Arizona Biosciences

Supercoach® Entrepreneurial Training Workshop (SET)

2010-03-12 10:36:18 -0700

Supercoach® Entrepreneurial Training Workshop (SET)

Effort aims to spike breast cancer with new approach

Matt Nelson — 2010-03-11

Many women live with breast cancer that does not respond to standard medical treatment, a condition that researchers at the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale Healthcare want to change by aggressively targeting specific genes.

Improving quality of life and potentially keeping the cancer under control for a longer period of time are goals of a new clinical trial at the cancer center’s TGen Clinical Research Services, a partnership of Scottsdale Healthcare and the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen).

The pilot study is supported by the Side-Out Foundation, a group founded by volleyball enthusiasts to help wage war on breast cancer.

Haeger unveils Innovation Fund recipients

Matt Nelson — 2010-03-11

A dozen “transformative” project proposals are being awarded a combined $1 million in one-time federal stimulus dollars as part of NAU President John Haeger’s Innovation Fund.

The proposals were in response to Haeger’s challenge last fall for individuals and departments across campus to redesign undergraduate education at NAU to improve student performance and address needs of the 21st century.

Why female moths are big and beautiful

Matt Nelson — 2010-03-11

In most animal species, males and females show obvious differences in body size. But how can this be, given that both sexes share the same genes governing their growth? University of Arizona entomologists studied this conundrum in moths and found clues that had been overlooked by previous efforts to explain this mystery of nature.

Take a look around in the animal world and you will find that, in most organisms, individuals of one sex are larger than the other of the species.

Even though evolutionary biologists have long recognized this discrepancy, called sexual dimorphism, they have struggled for decades to solve a major paradox: How can males and females of one species be of different sizes, given that they share the same genetic blueprints dictating their development and growth?

Phoenix Grand Challenges Summit

2010-03-10 12:00:07 -0700

Phoenix Grand Challenges Summit

Attend the 2010 Mesa CC Biotechnology Symposium & lab tour, April 24

Jim McPherson — 2010-03-10

Attend the 2010 Mesa CC Biotechnology Symposium, lab tour, April 24

Saturday, April 24, 2010
8:30 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Mesa Community College

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Ken Hoober, Ph.D., Susavion Biosciences and Professor Emeritus Arizona State University

MEET THE SCIENTISTS
Scientists from the CRO industry discuss the day to day lives of scientific professionals. Panels include participants from multiple aspects of the industry.

FACES OF SUCCESS
MCC Alumni return to campus to share their experiences. Panelists include employees of local biotechnology firms as well as students attending NAU as part of the 2+2 biotechnology pipeline.

UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH PRESENTATIONS
Students performing research at MCC present the results of their work. Presentations will include studies from a variety of disciplines.

POSTER SESSION

TOURS OF THE MCC BIOTECHNOLOGY LAB

REGISTER TODAY!

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT PLEASE VISIT THE MCC BIOTECHNOLOGY PROGRAM WEBSITE AT http://www.mccbiotechnology.net/bios AND CLICK ON 'REGISTER FOR EVENTS"

[IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON ATTENDING THE EVENT YOU MUST REGISTER VIA THE WEBSITE]

Event Organizer: Stan Kikkert (mailto:kikkert@mesacc.edu)

Act now to attend nation’s premier bioscience education training program for teachers

Jim McPherson — 2010-03-10

Act now to attend nation’s premier bioscience education training program for teachers

The Biotechnology Institute is accepting applications for the 2010 National Biotechnology Teacher-Leader Program, the nation's premier training program for teachers who want to bring state of-the-art biotechnology education to their classroom!

Application deadline is March 31!

What: The Biotechnology Institute's National Biotechnology Teacher-Leader Program, a five-day hands-on training program offering teaching strategies linked to education and skills standards. The program tuition includes:

· Sessions that incorporate standards-based biotechnology into the curriculum

· Best Practices Day with exemplary sessions from around the world

· Networking with colleagues and industry leaders

· Full convention access to the BIO International Convention

· Special events with renowned scientists

· Visits to biotechnology companies

· Certification as a Teacher-Leader in biotechnology education

· All materials, books, and supplies

· Airfare

· Downtown Chicago lodging

· Attendance to the Biotechnology Education Banquet

· One year of individual membership in the Biotechnology Institute

Who is eligible: Educators at middle schools, high schools, and two-year colleges who are actively engaged in teaching students life science and biotechnology.

When: Friday, April 30-May 4, 2010, Roosevelt University, Chicago, IL

How to Attend: Most participants are sponsored by their school districts or organizations and corporations in their communities. Teachers are responsible for finding their own sponsorship, although sponsorship guidance and group discounts are available. The Institute has a limited number of scholarships available. For consideration, please submit a full registration packet to the Biotechnology Institute. For assistance with sponsorship, please contact Scott May, smay@biotechinstitute.org, 571.527-3256. The program fee is $5,500.

For more information and an application, visit http://www.biotechinstitute.org/programs/t_leader_program.html.

Arizona Academic Decathlon seeks funding after cuts

Jim McPherson — 2010-03-10

Arizona Academic Decathlon seeks funding after cuts

Ray Parker, Arizona Republic, March 1, 2010

Source: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2010/03/01/20100301decathlon0301.html

For 25 years, Arizona's Academic Decathlon has pitted the best and brightest students in a contest of the mind. This year, it will involve more than 1,000 students from 100 high schools across the state. But next month's state finals may be bittersweet, and the next year's may be just plain bitter.

The Arizona Department of Education has cut $82,400 from the program, or slightly more than half of the event's total budget, which could kill scholarships or even sink the program entirely.

An anonymous supporter has promised $10,000 in matching contributions from any new donors by March 31, but in the current economy, $80,000 is a tall order. "We have enough in reserves for this year," said Anne Edelstein, the AAD executive director. "We'll continue to fundraise for next year, maybe have team fees…but we may not be able to raise it."

Schools of all forms participate, whether public, charter, private or parochial. Last year, about 170 Arizona students received nearly $150,000 in college scholarships.

Each year, the organization chooses a theme - this year it's the French Revolution - and the students focus on the topic.

Decathletes, 50 percent of whom are minorities, are challenged to use analytical skills, performance abilities and test-taking in 10 subjects: art, economics, essay, interview, language and literature, math, music, science, speech and the Super Quiz (social science).

The program is both a class and an after-school activity for many participants, who are divided into three categories: students with a grade-point average of 3.75 or higher; 3.0 to 3.74; and below 3.0.

The competition culminates in the Super Quiz, where contestants go head-to-head in answering questions, while their supporters cheer them on. "In 15 years of education, I have never found a program with the kind of potential… to push students to new limits," said William Kibler, AD coach at Cesar Chavez High in Phoenix.

"To an outside observer, the tests may seem to be a mere compilation of trivia and facts about the year King Louis XVI was beheaded or the first book written by Rousseau or the primary patron of Joseph Haydn. In reality, Academic Decathlon uses these obscure details to teach students how to learn and learn at a greater depth than the students ever thought possible."

The Arizona Academic Decathlon finals will be held March 12-13 at Sandra Day O'Connor High in Phoenix. Two events are open to the public on Saturday: the Super Quiz at 1:45 p.m. and the awards ceremony at 5:30 p.m.

The winning team will compete at the national competition on April 21-24 in Omaha, Neb.

Nominate an Arizona STEM education “Innovation Hero” today

Jim McPherson — 2010-03-10

Nominate an Arizona STEM education “Innovation Hero” today

Innovation Heroes are educators and students who are making significant strides in science, technology, engineering, and math education. Innovation Heroes are from schools anywhere in Arizona, in metro or rural parts of the state, and can be nominated by anyone -- fellow students, teachers, parents, administrators, or members of the community.

Innovation Heroes is one of Science Foundation Arizona's most popular community outreach programs, as winners are not only recognized for their outstanding achievements, but also awarded a monetary prize for their work ($500 for teachers/educators and a savings bond worth $1000 for students). It is a way for us to highlight STEM successes in our state and showcase the schools and individuals responsible for great things that are happening in Arizona education every day.

For more information about the criteria and to submit a nomination, visit the SFAz website and download the Innovation Heroes form. Simply fill it in, complete the brief essay portion, and send it back to us at hwilkinson@sfaz.org. The program is ongoing and statewide, so the more nominations SFAz receives, the more winners SFAz can honor.

If you have any questions or need more information on Innovation Heroes, contact Darcy Renfro at drenfro@sfaz.org or Caroline VanIngen-Dunn at cvaningen-dunn@sfaz.org.

Video produced on STEM, bioscience education in the East Valley

Jim McPherson — 2010-03-10

Video produced on bioscience education in the East Valley

Mesa Public Schools has produced a 23-minute video on STEM education in the East Valley. The first half of the show focuses on the Mesa Biotechnology Academy. The second half of the show highlights “Project Lead the Way” at MVHS and RMHS. The video, available online 24/7, can be viewed here: http://www2.mpsaz.org/edtv/ondemand/cte/video/3866

Support sought for innovative southern Arizona STEM teacher internship program

Jim McPherson — 2010-03-10

Support sought for innovative southern Arizona STEM teacher internship program

SALC and Science Foundation Arizona need your support for one of the most innovative internship programs in the country. The University of Arizona heads up the program as a major initiative of Tucson Values Teachers (TVT) and the University of Arizona. The program features a master’s degree for middle or high school science or math teachers, and includes a 6 – 8 week paid summer internship in a local business.

The program, the only teacher internship program in the country linked with a Master’s degree, is made possible through a grant from Science Foundation Arizona, with the salaries paid by local businesses making up the required matching funds. Funding from Science Foundation Arizona cover 75% of each teacher’s tuition at the UA for the Master’s program. Participating businesses include Raytheon, Texas Instruments, General Plasma, Beach Fleischman and Fort Huachuca.

The program launched last year and has proved of great benefit to both the teachers and businesses. Every participating business in 2009 reported great benefit from having a highly skilled professional in their workforce. In addition, the UA program works to incorporate these integrated skills into the curriculum. Every business from 2009 has returned in 2010 with high praise for the program, and for the individual teachers they employed last summer. Every business wanted “their teacher” back in 2010.

We have funding for eight additional slots in 2010, and we invite you to be part of this program. Each business pays the intern industry wages, which on average has totaled between $5000 and $10,000 for the 6 – 8 week session. This year’s summer session will begin the last week of May and run through early August, depending on the schedule of each teacher’s school district. In addition, each business is provided at least two teacher resumes and the opportunity to interview the candidates.

Southern Arizona is leading the way with this innovative program, which is central to SALC’s educational focus. For additional information on how you can benefit from a highly qualified K-12 teacher this summer, contact TVT’s Executive Director, Jacquelyn Jackson, at 520-327-7619 or at jjackson@tucsonvaluesteachers.org.

Educators say Governor’s proposed state budget would cripple Career & Technical Education programs

Jim McPherson — 2010-03-10

Educators say Governor’s proposed state budget would cripple Career & Technical Education programs

Naomi Hatch, AZJournal.com, February 24th, 2010

Source: http://www.azjournal.com/news/126/ARTICLE/5121/2010-02-24.html

The governor’s budget is causing concern for Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs. The proposed cuts will leave $57,700 of the $11,492,700 in the Vocational Education Block Grant. This could have an impact on the Snowflake School District, because if that grant is cut, the district will also lose a federal grant, explained Superintendent Hollis Merrell. “It could potentially impact NAVIT (Northern Arizona Vocational Institute of Technology),” he said.

Merrell explained that for every dollar school districts receive through State Education Block Grant funding, an additional $2.34 is received from Carl D. Perkins federal funding, so this could take $25.9 mil-lion of the Carl D. Perkins funding from the CTE program in Arizona. The state has to show maintenance of effort in order to receive the Carl D. Perkins grant, and would not be able to do so if the block grant was cut. The loss of these funds could potentially force schools involved with NAVIT to close programs, and cause similar problems throughout the state.

The potential loss would include $11,492,000 in state funding and $25.9 million from federal Carl D. Perkins funding for a total of $36.9 million statewide. “Certainly it would negatively impact us,” said Merrell, noting it could cause them to close programs because there would not be adequate funding.

Classes offered in the district that would be affected include agriculture and Future Farmers of America, information technology (Cisco networking), digital media (broadcasting), business, construction trades, graphic arts, and graphic design.

All NAVIT classes would be affected, including cosmotology, health related occupations, auto, fire science, education professions, and several others.

Alan Ramage, CTE director for the Snowflake School District, said that the district has $92,730.64 al-located block grant funds for fiscal year 2009 and $41,341.81 allocated for the 2010 fiscal year.

He noted that there are 522 students in the district participating in CTE classes, with 76 students having taken a course for two or more consecutive years in a particular class. There are 4,287 participating students in the 10 school districts in Navajo County that participate in CTE. Without these funds, it will become very difficult to offer these programs.

There are 1,670 CTE program courses offered in 72 occupational programs for 104,628 students in 328 high schools and 137 school districts in Arizona. Arizona provides 15 percent of the Carl D. Perkins federal funds to 10 community college districts in Arizona that have 44,610 occupational students who complete 12 credit hours funded through these funds.

Students participating in these programs can graduate from high school with a trade and they could earn 12 college credit hours upon completion. The proposed funding cuts could cause the loss of those pro-grams.

Statistics show that 94 percent of the students who complete a CTE program meet or exceed the Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS) reading standard, 92 percent meet or exceed the AIMS math standard, and 95 percent meet or exceed the AIMS writing standard, which exceeds the scores made by other students in high school, and 68 percent of students completing a CTE program last year were placed in community colleges, jobs or in the military.

Standards for the CTE programs are created by the industry, and the National Report Card for Education published by the U.S. Department of Education gave a grade of A- for Arizona Standards and Assessments, including both CTE and academic activities.

Loss of these programs could also cause a loss of jobs held by secondary CTE administrators, staff and teachers. “What I’ve heard today (Feb. 18) is that they are getting the message,” said Merrell, noting legislators have heard from plenty of people who want to keep the CTE program.

You are encouraged to contact state legislators to express your concerns at http://www.azleg.gov/alisStaticPages/HowToContactMember.asp. For more information on this issue, go online to http://www.acova.org

New UA institute aims to deliver discoveries more quickly to Arizona patients

Arizona Biosciences — 2010-03-08

The University of Arizona's new Clinical and Translational Science Institute, a $20 million project that UA hopes will garner another $20 million from the National Institutes of Health, would provide Arizona patients quicker access to research discoveries with the potential to extend and save their lives.

MPAC board votes to ‘wind down’ organization in flagging economy

Arizona Biosciences — 2010-03-08

Confronted with difficult economic times, for itself and the arts and culture organizations it was formed to support, the Metro Phoenix Partnership for Arts and Culture (MPAC) board of directors has voted to cease the nonprofit organization’s staffing and programmatic operations. MPAC will support the plan of its major funders to use remaining grants funds to directly assist arts and culture organizations.

AZBio Happy Hour

2010-03-05 12:56:09 -0700

AZBio Happy Hour

Tucson Lunch and Learn: Federal Funding for Technology Firms - Developing Your Strategy for Legislative Success

2010-03-04 14:00:32 -0700

Tucson Lunch and Learn: Federal Funding for Technology Firms - Developing Your Strategy for Legislative Success

Get Smart Monthly Breakfast Series

2010-03-04 13:32:49 -0700

Get Smart Monthly Breakfast Series

An Evening with the Friends

2010-03-04 13:25:10 -0700

An Evening with the Friends

Ventana/Roche Science Pavilion at the Tucson Festival of Books

2010-03-04 10:02:31 -0700

Ventana/Roche Science Pavilion at the Tucson Festival of Books

Biotechnology Symposium 2010

2010-03-04 09:52:49 -0700

Biotechnology Symposium 2010

Hold the Date: AZBio Southwest Bioscience Expo 2010

2010-03-01 13:49:32 -0700

Hold the Date: AZBio Southwest Bioscience Expo 2010

Call for Presenter Applications – Southwest BioScience Expo Company Showcase

2010-03-01 13:42:01 -0700

Call for Presenter Applications – Southwest BioScience Expo Company Showcase

ASU leads $40.8 million program to develop bio-related tools to measure radiation exposure

Arizona Biosciences — 2010-02-18

As concern about terrorism has increased over the past decade, so has federal support for defense-related bioscience research. A team of scientists led by Arizona State University is one beneficiary of this elevated priority--to the tune of $40.8 million.

NIH awards $15M stimulus grant to College of Medicine, will create 250 jobs

Arizona Biosciences — 2010-02-04

A $15 million federal stimulus grant will create 250 jobs on the Phoenix Biomedical Campus, the University of Arizona has announced. The competitive grant, awarded by the National Institutes of Health to the UA College of Medicine-Phoenix in partnership with Arizona State University, will enable construction of a 22,000-square-foot laboratory support facility to serve researchers from multiple institutions on the Biomedical Campus.

UA researchers join public-private alliance to bring new biofuels to market

Arizona Biosciences — 2010-01-28

Researchers from the University of Arizona are part of a team of academic and industry scientists from across the country that has received $44 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop new sources of algal biofuels and bioproducts. The federal funds will be matched by the private sector and cost-share funds.

Bio community gathers for reports on sector's strong growth, looming challenges

Arizona Biosciences — 2010-01-22

At a trio of updates last week on Arizona's Bioscience Roadmap, experts in Phoenix, Flagstaff, and Tucson called attention to the exceptional growth that the biosciences have shown in terms of jobs, firms, and wages since 2002. But Arizona’s severe state budget deficit also led analysts to issue several warnings about the bio sector for 2010.

Flinn Foundation Appoints Executive Vice President

Arizona Biosciences — 2010-01-22

The Flinn Foundation, a private, nonprofit philanthropy based in Phoenix, has appointed longtime Arizona public-sector administrator Cathy McGonigle as executive vice president.

ASU adds experts in health policy, tech commercialization

Arizona Biosciences — 2010-01-21

As the spring semester begins, Arizona State University is welcoming two significant additions in important segments of its bioscience enterprise: Denis Cortese, the former president and CEO of Mayo Clinic, and Lee Cheatham, previously the director of the Washington Technology Center.

Arizona’s bioscience industry furthers growth, progress during global recession

Arizona Biosciences — 2010-01-12

Amid declining economic conditions in 2008 and 2009, Arizona’s bioscience industry continued its rapid growth in high-paying jobs and firms, and the state achieved notable gains in implementing its long-term plan to develop a thriving bioscience sector.

Arizona’s bioscience industry furthers growth, progress during global recession

Arizona Biosciences — 2010-01-12