Articles by Matt Nelson

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Dec 05, 2010

Startups get ready to woo investors

If you want money from Paul Winandy, you better come with more than a just a good idea.

The managing director of the Arizona Technology Investor Forum reviewed applications from roughly 130 business startups this year. Eleven of them will present to his group, made up of about 50 angel investors who focus on early-stage technology funding in Arizona. Out of those 11, only three or four will actually receive capital.
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Nov 30, 2010

EndoStim Licenses Novel Device Developed by ASU

Arizona Technology Enterprises (AzTE), the technology venturing arm of Arizona State University, has finalized a series of licensing transactions with EndoStim, Inc., a St. Louis medical device startup, spinning out applications for the groundbreaking neurostimulation technologies developed by an ASU researcher.

 Tags: arizona state university, azte, bioengineering
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Nov 30, 2010

How genes jump from crop to crop

A new data-driven statistical model that incorporates the surrounding landscape in unprecedented detail describes the transfer of an inserted bacterial gene via pollen and seed dispersal in cotton plants more accurately than previously available methods.

Shannon Heuberger, a graduate student at the University of Arizona's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and her co-workers published their findings in the open access journal, PLoS ONE.

The transfer of genes from genetically modified crop plants is a hotly debated issue. Many consumers are concerned about the possibility of genetic material from transgenic plants mixing with non-transgenic plants on nearby fields. Producers, on the other side, have a strong interest in knowing whether the varieties they are growing are free from unwanted genetic traits.

 Tags: bioagriculture, genomics, university of arizona
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Nov 30, 2010

Kissing plant is a tree-killer

Ah, Christmas. Chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Sleigh bells ringing. Mommy kissing Santa Claus under a tree-killing parasitic plant.

Mistletoe may be a festive and romantic Christmas tradition, but the plant has a sinister side: It has long infested native trees throughout the Tucson area.

 Tags: bioagriculture, university of arizona
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Nov 30, 2010

Green stepping down as CEO of AZBio

Now that Robert Green has served his term as interim president and CEO of the Arizona BioIndustry Association, a search will begin soon for his replacement.

Green, who has been serving in a consulting capacity since October 2009, will leave AZBio Dec. 31.

He will focus on his Tucson-based company, Integrated Biomolecule Corp., which creates custom chemicals for pharmaceutical firms.

 Tags: azbio
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Nov 29, 2010

UA major producer of U.S. Fulbright recipients

The University of Arizona continues to be one of the nation's top producers of Fulbright Scholars, individuals funded to conduct research and teach to promote cross-cultural understanding and collaboration around the world. 

With 14 students having earned awards through the Fulbright U.S. Student and Scholar Program for the 2010-11 year, the UA is among the top 19 research institutions listed. 

The UA also is in the top 10 category for public institutions, tied at seventh with the University of Illinois-Champaign, the University of Louisville and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

 Tags: university of arizona
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Nov 29, 2010

Arizona Cancer Center program gets $2.5M renewal

The Arizona Cancer Center's Cancer Prevention and Control Fellowship Program has received a five-year, $2.5 million grant renewal. The training program has had National Cancer Institute funding since 1998.

The postdoctoral training program admits fellows from a range of disciplines relevant to cancer prevention and control. The program provides experiences in a variety of scientific disciplines including epidemiology, biostatistics, nutritional science, cancer biology and clinical medicine.

At the completion of the two-year program, fellows are positioned to be competitive for grant funding and as future leaders in the field of cancer prevention and control.

 Tags: azcc, cancer, university of arizona
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Nov 29, 2010

New Director Appointed for the Arizona Center for Innovation

Joann Rockwell MacMaster has been appointed site director for the Arizona Center for Innovation (AzCI) at the UA Tech Park.

As the executive director of AzCI, her responsibilities include managing daily operations, mentoring companies, client recruitment, as well as supervising AzCI staff and entrepreneurs in residence. In addition, she will assist in strategy development, fundraising, and outreach for the business incubator.

 Tags: arizona center for innovation
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Nov 28, 2010

UA scientists at the frontiers of research

Scientists are both thinkers and tinkerers.

At their core, Scientists are both thinkers and tinkerers.

At their core, they are not far removed from their childhood selves, ripping apart their parents' electronic devices just to see what makes them tick.

At the frontiers of scientific research at the University of Arizona, the scientists are still kids at heart, only now the gadgets are way cooler than anything they ever laid their hands on at home - and far more expensive.they are not far removed from their childhood selves, ripping apart their parents' electronic devices just to see what makes them tick.

 Tags: university of arizona
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Nov 27, 2010

Parkinson's patient improves after brain surgery

Louis Huning is looking forward to actually enjoying the holiday season with his family this year.

Huning was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease about 10 years ago and it has limited him, especially in recent years, from doing things he enjoys.

After the delicate balance of medications Huning took every day stopped working, Huning researched deep brain stimulation surgery at the recommendation of his doctor, Dr. Holly Shill, a neurologist and movement disorders specialist at Banner Sun Health Research Institute.

 Tags: banner sun health research institute
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Nov 24, 2010

Airport pat-downs may raise infection risk

When Hillary Bessiere flew to Cancun from Phoenix last week, she saw something that grossed her out, and validated her stringent travel hygiene habits: A woman changing a baby's diaper on an airplane, with nothing between his naked little bottom and the seat.

"I'm a mother, too, and I would never, ever do that," said Bessiere, director of business development at an event-planning firm in San Francisco.

 Tags: university of arizona
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Nov 24, 2010

Tucson cancer prevention firm is BioIndustry winner

Cancer Prevention Pharmaceuticals, Inc., has been named 2010 winner of the Arizona BioIndustry Association “Fast Start Award.”

The award recognizes the “most significant for-profit bioscience company headquartered in Arizona and founded on or after Jan. 1, 2008,” a release said.

 Tags: cancer
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Nov 24, 2010

Tigger and Trek themes highlight annual Seena Magowitz Golf Classic

From Winnie the Pooh to Star Trek, the themes of the 8th annual Seena Magowitz Foundation Celebrity Golf Classic celebrate the inspiring words of cancer victim Randy Pausch.

Pausch was a 47-year-old Carnegie Mellon computer-science professor who died of pancreatic cancer in 2008. His now famous Last Lecture affectionately conveys the importance of achieving childhood dreams and maintaining a positive outlook on life. Featured on PBS, the Last Lecture has been seen by more than 12 million viewers on YouTube and is an internationally best-selling book.

 

 Tags: cancer, tgen
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Nov 23, 2010

Professor named top in Ariz., recognized nationally

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education have named ASU scientist Jane Maienschein the 2010 Arizona Professor of the Year. Maienschein, a Regents’ Professor and President's Professor in ASU’s School of Life Sciences, was selected from more than 300 top professors in the United States.

 Tags: arizona state university
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Nov 23, 2010

Clothing line makes awareness fashionable through genetic art

In Our Genes (IOG), a Phoenix-based clothing line that uses DNA “fingerprints” on clothes, will donate $5 from each sale for research into cancer and other diseases at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen).

Darrin Grandmason, CEO and founder of In Our Genes - and a former Biology student - got the idea for the clothing line after he created a series of wall hangings based on the DNA of his dog, his friends’ dogs and people.

Grandmason said that by using clothing design prints derived from DNA disease markers, patients and others could better understand that diseases often have genetic origins.

 Tags: tgen
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Nov 23, 2010

Plant-derived scavengers prowl the body for nerve toxins

The brain is forever chattering to itself, via electrical impulses sent along its hard-wired neuronal "Ethernet." These e-messages are translated into chemical transmissions, allowing communication across the narrow cleft separating one neuron from another or between neurons and their target cells. Of the many kinds of molecules involved in this lively chemical symposium, acetylcholine is among the most critical, performing a host of functions in the central and peripheral nervous system.

This delicate cholinergic design however is highly vulnerable. It can fall victim to inadvertent or deliberate poisoning by a class of compounds known as organophosphates -- chemicals found in a range of pesticides as well as weaponized nerve agents.

 Tags: arizona state university, biodesign institute, infectious disease, neuroscience
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Nov 23, 2010

Lifeblood of leaves: Vein networks control plant patterns

New University of Arizona research indicates that leaf vein patterns correlate with functions such as carbon intake and water use -- knowledge that could help scientists better understand the complex carbon cycle that is at the heart of global climate warming.

 Tags: bioagriculture, university of arizona
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Nov 23, 2010

UA-biotech nexus holds vast promise

Tucson's prospects for strengthening its entrepreneurial economy were boosted by two recent, but largely unreported, announcements:

• The first was the unveiling of a bold and innovative tech-transfer model for capitalizing on the vast wealth of ideas continually being generated at the University of Arizona.

• The second was the announcement by the National Institutes of Health that 12 Tucson-based biotech companies had been awarded federal tax credits and research grants.

 Tags: university of arizona
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Nov 23, 2010

UA-biotech nexus holds vast promise

Tucson's prospects for strengthening its entrepreneurial economy were boosted by two recent, but largely unreported, announcements:

• The first was the unveiling of a bold and innovative tech-transfer model for capitalizing on the vast wealth of ideas continually being generated at the University of Arizona.

• The second was the announcement by the National Institutes of Health that 12 Tucson-based biotech companies had been awarded federal tax credits and research grants.

 Tags: university of arizona
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Nov 23, 2010

New test for Clostridium difficile allows rapid, accurate diagnosis

A self-contained molecular assay for Clostridium difficile allows sensitive and specific identification within 24 hours, and detects the toxin A gene (tcdA) in addition to the toxin B gene (tcdB).

C difficile–associated diarrhea is on the rise in both hospital and community settings, and with it comes an increased need for a rapid diagnostic test to identify the presence of C difficile and help guide treatment, noted Brianne Couturier, PhD, from the ARUP Institute for Clinical Experimental Pathology at the University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, during her poster presentation here at the Association for Molecular Pathology 2010 Annual Meeting.

 

 Tags: infectious disease, university of arizona
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Nov 23, 2010

UA receives $1.6M to study new ways to fight brain cancer

An enzyme that normally establishes a sense of direction in developing brain cells might be a poorly understood cause of glioblastoma, the most common and devastating type of brain cancer.

The National Institutes of Health awarded $1.6 million to the University of Arizona to investigate ways to get the deranged signaling mechanism back on track and test whether the protein could serve as a candidate target for new cancer-fighting drugs.

 Tags: azcc, bio5, cancer, mayo clinic, university of arizona
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Nov 23, 2010

UA to make salads safer

Researchers at the University of Arizona have four years to come up with environmentally friendly ways to prevent outbreaks of salmonella and E.coli in contaminated leafy greens.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is proving $2.9 million for the project.

The aim is to study how the harmful bacteria attach themselves to the produce and reach consumers.

 Tags: bioagriculture, university of arizona
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Nov 22, 2010

Algae fuel inches toward price parity with oil

The promise of making motor fuel out of pond scum is inching closer to reality as the algae industry and its supporters plow forward with technology demonstrations and demand tax credits that are needed to cut costs.

The head of the 170-member Algal Biomass Organization (ABO), Mary Rosenthal, predicts the fledgling fuel source could be cost competitive with oil in seven years.

 Tags: arizona state university, biofuels
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Nov 22, 2010

Chandler Regional stroke-treatment model gets prelim OK

Chandler Regional Medical Center has received provisional stroke center accreditation from the Arizona Stroke Commission.

A specialized stroke-care treatment model was implemented in September at Chandler Regional and its sister hospital Mercy Gilbert.

Both are part of the Catholic Healthcare West hospital network.

Each center has also submitted an accreditation application to the Joint Commission for Primary Stroke Center status, the designation for medical facilities that demonstrate exceptional effort in treating and improving long-term outcomes for stroke patients, and anticipate full approval early in the first quarter of 2011.

 Tags: cadiology, chandler regional medical center
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Nov 22, 2010

Caris Life Sciences expands molecular R&D capabilities globally to speed commercialization efforts

Caris Life Sciences, Inc., a leading biosciences company focused on enabling precise and personalized healthcare through the highest quality anatomic pathology, molecular profiling, and blood-based diagnostic services, announced today recent appointments and additions to its senior scientific staff at facilities in Lausanne, Switzerland and Phoenix, Arizona to focus on novel biosignature identification and next-generation diagnostic assay development. The expansion includes 20 research scientists, technologists, and bioinformaticians. Caris Life Sciences has a long-standing and increasing commitment to commercialization of cutting-edge biomedical science, as evidenced most recently by its Carisome™ circulating microvesicle (cMV) technology. This proprietary blood-based technology is currently being developed for earlier, more accurate and less invasive testing for cancer and other complex diseases.
 
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Nov 20, 2010

UA dedicates Bio5 OV facility; cancer research group included

The University of Arizona on Friday dedicated its new Bio5 Oro Valley facility at 1580 E. Hanley Blvd.

The Bio5 Oro Valley laboratory and office space off North Oracle Road will house three major components: the Arizona Drug Discovery Center, an incubator space that will allow common initiatives between private enterprise and university researchers, and a cancer-prevention research group.

 Tags: bio5, cancer, university of arizona
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Nov 19, 2010

Businessman-philanthropist assists TGen-VARI study of rare cancer

International businessman and philanthropist Foster Friess has donated $50,000 to help launch a study of small cell carcinoma of the ovary (SCCO) by the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and the Van Andel Research Institute (VARI).

Friess made the donation in memory of Taryn Ritchey, 22, who in 2007 succumbed to SCCO, a rare and extremely aggressive cancer that strikes women in the prime of life.

 Tags: cancer, tgen
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Nov 19, 2010

Walk in the park yields biological treasure

Scientists trying to get a grip on the arms race between plant-eating insects and the defenses put up by their hosts just got a boost from new research by a University of Arizona entomologist published in the early view edition of Molecular Ecology.

Noah Whiteman, an assistant professor in the UA's department of ecology and evolutionary biology, has found a miniature ecosystem consisting of a plant and a tiny fly that spends its entire life cycle on the plant.

 

 Tags: bioagriculture, university of arizona
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Nov 19, 2010

Three new life science machines join Top500 supercomputer ranking

Three high-performance computers dedicated to life science research have debuted on the most recent listing of the world's fastest supercomputers.

 Tags: arizona state university, bioinformatics, tgen
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Nov 19, 2010

UA Professor named GQ 'Rock Star of Science'

Dr. Eric M. Reiman, a psychiatry professor at the University of Arizona, has been recognized as a 2010 Rock Star of Science, joining a select group of scientific leaders and musicians in a campaign to celebrate biomedical research.

Reiman is internationally recognized for his contributions to brain imaging research, the unusually early detection and tracking of Alzheimer's disease, and the effort to find demonstrably effective treatments to prevent Alzheimer's symptoms.

 Tags: alzheimers disease, arizona alzheimers consortium, banner alzheimers insitute, university of arizona
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