Bioscience
Building Arizona as a global center for research and commercialization in the biosciences.
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Bioscience in Arizona
The Flinn Foundation supports bioscience in Arizona through research grants and stewardship of Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap. Launched in 2002 to guide the bioscience sector’s development, the Roadmap was last updated in 2025.
Bioscience focuses on the research, development, and commercialization of therapies and products to prevent, diagnose, and treat disease, improve health outcomes, enhance crops, and generate biological solutions for environmental and industrial challenges.
The Roadmap envisions Arizona as a nationally recognized, rising bioscience leader with a skilled talent base, world-class research, and dynamic industry growth, exemplifying collaboration, agility, and the courage to bet on discoveries that strengthen the economy and Arizonans’ health and quality of life.
Flinn seeks applications from bio startups. Apply by Oct. 30
The application for the 2027 cohort of the Flinn Foundation Bioscience Entrepreneurship Program is open. The deadline for companies to apply is Friday, Oct. 30.
Six Arizona bioscience startups selected for the entrepreneurship program will receive $75,000 in non-dilutive support through the Arizona Bioindustry Association, the Foundation’s nonprofit partner. In addition, the revamped program places greater emphasis on guidance, including the equivalent of $11,250 in advisor time, and connectivity with sustained networking and a final live pitch to investor partners. Since 2014, 66 companies have received more than $2.1 million in funding support. [Learn more]
2027 Flinn Bio Capital Conference set for March 4
The 2027 Flinn Foundation Bio Capital Conference will return March 4 to the Creighton University Health Sciences Campus at Park Central in Phoenix for another high-energy day of networking and learning. Registration is now available.
The sold-out 2026 conference attracted nearly 300 bioscience founders, investors, ecosystem partners, and service providers.
The Bio Capital Conference is a collaboration between the Flinn Foundation and the Risk Capital Project Team of Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap Steering Committee. [Register]
ASU’s Mehdi Nikkhah uses Flinn grant to accelerate Glioblastoma therapeutics
Mehdi Nikkhah, an Arizona State University professor of biomedical engineering, is the principal investigator on a team developing a “GBM-on-a-Chip” platform that closely mimics the human Glioblastoma microenvironment for use in drug development.
Nikkhah says this technology will allow for the testing of multiple compounds and therapeutic drugs in a faster and safer manner on numerous types of tumors to improve patient outcomes. He was one of seven researchers awarded a $100,000 grant from the Flinn Foundation Translational Seed Grants Program in 2026. [Learn more]
UA medical school’s Melissa Herbst-Kralovetz developing diagnostic for gynecological cancer
Melissa Herbst-Kralovetz of the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix is developing a swab that can detect endometrial cancer at an early stage through molecular biomarkers. This new diagnostic is more accessible, including use in rural settings and with telehealth, and will reduce detection delays and improve outcomes for women.
Herbst-Kralovetz was awarded a $100,000 grant from the Flinn Foundation Translational Seed Grants Program this year. At the end of the 18-month grants, the seven program participants will have the opportunity to seek an additional $100,000 in follow-on funding for their research. [Learn more]
Jonathon Parker of Mayo Clinic Arizona using Flinn grant to treat epilepsy
Jonathon Parker, M.D., Ph.D., a neurosurgeon and neuroscientist at Mayo Clinic Arizona, is developing the Cortalis Neuro software to help clinicians fine-tune brain stimulation settings to better treat epilepsy and reduce seizures. The director of the Device Based Neuroelectronics Lab said this new biomarker-driven neuromodulation programming could improve treatment for the 25,000 epilepsy patients in Arizona and 1 million across the United States.
The Mayo Clinic Arizona project led by Parker received one of seven $100,000 Translational Seed Grants this year from the Flinn Foundation. [Watch video]
News and Updates
Bioscience
Macula Vision Systems: An Arizona startup success
Macula Vision Systems, based at the University of Arizona Center for Innovation in Oro Valley, is developing a device to bring efficiency and precision to laboratories. The company, led by Oleg Gusyatin, was a 2025 participant in the Flinn Foundation Bioscience Entrepreneurship Program. Gusyatin said the funding would support the launch of the company’s regulatory […]
Bioscience
By the Numbers: Flinn Bioscience Entrepreneurship Program
Each year, six Arizona bioscience startups are selected to receive $75,000 in funding support through the Flinn Foundation Bioscience Entrepreneurship Program, administered through the Foundation’s nonprofit partner, the Arizona Bioindustry Association. Selectees also receive programmatic benefits over the year-long program. Since 2014, the program has selected 66 companies in a competitive process. The 12 program […]
Bioscience
Creating workforce starts early at Arizona Bioscience Week
The big picture: To grow successfully, Arizona’s bioscience ecosystem needs to strengthen talent and career pathways. That starts early. Exposing young, local students to a career in a field they may never have considered can pay huge dividends. A video campaign: The “Exploring Pathways to Bioscience and Health Careers” video series aims to bridge the […]
Bioscience
Arizona Bioscience News, October 2026
Each month, we’ll take a look at developments across the state’s bioscience ecosystem and how they connect to the Roadmap.
For information about Bioscience, please contact:
bioscience@flinn.org or (602) 744-6831
