Arizona Bioscience News: Six bio startups advance in Innovation Challenge; Biodesign Institute names director; Gore celebrates 50 years in Flagstaff

April 6, 2017

By Matt Ellsworth

W.L. Gore & Associates celebrating 50 years in Flagstaff / Flagstaff Business News

Flagstaff is home to roughly 2,000 W.L. Gore associates across 11 plants, making up Gore’s thriving Medical Products Division headquarters as the global science company celebrates its 50th year in Flagstaff.

Cultivating Arizona’s interest in STEM / Phoenix Business Journal (Op-ed)

The annual Arizona SciTech Festival, a statewide celebration of science, technology, engineering and math held each February and March, featured more than 1,000 STEM-focused expos, workshops, conversations, exhibitions and tours held in diverse neighborhoods throughout the state.

New University of Arizona president to get $988K pay package / Arizona Daily Star

Dr. Robert C. Robbins, the new University of Arizona president, would assume the presidency on June 1 and earn $988,000 per year—the highest in state history—under a three-year contract the Arizona Board of Regents is expected to approve on Friday. Read also: New University of Arizona president to receive nearly $1 million a year

Arizona to let drug companies do what the FDA forbids / Arizona Republic

The Arizona Legislature unanimously passed and Gov. Doug Ducey signed a bill which allows drug and medical-device companies to “engage in the truthful promotion” of drugs and devices to medical professionals to promote drugs for uses beyond what they are approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

STEM field to dominate workforce / KYMA

Professors from Arizona Western College in Yuma say there is a growing interest in science, technology, engineering, and math jobs in Yuma, mirroring national trends.

ASU lab home to largest waste repository in U.S. / azfamily.com

Researchers at Arizona State University are combing through sewage to get a better snapshot of public health.

How proposed NIH budget cuts would hurt Arizona’s bioscience, research sectors / Phoenix Business Journal (Op-ed)

The proposed National Institutes of Health budget cuts could reduce the grants that help Arizona build upon existing strengths in neurosciences, cancer research, precision medicine and Alzheimer’s research and advance Arizona’s position as a leader in the biosciences.

ASU appoints Joshua LaBaer as executive director of Biodesign Institute / Phoenix Business Journal

Dr. Joshua LaBaer—whom Arizona State University recruited from Harvard in 2009 and has served as interim director of the ASU Biodesign Institute for the past year—has been named the new executive director.

Students show off science skills at annual fair / Arizona Public Media

More than 2,000 student projects representing science, medicine, technology and engineering were on display at the Tucson Convention Center during the annual science and engineering fair sponsored by the Southern Arizona Research, Science and Engineering Foundation.

Semifinalists named in spring 2017 Arizona Innovation Challenge / Phoenix Business Journal

Six bio and life sciences startups have been named among the 25 semifinalists in the spring 2017 round of the Arizona Commerce Authority’s Arizona Innovation Challenge, the bi-annual business plan competition that will award $1.5 million this round to the most qualified, innovative startups.

Cheng: NAU future bright and expanding / Arizona Daily Sun

Northern Arizona University President Rita Cheng told a packed crowd during an annual campus forum that the university has been successful in a number of its goals over the last semester and year to make NAU a prime pick for new students and staff.