The annual Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap Progress Report event, presented by the Flinn Foundation, will be noon-1 p.m., Wednesday, April 8.
The webinar, open to the public, will address where the Arizona bioscience sector stands today, seven months after the launch of the state’s new long-range strategic plan to guide bio innovation and impact through 2030. The event will review highlights from the past year and show how leaders can position their organizations for success.
Expect an examination of the state of bioscience from two perspectives:
- Research: A conversation about new national realities, priorities, and opportunities with Sethuraman Panchanathan, Ph.D., who served as the 15th director of the National Science Foundation and has returned to Arizona State University, and Flinn Foundation President and CEO Tammy McLeod, Ph.D.
- Industry: A discussion moderated by Greater Phoenix Economic Council President and CEO Christine Mackay about what recent Arizona developments mean for the sector’s trajectory in our state. Mackay will be joined by industry leaders Mara Aspinall (Illumina Ventures), Jacob Busch (Translational Genomics Research Institute), and Nigel Pinto (West Pharmaceutical Services).
2025 Progress Report showed significant gains. ➤
The most recent data, released in April 2025, shows more than 144,000 people are employed in bio-related fields, including hospitals; salaries are 30% higher than the state’s average wage; and bioscience R&D at the state’s universities exceeding $800 million for the first time and outpacing the national growth rate.
Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap was commissioned by the Flinn Foundation in 2002 and updated in 2014 for a second decade. The new iteration was released in September.
The new Roadmap has five overarching goals to guide the growth of the Arizona biosciences:
- Amplify the collaborative gene.
- Accelerate research into impact.
- Elevate Arizona’s startup ecosystem.
- Strengthen talent and career pathways.
- Tell Arizona’s bioscience story.
To learn more about the Roadmap, visit flinn.org/bioroadmap. Track the latest updates with the BioBlog and Arizona Bioscience News.
