Arizona Bioscience News: Tucson company starts gastric-cancer trial; Therapeutic eyewear startup plans expansion; UA to study protein’s role in IBD, colon cancer

July 20, 2017

By Matt Ellsworth

NAU illustrator uses art to translate science / Arizona Daily Sun

A new staff member at Northern Arizona University’s Center for Ecosystem Science and Society leverages the power of art to help interpret and communicate science produced by the center’s researchers as well as others at the university.

Demand for nurses is growing in Arizona, across U.S. / KJZZ

Creighton University is bringing a bachelor of science in nursing program to the Phoenix area as the Nebraska university extends its partnership with St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center.

UA researchers to study protein’s role in IBD and colon cancer / KVOA

University of Arizona researchers have received a five-year, $1.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study the role of protein in inflammatory bowel disease and colon cancer.

Tucson drug startup launches gastric-cancer trial / Arizona Daily Star

Tucson-based drug startup Cancer Prevention Pharmaceuticals Inc. has announced the launch of a Phase 2 clinical trial at Vanderbilt University Medical Center to test the company’s flagship drug candidate for preventing gastric cancer.

RAIN project receives $200,000 grant to fund STEM education / Verde Independent

The Verde Valley’s Rural Innovation Center will receive $200,000 over the next four years to promote STEM education in the community, including schools and the annual SciTech Festival.

Doctor shortage in rural Arizona sparks another crisis in ‘Forgotten America’ / NPR

It has long been hard to recruit new doctors to rural America, as they can make a lot more money in metropolitan areas as specialists, but the shortage, especially of primary-care providers, has grown steadily worse in recent years.

Phoenix therapeutic eyewear startup hires former GPEC exec, plans rapid expansion / Phoenix Business Journal

Phoenix-based therapeutic eyewear startup TheraSpecs Co. has hired Annette Zinky, a former executive at the Greater Phoenix Economic Council and Northern Arizona Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology, as its first COO, with plans to bring the eyeglasses into new markets.

Virtual reality heals rehab patients in Phoenix / ABC15

Banner Health’s University Medicine Rehabilitation Institute in Phoenix is using virtual reality with patients who need to retrain their visual motor coordination.

State and universities try to address demand for large animal vets in rural Arizona / Arizona Science Desk

Most veterinarian students go into lucrative family-pet practices, and now the state and local schools are trying to get more vets into the rural areas that need them most.