 1 in 5 patients survive more than 5 years.

These lesions harbor unique chromosomal abnormalities that give rise to fusion genes that act as cancer-inducing proteins, or oncoproteins.

BIO5 hosts K-12 Science Teacher Symposium

Matt Ellsworth — 2010-08-31

From processing forensic evidence to exploring brain function, to studying GPS mapping, teachers will participate in a wide variety of hands-on workshops at the 4th Annual Arizona K-12 Science Teacher Symposium Saturday, September 25, 2010 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event is presented by The University of Arizona’s BIO5 Institute, and takes place on the UA campus in the Thomas W. Keating Bioresearch Building, 1657 E. Helen St.

Early registration is $25 and includes breakfast, lunch, and a resource CD. After September 8, registration is $40. Registration is payable by check, money order, or school/district purchase order.

[More]

Someday, this raven may fly to the rescue

Matt Nelson — 2010-08-31

A couple of years ago, Emily Cory had an epiphany. She worked with raptors and owls at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. But she was fascinated by the one common raven there.

"She'd play horrible tricks on the volunteers, she'd get in so much trouble. She never forgot a thing, never missed a thing [and] that really got my attention," Cory says.

Cory began to realize just how smart this raven seemed to be. At the same time, she thought about her childhood in Sedona, where she used to watch helicopters from her house searching for lost hikers.

"I started thinking, 'Well how come nobody's put these two together?' Because clearly birds are easy to train — falconers have been training them for thousands of years. And ravens are super intelligent," she says.

Summer STEM internship introduces student to research world

Arizona Biosciences — 2010-08-25

Arizona's educational programs in the STEM fields--science, technology, education, and mathematics--hold substantial responsibility for cultivating the state's future bioscience workforce. Among many dynamic STEM initiatives aimed at young people are several summer programs sited at universities and research institutions around the state. In this narrative, Laura Moedano, a first-year student at the University of Arizona, describes her participation in the KEYS Research Internships at UA.

2010 Governor's Rural and Regional Development Conference

2010-08-23 16:02:49 -0700

2010 Governor's Rural and Regional Development Conference

Greater Phoenix AZBio Mixer

2010-08-23 09:43:35 -0700

Greater Phoenix AZBio Mixer

Longtime Arizona Policy Expert to Lead New Flinn Foundation Initiative

Arizona Biosciences — 2010-08-23

The Flinn Foundation has appointed Nancy Welch, a nationally recognized public-policy analyst, to lead an emerging program to strengthen civic leadership in Arizona.

Renewable Energy Orientation & SBIR/STTR Phase I Writing Proposal Workshop

2010-08-12 12:51:49 -0700

Renewable Energy Orientation & SBIR/STTR Phase I Writing Proposal Workshop

Phoenix Children's Hospital, College of Medicine-Phoenix expand partnership

Arizona Biosciences — 2010-08-06

Under a pact approved yesterday by the Arizona Board of Regents, the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix and Phoenix Children's Hospital will launch a robust collaboration that will include the establishment of a new academic department, joint research projects, and revenue exchanges to preserve federal funding for graduate medical education.

City pursues private developer for Biomedical Campus facility

Arizona Biosciences — 2010-08-06

The City of Phoenix has begun a process to identify a private developer of a new building on the downtown Phoenix Biomedical Campus. The new building, which would be at least 100,000 square feet, would make available laboratory and office space for biotech companies that have coveted proximity to some of the Arizona's most important bioscience institutions.

ASU Center for Healthcare Innovation & Clinical Trials (CHICT) Event

2010-08-04 13:30:22 -0700

ASU Center for Healthcare Innovation & Clinical Trials (CHICT) Event

4th Annual Algae Biomass Summit

2010-07-21 10:57:34 -0700

4th Annual Algae Biomass Summit

2010 Health Care Heroes Awards Breakfast

2010-07-21 10:51:28 -0700

2010 Health Care Heroes Awards Breakfast

Banner Alzheimer's Institute secures $13.6 million in grant funding

Arizona Biosciences — 2010-07-02

In the fierce competition for research funding, the Phoenix-based Banner Alzheimer's Institute has been doing quite well for itself over recent months. In a one-month span between May and June, it announced the receipt of $13.6 million in grants to support facility construction, equipment purchase, Alzheimer's prevention studies, and more.

New economic-development authority to prioritize bio, other "high growth clusters"

Arizona Biosciences — 2010-07-02

By executive order, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer has created the Arizona Commerce Authority, a public-private partnership intended to transform the state's commerce department and support development of "high growth clusters," especially industries like aerospace, the biosciences, solar energy, and defense.

C-Path consortium unveils online trove of Alzheimer's research data

Arizona Biosciences — 2010-06-28

A coalition built by the Tucson-based Critical Path Institute has opened access to an online database of records from some 4,000 participants in clinical trials for Alzheimer's disease treatments. C-Path hopes to give scientists at both large drug companies and tiny biotech startups a chance at turning a long record of frustration into the discovery of successful therapies for Alzheimer's.

NAU allied-health programs to expand with new Biomedical Campus facility

Arizona Biosciences — 2010-05-20

There was plenty to celebrate at last week's groundbreaking for the Health Sciences Education Building at the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix: the end of long and delicate negotiations; new construction jobs right away; and more doctors and pharmacists soon. A less-publicized benefit of the new facility, but one of great importance to Arizona, is major growth of Northern Arizona University's role in educating health professionals.

Chandler opens bioscience-focused business incubator

Arizona Biosciences — 2010-05-07

Until a few months ago, the former Intel facility was a cavernous, empty building, emblematic of recent years' wrenching shifts in Chandler's manufacturing base. But as of April 30, a 40,000 square-foot section of the building represents something else: the city's aggressive pursuit of a dynamic segment of the bioscience industry. The Innovations Technology Incubator is open for business.

Arizona represented well at BIO Convention

Arizona Biosciences — 2010-05-03

Arizona has sent another large delegation to Chicago this week for the 2010 BIO International Convention, the largest annual meeting in the world for the bioscience industry. Executives from bioscience companies have been joined at the Arizona Pavilion by representatives of Arizona's universities, economic-development officials, and the leaders of the Arizona BioIndustry Association.