University of Arizona BIO5 Institute

Happy National STEM Day!🔬 In recognition of STEM Day, we want to spotlight the diverse demographics within the KEYS Research Internship. With 746 alumni, our program includes students from high schools across Arizona, each bringing unique backgrounds. KEYS takes pride in its interns and is thrilled to share this opportunity for students to learn about research. 💙 #NationalSTEMDay #STEM #Research #Internship #UniversityOfArizona #Arizona

New BIO5 member Justin Starren is a medical doctor who transitioned to data science, dedicating the last 30 years to connecting people, computer systems, and organizations. “With biomedical informatics, real people get real medical care with what you build. So instead of helping one patient at a time, your work can help hundreds or thousands at a time,” he said. Earlier this year, Starren became the director of the Center for Biomedical Informatics and Biostatistics at the University of Arizona Health Sciences and a professor of medical imaging at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson. The Center serves as an in-house resource for researchers aiming to convert their data into insights that can benefit patients and the wider community. Read more: https://bit.ly/3YjWGmD

We've changed up the program for 2025 and are eager to share it with the #Bioscience community! Please share this information broadly so that we can identify and assist life science entrepreneurs who are ready to take this to the next level. #Arizona #Biosciences

Are you a University of Arizona faculty member looking to connect with Arizona biotech companies? Come to our free event on November 20! This event seeks to connects university and industry innovators across life sciences, medicine, engineering, computer and information sciences to facilitate the movement of innovations, products, and ideas to market. More information and registration: https://bit.ly/3YzbyxB

BIO5 member Vignesh Subbian from University of Arizona College of Engineering is the project lead for the eCAMINOS program at the University of Arizona, which is expected to encourage more undergraduates to begin and complete engineering degrees in the next few years and ultimately fill gaps in the workforce. “Asset-based rather than deficit-based thinking has been shown to be effective in promoting student success,” said Subbian, “ But little is known about how to do it longitudinally, throughout the student’s engineering program. This project helps us do that.” Read more: https://bit.ly/3NIMpeV

Congratulations to our public relations team for their PRSA Southern Arizona award on their social media campaign highlighting the KEYS Research Internship! They created a campaign that highlighted the students' research and desires to impact the world through STEM careers. This campaign not only helped grow the KEYS social media channels, but also helped encourage a record number of applicants for the 2024 program.

🌟 Big Win for UACI Startup TheraCea Pharma! 🌟 TheraCea Pharma has been awarded a $275,000 SBIR grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF)! With the University of Arizona as a proud sub-awardee, this grant will support their groundbreaking work in developing new diagnostic tools for fast and conclusive assessment of therapy in cancer patients and potentially neurological disorders. Based on research developed within the University of Arizona’s University of Arizona BIO5 Institute, the company founded to commercialize U of A technology and mentored and launched through Tech Launch Arizona. TheraCea Pharma is part of the University of Arizona Center for Innovation and is growing their business by leveraging foundational scientific research to create a new class of diagnostic agents aimed at early detection of treatment efficacy in cancer patients. This innovative approach allows patients and healthcare providers to assess the success of cancer therapies within weeks, rather than months, potentially enhancing patient outcomes and improving treatment decision-making. We are proud to support TheraCea Pharma’s journey toward transforming healthcare! 🌍🧬 Iman Daryaei, Ph.D. https://ow.ly/WvzI50TZRvw

Congrats to our 2021 BIO5 Postdoctoral Fellow Rob Jackson at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson on securing a pivotal National Institutes of Health grant to establish his career in virology and oral cancer. Jackson performs basic research on the biology of human papillomaviruses (HPV) that may one day lead to innovative cancer therapeutics under the mentorship of BIO5 member Koenraad Van Doorslaer, associate professor of immunobiology and co-leader of the Cancer Biology Program at the University of Arizona Cancer Center. The funding from BIO5 Postdoctoral Fellowship helped Jackson further his expertise in 3D techniques and bioinformatics to study HPV biology at the level of a single cell. “Viruses are fascinating tools for studying human biology,” said Jackson. “I aim to leverage the ancient co-evolutionary relationships between pathogens and host to contribute fundamental knowledge to our understanding of biological processes including normal differentiation and cancer.” Jackson will use the K99/R00 grant from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, one of the institutes of the NIH, to establish his independent research program focused on HPV infection and oral health. Read more about viruses, cancer, and the road to research independence: https://bit.ly/40vFUUo

Are you a University of Arizona faculty member looking to connect with Arizona biotech companies? Come to our free event on November 20!

We had cowboys, creepy clowns, delivery robots, a whole slew of detectives with "Scooby Snacks," and many other interesting characters working in the BIO5 administrative suite today. Happy Halloween! 👻