News - UF Innovate

UF Ecologist Robert D. Holt Elected to the National Academy of Sciences

Robert D. Holt of the University of Florida Department of Biology has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), joining the ranks of leading scientists recognized for their distinguished achievements in research.

UF Scripps Researcher’s Drug-Discovery Method Shows Promise Against Aggressive Breast Cancer

UF Scripps Biomedical Research scientist Matthew Disney, Ph.D. has found yet another groundbreaking approach to a problem that has long vexed scientists: How to cure diseases by targeting key RNA. Until now, RNA has been an elusive target for drug discovery. Discoveries made by Disney and his collaborators have rewritten that dogma.

A First: Scientists Grow Plants in Soil From the Moon

Scientists have grown plants in soil from the moon, a first in human history and a milestone in lunar and space exploration. In a new paper published in the journal “Communications Biology,” University of Florida researchers showed that plants can successfully sprout and grow in lunar soil. Their study also investigated how plants respond biologically to the moon’s soil, also known as lunar regolith, which is radically different from soil found on Earth.

CITI Program and Biotility at UF Announce Partnership

The Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI Program), the leader in online research, ethics, and compliance training, and Biotility at the University of Florida announced an exclusive licensing agreement to offer select Biotility’s biotech training courses on CITI Program’s learning platform.

Genascence Announces First Close in Series a Financing Led by Pacira BioSciences and Expands Board of Directors and Scientific Advisory Board

Genascence Corporation ("Genascence"), a clinical-stage biotechnology company revolutionizing the treatment of prevalent musculoskeletal diseases with gene therapy, today announced it has completed the first closing in a Series A financing led by Pacira BioSciences, Inc., totaling $10.5 million. As part of the financing, UF Innovate's Jackson Streeter, joins Genascence's board of directors.

National Academy of Inventors Announces 2021 Fellows

The National Academy of Inventors (NAI) has elected 164 prolific academic innovators from across the world to NAI Fellow status. This includes Dr. Subrata Roy, a University of Florida professor in the department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. The 2021 new Fellows will be inducted at the Fellows Induction Ceremony at the 11th Annual Meeting of the National Academy of Inventors this upcoming June 14-15, in Phoenix, Arizona

BioFlorida Celebration of Biotechnology Shines a Light on the Future of the City of Alachua

BioFlorida held its Celebration of Biotechnology today behind the new AGTC buildings on US Hwy 441 in Alachua, just across from Progress Park, highlighting the future plans for the area that will be known as the Progress District. The Celebration was the first since 2019.

RTI Surgical Is Growing Its Footprint in Progress Park as the Biotech Industry Continues To Develop in Alachua

The biotech industry is expanding in Alachua, and companies are moving to North Central Florida from across the country. Mayor Gib Coerper of the City of Alachua said the growth in the life sciences industry is on a roll across the city.

Rob Ferl Receives NASA Exceptional Public Service Medal

Rob Ferl, distinguished professor in the UF/IFAS horticultural sciences department and assistant vice president for UF research, has received one of NASA’s most prestigious honors, the Exceptional Public Service Medal.

Florida Institute and MPWRM Resource Center Fund Amend Surgical

UF Innovate | Sid Martin Biotech alum Amend Surgical, Inc., an Alachua-based medical device company, announced that it has finalized a funding agreement with the Institute for Commercialization of Florida Technology (the Florida Institute) along with being awarded a substantial product development funding from The Michigan-Pittsburgh-Wyss Regenerative Medicine (MPWRM) Resource Center.

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