Jeremy Summers

Medical Murray, a medical device company based in Illinois, has just announced plans to open its new design and development facility in Charlotte. The company specializes in the design, development and manufacturing of innovative medical applications. Their new facility will be located near the Charlotte-Douglas Airport, at the CLT Logistics Center on International Airport Drive. The 4,000 square foot facility will be home to the company’s sales, design and development activities. Medical Murray plans to have the facility fully operational by March 2013. The strategic location will allow the company to expand their presence to the Southeast. “We are...

The best way to get kids interested in science and math is by connecting it with something they’re already interested in. There aren’t many children in North Carolina that aren’t fascinated by the high-speed thrills of NASCAR, which is what makes it the perfect way to get kids interested in science. The BioMoto STEM Challenge is a unique educational program that builds off the excitement and popularity of racing to entice students to learn about the biotechnology and science behind the sport. The program motivates middle school students to improve their understanding of science, technology, education, and mathematics (STEM)...

Everyone knows how important exercise is to maintaining healthy muscles. As it turns out, exercise is crucial even to lab-grown muscles. According to new research from the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM), exercise is key to building a new kind of muscle-like implant. These implants can potentially repair muscle damage from injury or disease. The process involved taking cells derived from muscle tissue and placing them onto biocompatible material. That material is then “exercised” in the lab, which allows the implant to prompt muscle regeneration and a significant recovery of function. The achievement gives hope to the...

North Carolina’s agriculture and biotechnology industries are a natural fit. Using the tools of biotech, N.C. farmers can produce more efficient, higher-yielding crops and help grow each industry in the process. The agricultural biotechnology (AgBio) industry is now poised to tackle some of the state’s biggest economic challenges, which is why the North Carolina Biotechnology Center recently hosted an event for a group of roughly 30 people in North Carolina State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Agricultural Leadership Development Program. Members in the two-year program are being prepared for future leadership in North Carolina’s agriculture industry. The...

The North Carolina Biotechnology Center’s Industrial Fellowship Program provides opportunities for Ph.D. scientists from the state’s many prestigious universities to gain valuable industry-based experience. Often, it allows the program’s participants to utilize their education in new ways, by allowing them to start careers with the state’s life-science companies. Meredith Brown, a post-doc from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, recently ended her time in the program and now has an exciting future at a growing company in one of the state’s largest growth industries. In July 2010, Brown began a two-year industrial fellowship at Metabolon, a Research...

Barry L. Burks, Ph.D., has been appointed vice chancellor for research and economic development at North Carolina A&T State University. For the past 5 years, Burks held a similar position, associate director of the Charlotte Research Institute, at the University of North Carolina Charlotte. In that time, Burks helped to grow the research infrastructure at the university as well as build and strengthen relationships between the university and the business communities in North Carolina and beyond. Burks will draw on his experience as a scientist and an entrepreneur. He holds a Ph.D. in experimental nuclear physics and M.S. in...

For dairy farmers, early detection of an illness or disease can make all the difference between profit and loss. Advanced Animal Diagnostics, based in Durham, has developed a new piece of equipment that will allow dairy farmers to save days in diagnostic testing time and treat diseases quicker and therefore, more effectively. The innovative diagnostic reader allows vets or dairy producers to perform their own diagnostic tests on-site. This allows farmers to avoid the lengthy process of preparing a sample and sending it away for testing, which can take up to three days. AAD’s reader gives dairy farmers the...