Grants Fund CSU Training, Educational Specialty to Expedite Research Breakthroughs to Marketplace and Care for Animals

Colorado State University recently was awarded two grants from the Metro Denver Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development, or WIRED, Initiative. The grants will support training to move biomedical research into the marketplace and to care for animals involved in research.

The university was awarded a one-year, $99,000 grant to establish a center that will help local businesses develop medications, vaccines and diagnostic tests from their research. The grant will help students, professors and industry scientists learn about and comply with regulatory and product development involved in bringing inventions to market. The Regional Training Center for Product Translation will provide educational and job placement opportunities.

"We are pleased to establish a center that will play an important role in fostering and enabling innovation and entrepreneurship that will lead to positive impacts on the health of people and animals in our nation and across the globe," said Bill Farland, vice president for Research at Colorado State.

Partners in the center include the Larimer Bioscience Initiative, the Colorado Bioscience Association, Amgen Corporation, AlloSource, Inviragen, Kelly Scientific Resources and the Larimer County Workforce Center.

In addition to expediting product development from local businesses, the center will help develop products based on research out of the university. Colorado State is home to the Infectious Disease and Cancer Superclusters and the Rocky Mountain Center of Excellence for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Disease Research. The Rocky Mountain Center of Excellence is a collaborative research center among seven Western states funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, or NIAID, part of the National Institutes of Health.

The university also is part of a $260,000 WIRED grant awarded to Front Range Community College to train technicians in caring for research animals such as laboratory mice. The program will help students and professionals interested in specializing in research or animal care careers and will offer training and hands-on experience. A research animal specialty certificate and a two-year degree will be offered via courses from both Colorado State and FRCC. The program will be one of only a few educational specialties available in the country.

Companies offering internships through the new program include the Colorado Animal Research Enterprises, High Quality Research LLC., National Jewish Hospital and Respiratory Center, the university’s Agricultural Research, Development and Education Center and Lamar Research Feedlot. Partners in the grant are Larimer County Work Force, Northern Colorado Development Corporation, the Mile High Branch of American Association for Laboratory Animal Science, Larimer County Biosciences Cluster and the Poudre and Thompson Valley school districts.

Colorado State is the home of internationally recognized biomedical research programs including the Infectious Disease Supercluster, Cancer Supercluster, Animal Cancer Center and Rocky Mountain Center of Excellence.

The Regional Training Center for Product Translation will offer introductory courses in translational sciences focused on product development and commercialization process. The WIRED grant funds three courses in basic product translation and Food and Drug Agency regulations, pre-clinical trial design and current topics in pharmaceutical manufacturing. In the future, these courses will be offered online through Colorado State’s Continuing Education Department.

Businesses or researchers interested in participating in the educational opportunities provided by the Regional Training Center for Product Translation should contact Deanna Scott at (970) 491-8685 or Deanna.Scott@colostate.edu or Becky Rivoire at (970) 491-4893 or Becky.Rivoire@colostate.edu.

For more information in research animal technology training, contact Phyllis Abt at Front Range Community College at (970) 204-8363 or Phyllis.abt@frontrange.edu or Lynne Kesel at Colorado State University at (970) 491-3288 or lynne.kesel@colostate.edu.

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