Arizona Biosciences News

Throughout the celebrations marking Arizona’s Centennial, many have wondered about how the next generation of civic leaders can prepare for the future. The third class of Flinn-Brown Civic Leadership Fellows has been busy thinking about that same thing and planning their leadership contributions to Arizona’s next century.

Top bioscience news, May 19-June 4.  Mesa High Bio students shine at state science fair ¶ TGen and IGC mark 10 years in Arizona ¶ Bioscience Roadmap progress updated in Phoenix Business Journal. (Plus 7 more stories.)

Applications are due on July 6 from medical-device startup firms interested in seed funding of up to $300,000 and space at BioInspire, a new incubator in Peoria, Ariz. The funding comes through a partnership between the city and BioAccel, a Phoenix-based nonprofit focused on furthering bioscience startup firms.

Top bioscience news, May 1-7: TGen shares in $4.5 million NIH brain-tumor grant ¶ Covance closes $150M lab in Chandler as cost-saving measure ¶ New Peoria bioscience incubator, BioInspire, to open soon

Top bioscience news, March 26-April 17: Dr. Carolyn Compton speaks on C-Path’s outlook ¶ ASU alumni form a new angel fund supporting early-stage high-tech companies ¶ Phoenix City Council approves a new bioscience campus in northeast Phoenix. (Plus 4 more stories.)

Top bioscience news, February 17-28: With a second multi-million-dollar grant, SFAz is rolling out the Arizona STEM Network statewide ¶ NantCare, a newly acquired telehealth firm associated with Patrick Soon-Shiong, has moved to Phoenix ¶ Op-eds by a state legislator and a university president argue for continued funding for the UA College of Medicine-Phoenix (Plus 9 more stories.)

Top bioscience news, February 9-16: The Thomas B. Fordham Institute's assessment of science standards nationwide finds little to praise in Arizona's standards. ¶ Chandler's Innovations tech incubator will expand its facility by more than 50% ¶ Medical-device maker Ulthera has received funding from the Arizona Commerce Authority and plans to expand its Mesa presence. (Plus 3 more stories.)

Neither the recession nor the subsequent economic doldrums have impeded growth of Arizona’s bioscience sector, a new report shows. During the post-recessionary period of 2009-10, bioscience jobs increased by 7.4 percent, compared to a 1.8 percent drop for the state’s overall private sector, according to an analysis of Arizona biosciences, commissioned by the Flinn Foundation. 

Top bioscience news, January 9-17: BIO5 head Fernando Martinez says greater Tucson can become a mini-Silicon Valley ¶ Ventana begins work on a companion diagnostic for a Bayer cancer drug ¶ IGC broadens the reach of The Cancer Genome Atlas project to Indianapolis (Plus two more stories.)

A partnership of nearly 50 scientists, led by Jeffrey Trent, president and research director of the Phoenix-based Translational Genomics Research Institute, has won a highly competitive $6 million grant to find new ways to stop melanoma, the most dangerous kind of skin cancer. Researchers from Arizona State University and Mayo Clinic Arizona are also playing key roles for the project, which is funded by Stand Up To Cancer and the Melanoma Research Alliance. 

Top bioscience news, December 30-January 3: NAU professor Paul Keim addresses the H5N1 flu-study controversy ¶ Phoenix Children's Hospital neurosurgeon David Adelson is leading a study with ASU collaborators of electrode implantation in the brain ¶ A look back at the top bio achievements of 2011 (Plus two more stories.)

Following completion of an intensive, 10-week seminar to build their civic-leadership capacity, members of the Fall class of the nonpartisan Flinn-Brown Civic Leadership Academy are now planning their next steps toward public service in Arizona at the state level. 

Top bioscience news, November 10-November 21: The City of Peoria, the Plaza Companies, and BioAccel have settled on a plan to open the Peoria Incucellerator. ¶ After he leaves office, Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon will take a top leadership role at the Chan Soon-Shiong Institute for Advanced Health. ¶ Along a five-mile stretch of Shea Boulevard are some of the most important cancer-treatment institutions in Arizona. (Plus 5 more stories)

Top bioscience news, October 10-25: Arizona Science and Technology Festival set to debut in February 2012  ¶ Several metro-Phoenix institutions engage in notable Parkinson's, Alzheimer's studies  ¶ Under the radar, Bayer's Maricopa facility hosts advanced bioag research. (Plus 5 more stories)

The Flinn Foundation has announced its support for the inaugural Arizona Science and Technology (SciTech) Festival, a six-week event in cities and towns across Arizona that will showcase innovation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The Festival’s events will be centered in February 2012, coinciding with the celebration of Arizona’s centennial.