uPetsia Announced as One of Top Five Finalists for Purina Pet Care Innovation Prize 2022

uPetsia was named as one of five winners of the 2022 Purina annual Pet Care Innovation Prize. Founded by associate professors Eric Lyons and David Baltrus in the University of Arizona College of Agriculture & Life Sciences School of Plant Sciences and the BIO5 Institute, the startup was launched with the help of the university’s commercialization arm Tech Launch Arizona (TLA) to develop and commercialize a harmless bacteria strain to battle bad dog breath. The company has most recently joined UACI at Oro Valley where it is going through a comprehensive incubation program sponsored by the Oro Valley Chamber of Commerce.  

Casey Carrillo, Promoted to Assistant Director

Casey Carrillo has been promoted to Assistant Director for UACI! Carrillo was elevated from Program Manager to Assistant Director for her dedication and commitment to excellence. Carrillo manages UACI’s regional cohort-based programming and Sponsored Launch program which provides scholarships for startups in coordination with community financial support. She also facilitates the American Made Challenge programming in coordination with the Department of Energy and the National Renewable Energy Lab. 

AZ Fast Grant Winners Announced

Congratulations to Arizona Commerce Authority's Federal & State Technology (FAST) Grant awardees, LEMNA LLC, OXbyEL Technologies, TapRoot - Interventions & Solutions, ReSuture, and UACI startups, Consequent Labs, and TheraCea Pharma (also a Tech Launch Arizona/UArizona startup)! The grant enables startups to advance their Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant application process to secure research and innovation resources. Applications for Round 2 are now open!

Life Science Nation Named Reglagene a Company to Watch in 2022

Life Science Nation carefully reviews science and technology startups to compile a list of ten “Companies to Watch in 2022.” UACI startup, Reglagene was selected for excelling in “watch worthy” factors including: “The Founding Scientist, The CEO, The Management Team, Company Milestones and Data, and Entrepreneurial Agency.” Reglagene’s mission is to discover and develop low-cost and noninvasive therapeutic solutions that selectively cause damage in cancer cells while sparing healthy cells, effectively disrupting the chemotherapeutic space. Reglagene was created through Tech Launch Arizona to commercialize discoveries made through UArizona research. 

Black History Month

Have you heard? There is a new resource for Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) entrepreneurs available! Community Investment Corporation (CIC) Tucson in partnership with Startup Tucson and BlaxFriday meet business owners where they are with the goal of helping them take the next big step in their business growth. Learn more about CIC BIPOC Loans BIPOC Loan Program.  

Startup Spotlight: Soulective

Soulective is a community-driven charitable fundraising platform re-inspiring online donations for today's society through blockchain technology. Founded by University of Arizona Alumni Tyler Kalinske and Austin Roy. The co-founders are serving as examples of how asking simple questions can lead to revolutionary solutions.  

InBIA Webinar

Taking Your ESO to the Next Level Workshop

This webinar will teach you how to effectively take a program from the planning phase into long-term sustainability. Eric Smith, Executive Director of the University of Arizona Center for Innovation, will share his expertise, tools, resources and strategies. He’ll explain how to: increase the impact of a program that is already operating, set up an effective leadership structure, deal with leadership issues, understand what it means to go from growing to sustaining, evolve your team with the program, and secure funding in one session.

West Region EnergyTech University Prize

UACI in partnership together with Exponential Impact, Portland State University, University of Washington, and Launch Alaska will be hosting the West Region Explore event. Join us on February 28th as competing teams pitch their business concepts to industry judges.

American Made Office of Technology Transitions EnergyTech University Prize

Sponsored by the Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the EnergyTech University Prize (EnergyTech UP) is a collegiate competition challenging multidisciplinary student teams to develop and present a business plan that leverages DOE national laboratory-developed and other high-potential energy technologies. EnergyTech UP awards cash prizes to teams that successfully identify an energy technology, assess its market potential, and propose a strategy for commercialization.

Sipping on SBIR Success: CATS Tonometer

Learn what it takes to secure Federal funding by speaking directly with someone who knows how to navigate the complex process. On March 10 learn from Nannoon Rosa with CATS Tonometer. CATS Tonometer has received a Phase I ($150K – one year) and a Phase II ($1.1M – three year) SBIR grant from the National Institute of Health. 

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The University of Arizona Center for Innovation (UACI) is a key component of Tech Parks Arizona which brings together university, industry and community to advance technology innovation. UACI is the University of Arizona's startup incubator network with outposts across the Southern Arizona region with a mission to grow scalable startup ventures that fuel the Arizona ecosystem.