ASU partners with biotech luminary and alum Mark McKenna to launch preeminent life science business program

  • Future health care leaders and innovators will accelerate their path through the McKenna Life Sciences, Business and Entrepreneurship Program, enabling the next generation of biotech game changers.
  • A cross-college collaboration between the W. P. Carey School of Business and The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the program reflects ASU’s decade-long status as America’s most innovative university.
  • The program will launch in 2026 through a generous gift from Mark and Sheri McKenna.

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Study says original COVID-19 vaccination did not stop immune system from fighting variants

  • Vaccinated people generated an overall protective immune response to the Delta and Omicron strains of COVID-19, though with slightly fewer antibodies for the mutated parts of the virus.
  • University of Arizona Health Sciences researchers found that people who received the original COVID-19 vaccine had greater antibody production against the Delta and Omicron variants than those who were unvaccinated.
  • Prior COVID-19 vaccination did not stop the immune system from mounting a protective response to the Delta and Omicron strains, though new mutation-specific antibody production dipped slightly, according to a study led by researchers at the University of Arizona Health Sciences and published in Nature Immunology.

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Cargill’s Bioindustrial business Partners with Arizona State University to Explore New Materials for Semiconductor Innovation

TEMPE, Ariz. (May 15, 2025) — Cargill Bioindustrial and Arizona State University (ASU) are launching a new, year-long research partnership focused on advanced materials used in semiconductor technology — the foundation of modern electronics from smartphones to electric vehicles.

The research is focused on Cargill™ Priamine™ dimer diamine, which is made from bio-based ingredients. With support from ASU’s Biodesign Institute, scientists will study how and why this material performs so well, and how it might be used to improve the speed, efficiency, and reliability of electronic devices.Continue reading

Roche granted FDA Breakthrough Device Designation for first AI-driven companion diagnostic for non-small cell lung cancer

  • The VENTANA TROP2 (EPR20043) RxDx Device is an immunohistochemistry (IHC) assay combined with a digital pathology algorithm to determine patient treatment. 
  • The device uses artificial intelligence-based image analysis with a level of diagnostic precision not possible with traditional manual scoring methods. 
  • This Breakthrough Device Designation (BDD) demonstrates Roche’s continued innovation in companion diagnostics and digital pathology to enable more precise diagnosis in oncology.

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