In the CBJ: Iowa's biosciences sector set to scale |
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Iowa’s bioscience sector helped keep the state’s just-released second-quarter GDP reading from sliding as precipitously as most of its Midwestern neighbors during the pandemic, according to Debi Durham, who says that industry is likely to play a starring role in the coming “fourth industrial revolution.”
“This space actually kept it up, kept it going,” said Ms. Durham, director of both the Iowa Economic Development Authority and the Iowa Finance Authority, as part of the CBJ’s Manufacturing Conference on Oct. 2. She added that the strength of bioscience in the state will have major implications for future economic development.
“This is probably our deepest platform, in the sense that it [encompasses] everything from biofuels, ethanol, biodiesel … all the way to the other end at biomedical devices and nanovaccines and everything in between,” she said. “There are opportunities in this space that also tie to manufacturing. I believe we have seen, during this COVID pandemic, opportunities for Iowa to scale going forward.”
Ms. Durham’s comments came as part of a larger presentation about the state’s “holistic” approach to growth, its support for manufacturing – now the second-largest contributor to the state’s GDP – and a discussion of trends, from automation to immigration, likely to impact manufacturers in the coming years.
But as the state moves ahead from the lingering economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ms. Durham and other state officials are looking at new recovery strategies, in addition to “taking care of our own backyard” by supporting the existing companies responsible for 84% of new job growth.
“We need to take what we’ve learned [from COVID] and put that into a strategy going forward. … What is the opportunity, particularly in manufacturing?” she said, adding those ideas will be central to Gov. Kim Reynolds’ 2021 State of the State address. “There are some really transformational things in this plan, some bigger thinking issues.”
Read the full members-only story in this week's print or digital editions of the CBJ.
IMAGE: Debi Durham
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IDT expands global footprint with launch of China office |
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Coralville-based Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT) has announced the launch of IDT China, an official business entity to be headquartered in Shanghai.
The genomics solutions provider said the launch is the latest step in IDT’s ongoing global expansion to support researchers across numerous disciplines from pharmaceutical development to agricultural biology. IDT has facilities in Asia, Europe and North America, and serves customers in more than 100 countries.
“The launch of IDT China better positions our team to provide localized support and enable important research projects throughout the region,” said IDT President Trey Martin in a release. “China has experienced significant growth in life sciences research, becoming a leader in the pursuit of new technologies for translational and personalized medicine, and we look forward to enabling their activities.”
IDT made national headlines earlier this year, as the coronavirus pandemic took hold, by becoming the first U.S. company to have its primer and probe kits approved by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for use in its COVID-19 testing protocol.
IDT officials said the launch of IDT China allows it to better serve its customer base in the region, reach new customers and provide easier access to its complete portfolio of industry-leading products. IDT products include a robust next generation sequencing (NGS) product portfolio that provides tools to support growing research efforts in China to develop precision medicine.
The new office continues IDT’s partnerships in China aimed at increasing support of research projects, including the establishment of a strategic collaboration last year with Chinese medical sequencing firm ChosenMed. IDT’s work with ChosenMed includes providing its market-leading NGS enrichment products for cancer sequencing studies. The two companies are also developing large pan-cancer research panels as part of the Cancer Atlas of China (CGAC) project, which is focused on the future of cancer diagnosis.
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Corridor hospitals earn Most Wired recognition |
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The Corridor’s hospitals have been named to an annual list of health care’s “Most Wired” hospitals created by the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME).
The CHIME Digital Health Most Wired program conducts an annual survey to assess how effectively health care organizations apply core and advanced technologies into their clinical and business programs to improve health and care in their communities.
Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids was ranked highest in the state, earning a Level 9 award in both the acute and ambulatory categories (with Level 10 being the highest). Both the UnityPoint Health system and University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics earned Level 8 awards in the same categories. No Iowa institution placed in CHIME’s ranking of the Most Wired long-term health care facilities.
The awards come as hospital systems nationwide work to navigate increased use of telemedicine, predictive analytics and mobile care solutions in the fight against COVID-19. Mercy Medical Center’s Dr. Tim Sagers told the CBJ in April that prior to the pandemic, the hospital system had about 10-15 telehealth visits daily; that number exploded to about 400 as the crisis took hold. At UIHC, providers used technology to create a “virtual hospital” experience for the 80% of patients with COVID-19 who did not require hospitalization.
“Digital technology has been a driver of innovation in health care for many years now, but never to the degree that we saw in 2020 with the pandemic,” said Russell Branzell, CHIME’s president and CEO, in a release. “The Digital Health Most Wired program underscores why health care organizations keep pushing themselves to be digital leaders and shows what amazing feats they can achieve. This certification recognizes their exemplary performance in 2020.”
A total of 30,135 organizations were represented in this year’s Digital Health Most Wired program. For the full survey results, click here.
IMAGE: Doctors at University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics consult on a telehealth appointment in an undated photo. CREDIT UI
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Carver Trust gives $225K to digital scholarship lab at ISU |
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The Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust of Muscatine has committed $225,000 to the Iowa State University Parks Library in Ames to establish a digital scholarship laboratory, where students and faculty can partner with library experts to use emerging research techniques and technology for digital scholarship.
The new laboratory space, created on the main floor in a space originally built in the 1920s, promises to create an entirely new user experience in the building, according to project leaders. The new scholarship laboratory will offer tech-equipped collaboration and experiential spaces designed to help users apply new scholarship techniques, such as text encoding, geographic information system mapping (GIS), data mining and data visualization.
It will also provide a home for the University Library’s digital press and various digital collections, “each designed to support the global sharing of research and scholarship generated and supported by students, faculty and staff,” according to library leaders.
“We are deeply grateful to the Carver Trust for its support and partnership in making this lab a reality,” said interim Library Dean Hilary Seo in a release. “Through the lab we can grow the understanding and use of digital scholarship that will benefit not only Iowa State students and faculty, but the entire state by building new research tools and methodologies, and freely sharing these discoveries that move society forward.”
Users of all skill levels and academic disciplines will able to use the space, with hardware and software provided free of charge.
The Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust is one of the largest private philanthropic foundations in the state of Iowa, with assets of $325 million and annual grant distributions of nearly $16 million. It was created through the will of Roy J. Carver, a Muscatine industrialist and philanthropist, who died in 1981.
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IntelliSee adds Pajerski as chief commercial officer |
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IntelliSee, a Coralville-based startup using AI, existing surveillance cameras and machine-learning algorithms to help organizations improve their risk profiles, has named Maureen Pajerski as chief commercial officer.
A former executive with Rauland-Borg, Ms. Pajerski will be responsible for the customer and commercial side of IntelliSee. She will develop all facets of channel partner distribution for the company, including contracts, pricing, distribution policies and marketing.
“Maureen is a top-notch strategist and knows this market in and out,” said IntelliSee CEO Scott Keplinger. “We are thrilled to have her join our team and lead our channel partner efforts.”
Ms. Pajerski has more than 25 years of experience in sales and marketing, and holds a bachelor’s in computer engineering from the University of Illinois, and an MBA from the University of Chicago.
IntelliSee was founded by Karim Malek, a professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Iowa and director of the Iowa Technology Institute, and Richard Ferguson, the former CEO and chair emeritus of ACT Inc. Its platform uses advanced AI developed for the U.S. Department of Defense to identify threats to human safety, from weapons to slip-and-fall risks. If a threat is detected, the system can send real-time alerts to the people and systems that can act on it.
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Short Term Event Planner
Oct. 13
Brown Deer Cooperative Groundbreaking, by Iowa City Area Business Partnership, 4-5 p.m., 1900 Country Club Drive, Coralville. Free. For more information, visit bit.ly/2I7NUoj.
Oct. 14
1 Million Cups, by 1MC Cedar Rapids, 8:30 a.m., online. Join for community connections and presentations by entrepreneurs, established companies, experts and more. Free. For more information, visit facebook.com/1MCICR.
1 Million Cups, by 1MC Iowa City, 9 a.m., online. Join for community connections and presentations by entrepreneurs, established companies, experts and more. Free. For more information, visit facebook.com/1MillionCupsIC.
Oct. 15
PPP Forgiveness Observations for Financial Institutions, by CLA, 1-2 p.m., online.
Hear insights and observations from CLA leaders on assisting lenders with the processing of borrower PPP forgiveness applications. Free. To register, visit bit.ly/3lnQwwF.
Highlander Hotel Ribbon Cutting, by Iowa City Area Business Partnership, 4-5 p.m., 2525 Highlander Place, Iowa City. Help celebrate the remodel of this iconic Iowa City hotel. Free. For more information, visit bit.ly/3llbhJl.
Forty Under 40, by Corridor Business Journal, 6-8:30 p.m., online. The Forty Under 40 awards recognize 40 leaders under the age of 40 who have made a significant impact in their business and community early in their careers. Free. For more information or to register, visit corridorbusiness.com/events/ or contact Ashley Moore at [email protected].
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These news items are provided by KCRG-TV9
Cedar Rapids Police are asking for public help in locating a woman missing since Sunday morning. Sharon Hangartner, 54, was last seen on Oct. 11 sometime between midnight and 7 a.m. She is believed to have been somewhere near the 6200 block of Windy Meadow Lane NE and may have been on foot. No additional description of Hangartner was given. Police ask residents who live in the above neighborhood to check any security camera video to see if Hangartner is visible anywhere during that time. Anybody with information on her whereabouts can call Cedar Rapids Police at (319) 286-5491.
The Marion Independent School District will move away from the Indian mascot by July 31, 2021. The Board of Education voted 5-2 to do away with the mascot on Monday. This comes after a review process that the board said included input from the Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa, a local historian and representative from the Marion Historical Society, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), representatives from the Ho-Chunk Nation, numerous letters and emails, and survey responses from Marion students, staff, alumni and community members. The results of the survey showed about 63% of respondents supported keeping the mascot, however some of those respondents said they wanted to keep the mascot unless it was viewed as offensive. Respondents who opposed keeping the mascot were concerned it was derogatory or disrespectful. The district has not decided on a new mascot, but said it plans to seek input from students, staff and the community for guidance.
These news items are provided by KCRG-TV9
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Your KCRG-TV9 First Alert Forecast |
Plan on a nice day overall with highs into the 60s. The wind will increase, but the gusts won't be as bad as yesterday. Tonight into tomorrow, clouds may increase, though we're still expecting a warmer and windy Wednesday as highs climb back into the 70s area-wide. The cold front side of that system will hit us Thursday with a large temperature drop coming with it. Plan on highs Thursday to only be in the 50s with gusty northwest wind. |
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