Daily Business Report-Aug. 26, 2020
North County Biotech offers short-term and longer-term lab space. (Photos courtesy of the City of Vista)
North County Biotech provides labs for firms
to continue critical research during pandemic
San Diego North Economic Development Council
Vista’s Biotech Incubator is expanding additional lab space to provide biotech companies with extra room for researchers to work in a socially distanced environment.
By allowing access to short term auxiliary space, companies can continue R&D while maintaining their employees. Owners hope to spark a biotech movement to Vista and “cement the city as a life science hot spot.”
Unlike many incubators that have large labs where people share equipment, North County Biotech’s six labs are all individual with dedicated, non-shared equipment, allowing tenants to meet social distancing needs as they conduct research.
“During Covid-19, companies are still doing research, but the problem has been, how do you maintain your research program and the safety of your employees with masks and safe distancing? With other incubators you can’t do that because you’re sharing equipment. Here we have dedicated equipment for each tenant,” said founder Dexter Gaston.
“We have individual, furnished labs with dedicated equipment that would allow companies to use as an auxiliary lab during the pandemic as it provides social distancing and dedicated equipment only touched by that company’s scientists,” said Gaston. “Social distancing would not be possible in an incubator or lab situation where there are multiple companies in the same space using the same equipment.”
Gaston said having dedicated lab space for each tenant also provides additional security for their intellectual property as well as timely use of instrumentation and assurance that another research team has not caused any potential contamination or misuse.
North County Biotech has fully furnished, multi-tenant laboratories, as well as five single-use labs, with a total of over 5,000 square feet of incubator space. The facility — which includes basic equipment for cell culture / drug discovery research — has furnished and customizable laboratory space for short-term leasing. The incubator currently has three tenants using about 3,000 square feet of space.
For more information, contact Dexter Gaston at biotech.incubator@gmail.com or call 760-560-0013.
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Biocom Institute, Illumina and Illumina
Foundation partner to bring genomics
education to the classroom
Biocom Institute, a nonprofit that supports life science innovation, announced a partnership with Illumina and the Illumina Foundation to advance the Illumina Genomic Discoveries Educator Program & Curriculum.
Using Illumina’s latest technologies, the comprehensive program will allow teachers and students the opportunity to learn and connect with the world of genomics.
“Learning how genomics is applied to solve global-scale issues is perhaps more relevant now than ever, as scientists are using genetic sequencing to help combat today’s COVID-19 pandemic,” said Karmin Noar, executive director of the Biocom Institute. “In partnering with both Illumina and the Illumina Foundation, we are making science more accessible and empowering teachers and students to uncover the science of genomics in a hands-on, immersive way.”
Genomic Discoveries offers high school level educators in the San Diego area access to genomics-focused professional development, curriculum and industry connections, with the ultimate goal of inspiring students to pursue careers in the life science industry.
The program kicks off with a five-day professional development workshop, providing teachers with the necessary training to bring this topic and its technology into their classrooms.
The workshop, which is at no charge to teachers, provides instructional guidance on utilizing Illumina’s iSeq 100 sequencing platform and direct connections with Illumina’s scientists and engineers. The first professional development workshop took place on July 27 in a virtual environment, and future sessions will be available for sign-up online. In addition to the workshop, a science educator community of practice is launching, allowing teachers to share best practices, curriculum ideas, and grow their educational networks. Teachers can sign up to participate here.
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Water Authority joins Scripps Institution
of Oceanography to optimize water management
The San Diego County Water Authority is partnering with Scripps Institution of Oceanography to better predict atmospheric rivers and improve water management before, during and after those seasonal storms.
This month, Scripps’ Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes (CW3E) launched the Water Affiliates Group, which brings together cutting-edge science and hands-on water industry experience to enhance reservoir operations in light of the changing climate. The Water Authority has a long-running alliance with Scripps and is among six founding water agencies statewide.
CW3E and its partners will share and support best practices in forecast-informed reservoir operations, increase research around atmospheric rivers and droughts, and develop strategies for mitigating flood risk and increasing water supply reliability.
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FAA seeks white papers on airport
drone detection and mitigation
GovCon Wire
The Federal Aviation Adminitration has issued a call for white papers in an effort to identify companies that build, integrate and market systems or technologies designed to detect unmanned aircraft systems and avoid potential aviation risks from UAS operation.
FAA posted a broad agency announcement for the Airport UAS Detection and Mitigation Research Program on the government’s SAM website and said the solicitation period will be open through November 2024.
The agency indicated its intent to assess the potential of at least 10 platforms to track UAS in civil airport settings.
One of the program’s goals is collecting data to determine the possible safety and operational impacts of such platforms on the National Airspace System.
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Luxury apartment building 625 Broadway
offering 231 new apartments Downtown
Downtown’s newest luxury apartment community, 625 Broadway, announces 231 new apartment homes available for lease.
Formerly known as the Spreckels Building, 625 Broadway was San Diego’s first high-rise building and one of the last buildings constructed by John D. Spreckels in 1926. A reinvention rather than a renovation, the property maintains its historic character while also offering modern touches through luxury appliances and polished fixtures.
The building offers 44 floorplans with studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom options. The loft-style units range from 402 to 1,411 square feet with rental prices beginning at $1,665.
The residents’ lounge is fitted with flat-screen TV’s, classic style ping pong table, and ample space for gathering. Residents can work and exercise in the co-op workspace, state-of-the-art fitness center, private yoga and group fitness studio and indoor Zen Garden.
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Decisive week for California’s battles
against wildfires, pandemic, evictions
Emily Hoeven | CalMatters
This week will be decisive for California’s battles against crises ranging from wildfires to the pandemic to a looming eviction cliff. Here’s a look at what lies ahead.
—Wildfires. More than 14,000 firefighters are fighting about 625 fires, including two of the three largest in California history, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday. Altogether, the fires have killed seven people and destroyed at least 1,200 structures. Cooler and wetter conditions on Sunday gave overworked firefighters a reprieve, though many of California’s 17 major fires saw little containment, and Monday forecasts of lightning strikes and gusty winds could worsen conditions.
Newsom: “This is an important week. The weather, again, continues to be a little unfavorable. … The winds will be very determinative in terms of our ability to suppress these fires.”
—Pandemic. This week, California will release new guidelines for reopening businesses as counties fall off the coronavirus watch list amid an “encouraging” statewide decline in positivity rates, hospitalizations and intensive-care admissions, Newsom said.
The governor declined to provide details on the new guidelines, but said last week that some epidemiologists have advised him to maintain “a little bit more time” — ranging from 14 to 21 days — between sector reopenings to gauge their impact on the virus’ spread.
Such a policy would likely mollify critics who say Newsom opened the economy too quickly last time, while frustrating counties like San Diego and Orange that have pushed for faster reopening timelines.
—Everything else. California lawmakers are rushing to stave off a fast-approaching eviction cliff, weigh proposed police reforms and stimulate the economy — among other things — before the legislative session ends Monday.
Newsom: “We will have a very busy week this week in terms of accommodating everybody’s needs and landing where we hope to collectively land on fundamentally addressing the economic anxiety that exists and persist (sic) in the state.”
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Money’s Top 10 “Best Colleges in America for Your Money”:
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Stanford University
- Princeton University
- University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
- Duke University
- University of Virginia
- Yale University
- Vanderbilt University
- University of California, San Diego
- University of California, Davis
