Biotechnology and Bioscience Non-profit Group to Start in Las Vegas

The Nevada Biotechnology & Biosciences Consortium (NevBio) is having its inaugural luncheon on May 17th at McCormick and Schmick’s restaurant. The speaker will be Dr. Bryan Spangelo of the UNLV Chemistry Department. The title of his speech is “Certain Peptides Can Kill Cancer Cells: Characterization of Thymosin Fraction 5.” You can RSVP to Dr. Jennifer Montague at jmontague@nevbio.org or call her at (702) 869-8830. The cost is $30 which can be paid at the door.

Dr. Jennifer Montague is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of the NevBio, along with John Laub, Steven Zak and Judith Rebholz. The purpose of the NBBC is to foster and support biotechnology and life science-related businesses in Nevada and to promote and elevate the presence of life science research in Nevada.

Dr. Montague believes that there is enough activity in Las Vegas in the fields of biotechnology, medical devices, and life sciences to start bringing scientists, researchers, doctors and companies together to network with one another, with the goal of sharing information, encouraging business development and enhancing scientific investigation. “Las Vegas has several biotechnology companies such as Cardiovascular BioTherapeutics, Inc. and Phage Biotechnology, and several research institutes such as the Nevada Cancer Institute and the Lou Ruvo Brain Institute. In addition, UNLV has started a biotechnology center, Touro University provides a medical campus in Henderson, and The University of Southern Nevada has a pharmacy school. There are also a number of medical device companies, such as Kloehn Ltd and Non-Invasive Medical Technologies, as well, non-profit groups, such as the Regenerative Medicine Organization, are located in Las Vegas. The Regenerative Medicine Organization holds their annual conference in Las Vegas, and many other scientific and medical conferences are held throughout the valley, too. Many other states have an organization that provides a voice to those in the biotechnology and bioscience fields. It’s time for Nevada to have one too,” said Dr. Montague.

Dr. Montague went on to say, “through the NevBio, we plan to create forums in which different groups can exchange ideas that will move Nevada forward in the field of biotechnology and life sciences research. We also plan to work with our local universities to enhance the knowledge transfer to the community, which will help create new companies and new partnership opportunities for existing Nevada companies. In addition, the NevBio will provide a centralized data resource for all health science-related research entities and companies in Nevada. Another one of our goals is to promote the study and understanding of science for all Nevadans, with an emphasis on elementary, middle, and high school students.” Dr. Montague would like to see anyone who shares these goals to join her at the inaugural meeting on May 17th. You can reach her at jmontague@nevbio.org or (702) 869-8830.