UA bio institute re-branded to 'Bio5'

The University of Arizona's new multidisciplinary biological research institute, formerly known as the Institute for Biomedical Science and Biotechnology, just got a catchier name: Bio5. The shorter, moniker reflects the five disciplines it seeks to draw together--agriculture, medicine, pharmacy, basic science, and engineering.

"Historically, the name has been difficult for people to remember and pronounce and it didn't flow off the tongue," said the institute's director, Vicki Chandler. Chandler, a plant geneticist named to the directorship last May, told the Arizona Daily Star that the new name and re-branding effort help usher in "a new transition" for the collaborative institute.

But the name change is more than cosmetic. In addition to the new Bio5 logo and a revamped and user-friendly Web site (www.Bio5.org), the organization is home to a new research arm: the Quantitative Biology Initiative (QBI). In addition to describing Bio5's own projects, the new Web site includes information on bioindustry collaboration and a searchable listing of life sciences faculty organized by name, publication, or research interest.

The Quantitative Biology Initiative, looking for a new administrative base after budget cuts axed its former home in the College of Science, joined up under Bio5's bigger umbrella this year.

Funding and workshops for the QBI research program, which brings biology, physics, and math to the study of biology and disease, will be supported by Bio5 this year, after which it is expected to earn sufficient grant money to fund its own mission.

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"UA's biotech institute now named Bio5," Arizona Daily Star, 09/16/2004