Bioscience
Building Arizona as a global center for research and commercialization in the biosciences and a leader in such areas as precision medicine.
Bioscience in Arizona
The Flinn Foundation supports the biosciences in Arizona through research grants and stewardship of Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap, released in 2002 and guiding the growth and development of the state’s bioscience sector through 2025.
The Roadmap’s tagline, “Advancing the Biosciences and Improving Health Outcomes” recognizes the broad spectrum of the biosciences, including research, academia, and product commercialization, as well as the central role of health care within the bioscience sector.
TGen’s online MindCrowd research project aims to provide a personalized guide for successful brain aging
A 10-minute online memory test is gathering data from around the world with the hope that one day physicians will be able to recommend a personalized way for their patients to improve brain performance as they age.
The MindCrowd research project, developed by the Phoenix-based Translational Genomics Research Institute, an affiliate of City of Hope, in partnership with the University of Arizona and Alzheimer’s Prevention Initiative, has been aided by more than 135,000 participants over the past seven years from all 50 states and more than 150 countries. This article was written by the Flinn Foundation and first appeared in the Spring 2020 issue of Arizona Physician magazine, a publication of the Maricopa County Medical Society. [Read More]
Flinn Foundation extends grantmaking response to COVID-19 in Arizona
With the COVID-19 pandemic threatening and profoundly changing Arizonans’ lives, the Flinn Foundation has made more than $450,000 in a series of emergency grants to protect frontline health-care workers, accelerate development of therapeutics, and support outbreak modeling and tracking.
Recipients of the grants include FABRIC, a fashion incubator in Tempe which is manufacturing PPE; two research centers at Northern Arizona University; researchers at the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix and the Arizona State University Biodesign Institute; and the Arizona Community Foundation emergency support fund to aid nonprofits. [Read more]
Arizona sees record-high bio capital, research funding; strong gains in jobs, wages
Arizona’s bioscience sector is performing at its highest level since data tracking began nearly two decades ago, helping to position universities, research institutes, companies, and clinicians to play an instrumental role in Arizona’s response to the new coronavirus.
The April 15 report, the latest Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap performance analysis commissioned by the Flinn Foundation, showed nearly 10,000 new bioscience jobs were created over a two-year span and wages increased nearly 9%. Arizona also reached record highs in venture-capital funding, National Institute of Health grants, and university research and development. [Read more]
TRIF plays critical role in bioscience research, tech transfer at state universities
A new report commissioned by the Flinn Foundation reveals the Technology and Research Initiative Fund, or TRIF, led to a growth of startups, patents, and license income, the creation of new bioscience institutes, the retention and recruitment of faculty, as well as a growing return on investment.
The Milken Institute report released April 15 studied the impact of TRIF since it was approved by Arizona voters in 2000 as part of Proposition 301. More than $1.1 billion has been used for scientific research at Arizona’s three state universities. [Learn more]
Flinn Foundation issues grant to support COVID-19 testing, cancels events
Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Phoenix-based Flinn Foundation has issued an emergency $100,000 grant to the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) to support population-based testing of the novel coronavirus in Arizona and to help TGen immediately and dramatically ramp up its capacity to analyze individual samples for the disease. The initiative is also being funded with grants from the Phoenix-based Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust and the Flagstaff-based NARBHA Institute. TGen North, the nonprofit institute’s pathogen-genomics division, is based in Flagstaff.
Another project supported by a previous Flinn Foundation grant, the Prevent HAARM initiative, is contributing to Arizona’s response to COVID-19. Led by the Tucson-based Critical Path Institute with TGen North playing a major role, Prevent HAARM focuses on deploying tools for surveillance of hospital-acquired infections; applications to the current pandemic are being developed. [Read more]
Six Arizona bioscience startups selected for 2020 Flinn Foundation entrepreneurship program
Six bioscience companies creating innovative solutions to improve regenerative medicine, spinal surgery, sleep health, medical payments, the food supply, and even ear cleaning have been selected for the 2020 Flinn Foundation Bioscience Entrepreneurship Program.
The Arizona-based firms will each receive $30,000 in funding support through a nonprofit partner, a personalized plan to help advance the company, and connections with the state’s bioscience and policy leaders.
[Read more]
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News and Updates
Bioscience
Arizona Bioscience News: COVID-19 in Arizona
Arizona hospitals continue to break records with the number of COVID-19 patients and are preparing to add staff and capacity to handle the surge. In response to the spread of the new coronavirus and without one single location or activity to point to its cause, the state closed businesses such as bars and gyms for […]
Bioscience
Arizona Bioscience News: COVID-19 in Arizona
Arizona’s dramatic increase in confirmed COVID-19 cases—more than three times as many as a month ago—has hospitals concerned about staffing and capacity with at least one health care organization holding off on scheduling new elective surgeries. New advancements in testing being developed at Arizona State University and the University of Arizona will help expand availability, […]
Bioscience
Arizona Bioscience News: COVID-19 in Arizona
Masks are about to become more common in Arizona as Gov. Doug Ducey is allowing local governments to mandate mask-wearing in public places. The emphasis on requiring masks, which was being pushed by the medical community, mayors, universities, and community leaders, came as Arizona continues to hit new daily records in the number of COVID-19 […]
Bioscience
Arizona Bioscience News: COVID-19 in Arizona
The numbers of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Arizona are rising significantly due to increased community spread, leading public health and hospital officials to urge precautions including the wearing of masks. Testing is increasing throughout the state, to detect both the disease and antibodies. COVID-19 research continues in Arizona labs, including creating a special mouse […]
For information about Bioscience, please contact:
bioscience@flinn.org or (602) 744-6831
Bradley W. Halvorsen
Executive Vice President
Mary O’Reilly, Ph.D.
Vice President, Bioscience Research Programs
Stella Galaviz
Senior Program Manager
Juliet Gomez
Program Manager
Julie Anderson
Bioscience & Arts Program Coordinator