NCBiotech Awards $2.2 Million in Grants, Loans in Latest Quarter | North Carolina Biotechnology Center
Summary
These internships provide real-world work experience that helps students transition to careers in North Carolinas life sciences sector while participating companies gain valuable assistance with a broad range of product and business development activities.Six universities received 14 FLASH Grants totaling $346,699. East Carolina University (ECU) received $27,500 to collect crucial proof-of-concept efficacy data for a novel, sustainable pesticide to address the unmet need of protecting honeybees from the parasitic Varroa mite and pathogenic viruses. UNC Greensboro received $27,500 to investigate the use of legume plants, which form symbioses with rhizobia bacteria to capture and fix atmospheric nitrogen, as an environmentally friendly and cost-effective biofertilizer in forest ecosystems, such as longleaf pine savannas. Duke University received $150,000 for its Shared Materials Instrumentation Facility to support the purchase of a high-speed module for its existing atomic force microscope, providing additional capabilities for characterizing the structure and dynamics of biomolecules and cells. NC State received $116,268 to support the purchase of a multi-camera array microscope that will facilitate high-throughput screening of zebra fish, a model species used for immunology, toxicology, neurology and developmental biology studies.