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KansasBio eNews
Volume 1, Issue 5
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 President's
Message
From Angela Kreps,
KansasBio President
Thank you to the
more than 200 stakeholders who attended
the first-ever Kansas Day of Innovation
in Wichita. KansasBio was thrilled
to host a forum during dinner to highlight
"the State of the Bioscience
State" in Kansas! Our panelists
addressed bioscience topics ranging
from animal health and plant science
to ethanol and human life science
-- plus a focus on the state's efforts
to push forward the growth of the
bioscience industry in Kansas. More...
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Junction
City Reaps in Benefits of BIO 2006
 BIO
2006 in Chicago was a rewarding experience
for the Junction City-Geary County Economic
Development.
There they were able to connect with Scott
Deeter, President & CEO of Ventria Bioscience.
A meeting, which would eventually lead to
Ventria Bioscience choosing to build a bioprocessing
facility in Junction City.
"Meeting Scott in Chicago was paramount
in getting Ventria to Junction City,"
said Josh McKim, Director of the Junction
City Geary County Economic Development.
"After our initial meeting in Chicago,
I was then able to contact him and begin
discussions on what Junction City had to
offer. "
"The
bioprocessing facility is an exciting opportunity
for new jobs in Junction City and is expected
to contribute $40 million to the Kansas
economy by the time it is fully operational,”
said Junction City Mayor Terry Heldstab.
The
bioprocessing facility will process a variety
of rice developed by Ventria. Proteins extracted
from the rice will be incorporated into
oral rehydration solutions to address childhood
diarrhea.
Click
here to learn more about Ventria and
the bioprocessing facility in Junction City.
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Kansas
Bioscience Authority names Thomas Thornton
as first President & CEO
 Clay
Blair, chairman of the Kansas Bioscience
Authority (KBA), announced the appointment
of Thomas Thornton as the first President
and Chief Executive Officer of the KBA.
Thornton was selected after an extensive
national search of candidates with strong
backgrounds in both business and economic
development.
KBA was created by the
Kansas Economic Growth Act of 2004 and serves
as the lead organization for achieving the
key goals of the Act: creating a world-class
bioscience industry in Kansas by fostering
the growth of bioscience in the state, by
making Kansas a national leader in bioscience,
and by making Kansas a desirable location
for bioscience organizations to locate and
grow. More... |
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KansasBio Speaker Series: "Discover
Today's BIG Thinkers" -- Dr. Bill Neaves
Dr. Bill
Neaves, President and Chief Executive Officer
of the Stowers
Institute for Medical Research in Kansas
City, MO, will speak to the KansasBio Board
Members and guests, November 13, 2006.
Dr. Neaves
will speak following the KansasBio Annual
meeting, which will take place at the KSU
Almni Center in Manhattan, Kan. We hope
to have record attendance at the meeting!
All are welcome
to attend.
Click
here for more information and to register. |
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"State
of the Bioscience State" Addresses
Topics
 The
KansasBio "State of the Bioscience
State," was the finale for the
"Kansas Day of Innovation,"
on September 7, 2006 in Wichita.
The KansasBio "State of the Bioscience
State," featured a panel discussion
with topics ranging from ethanol and
plant-made pharmaceuticals to nutrogenomics
and innovative vaccines. More than
250 guests attended the event.
Panelists included:
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State Fair Forum:
"Growing Our Future with Agriculture
& Biotechnology"
KansasBio hosted a public information forum
Friday, September 8, 12:00 p.m., at the
Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson, Kan.
The panel
of agricultural and bioscience leaders discussed
the biosciences and the industry impact
on the future of the Kansas agricultural
community. The public forum panel included
industry experts, plus state officials and
leading scientists from Kansas research
universities.
Click
here to learn more about the panelists.
Click
here to listen to the forum.
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Workforce
Development: KansasBio Partners to Lead
Efforts
KansasBio is working in partnership with
several groups across the state to assist
in workforce development. This is a critically
important area that continues to impact
both existing bioscience companies, as well
as companies who are looking to grow in
Kansas.
KansasBio is working directly
with Dr. Luanne Wolfgram at Johnson
County Community College, in conjunction
with the Perkins Leadership and Wired grants
to assess industry needs. Along with insight
from members, SAFC,
MRI,
Bayer,
Hill's,
Flax
Biotech, Beckloff
Associates, PRL
and Nanoscale
Materials, we are in dialogue with academic
and state partners, including the Kansas
Department of Commerce, to further engage
the voice of the industry in this critical
area.
Dr. Wolfgram will be conducting
a survey to assess current and future position
requirements, skills and competencies, and
related human resource strategy information
to help with cirriculum and development
for the future workforce in the bioscience
industry.
The
Kansas
Bioscience And Innovation Roadmap also
reflected focus on workforce development
initiatives. Our Workforce Development Task
Force is directly addressing issues from
within the industry. If you are interested
in being a part of the task force, please
contact Angela
Kreps at 913.495.4334.
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President
Angela Kreps Speaks at wKREDA Quarterly
Meeting
President Angela Kreps
had the pleasure to speak to the Western
Kansas Rural Economic Development Association
(wKREDA) September 20-21. The large
group met for the quarterly meeting in Hugoton.
At the two-day meeting, attendees had the
opportunity to visit local companies,including:
BCI Manufacturing, Great Plains Gas Compression,
and the Northwest Cotton Growers Coop Gin.
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latest KansasBio information and program announcements. |
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Plant-made
pharmaceuticals (PMPs) are an application of biotechnology
that enables plants to produce specific types
of proteins for use in medical foods and pharmaceuticals.
In this process, plants themselves become "factories"
that manufacture specific proteins.The raw materials
are sunlight, water and soil nutrients and the
plant becomes the factory to convert these raw
materials into beneficial proteins. These proteins
are then extracted & formulated into medical
foods orpharmaceuticals.
