Improving the quality of life in Arizona to benefit future generations.
Pima Community College and local employers are the recent recipients of a $276,393 grant from the U.S. Employment and Training Administration (ETA) to help bolster southern Arizona's bioscience workforce.
Several local companies have given Arizona's growing bioscience sector a shove in the right direction with some lucrative federal grant dollars and leadership roles on national research projects. Even as the recent Meds and Eds report warned of relying solely on federal grants for growing a biosciences hub in the desert, Intrinsic Bioprobes Inc., the Translational Genomics Research Institute, and Ribomed Biotechnologies have netted NIH dollars for research in diabetes and bio-warfare detection technologies.
Two of southern Arizona's bioscience rising stars are getting new additions to their front office this summer. Tucson entrepreneur Larry Aldrich has been named chief operating officer of the new drug development institute, C-Path, and 36-year-old Shaun Kirkpatrick is taking the reins at Research Corporation Technologies as CEO, where he was formerly president and COO.
Jose Cardenas does not have a lot of time to sit down. Between his role as chair at Lewis and Roca law firm in Phoenix and chairman of the board at the Translational Genomics Research Institute, Cardenas finds the time to host "Horizonte" TV program, serve on a host of community boards, be a parent of three, and even crack open a history book once in a while. For other leaders in Arizona's legal, bioscience, and cultural communities, Cardenas has set the bar undoubtedly high.
Arizona's technology sector scored a long-awaited victory at the Legislature with last week's passage of a bill that would entice angel investors to buy in to early-stage technology companies in the state. The angel-investment bill, now on the governor's desk, ends a string of legislative defeats over recent years to spur seed capital.
Coordinating an event such as the recent Arizona Bio Expo on nonbillable time is no small feat. But that degree of work comes naturally to Jon McGarity, current chairman of the Arizona Bioindustry Association. McGarity says the ABA is betting on a bright future for Arizona's bioindustry, and he is doing the legwork to get it there.
A new report on Arizona health and biosciences recommends bold measures for the state to "leapfrog" competitor states and regions in order to more fully participate in the biosciences economy.
Arizona's annual conference to showcase its top bioscience research and industry practices opened on March 29 with the reading of a gubernatorial proclamation to honor the day as "Arizona Bioindustry Day."
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