BizBIOSCIENCE
The Region’s
Biotech Engine
UArizona Fuels Innovative Research, Startups By Rodney Campbell The University of Arizona is a hub of biosciences activity in the region, not just in learning, but in producing solutions that make their way to market and impact society. The following are the primary organizations within UArizona that are fueling research and creating startups. BIO5 Institute
Launched in 2001, the BIO5 Institute was named for the five colleges whose work inspired the facility: agriculture, engineering, medicine, pharmacy and science. BIO5 connects and mobilizes hundreds of world-class plant, animal and human bioscientists, engineers, physicians and computational researchers to develop creative solutions for complex challenges such as disease, hunger, water and food safety, and other health issues. This interdisciplinary approach has resulted in improved food crops, innovative diagnostics and devices, disease prevention strategies and promising new therapies. For more on BIO5, please see pages 65 – 100.
Recent achievements include:
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HealthTech Connect is an invitationonly consortium designed to build opportunities for the startup, corporate, higher education, funding and economic development communities to advance Arizona’s cutting-edge innovations in health technology. Its first event was held in September at the Phoenix Biomedical Campus.
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The Comprehensive Pain and Addiction Center is working to find solutions for chronic pain and the opioid epidemic through a collaborative mindset and a multifaceted approach. CPAC will address the epidemic from all angles, including addiction, chronic pain, education, legislation, clinical trials and research. CPAC will also create collaborations with biomedical engineers to develop devices and technologies to help predict and prevent substance abuse, as well as help save lives in overdose situations. CPAC is managed by a board made up of one representative from each of the five colleges in UArizona Health Sciences.
University of Arizona Health Sciences
University of Arizona Health Sciences is one of the top-ranked academic medical centers in the Southwest. It includes the College of Medicine – Phoenix, College of Medicine – Tucson, College of Nursing, College of Pharmacy and the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. In addition, 12 UArizona Health Sciences centers focus on cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, pain and addiction, and respiratory diseases; biomedical informatics, health technology innovation and simulation training; and precision health care and health disparities. UArizona Health Sciences employs nearly www.BizTucson.com
treat Alzheimer’s disease by mitigating neuroinflammation in the brain. The company started in spring 2020 during the inaugural semester of Designing Drugs: From Chemistry to Cure.
5,000 people, has approximately 4,000 students and 900 faculty members, and pulls in more than $200 million in research grants and contracts annually.
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Cliacept Inc. is a company founded by pharmaceutical science students that aims to develop an antibody to
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People who suffer from migraines are reducing their pain and improving their quality of life thanks to pain specialists at the University of Arizona Health Sciences and their green light research. Dr. Mohab Ibrahim and Dr. Amol Patwardhan, both affiliated with CPAC, have been studying effects of green light exposure in rodents for several years. Ibrahim led a research team that completed the first clinical study to evaluate green light exposure as a potential preventive therapy for patients with migraine. Twenty-nine participants-all of whom had failed multiple traditional therapies--were prescribed green light exposure as part of the study. Overall, green light exposure reduced the number of headache days per month by an average of about 60%. Most participants in the study reported a more than 50% reduction in headache days per month.
College of Engineering
The College of Engineering offers 16 undergraduate degrees, many of which are in the biotech field. In fiscal year 2020, research expenditures comcontinued on page 36 >>> Fall 2021
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