Category: Highlight Stories

For over four decades, Cynthia Tsai Ekberg has been a trailblazer in the world of tech, bioscience, and entrepreneurship. From her early days on Wall Street to her new appointment as the President of the Montana Bioscience Alliance, Cynthia’s journey is a testament to resilience, innovation, and a commitment to fostering growth.

Students network with Montana biotech employers during the inaugural University of Montana Biotech Career Expo at Missoula College on February 15, 2024, co-hosted by the Montana High Tech Business Alliance, University of Montana College of Business, University of Montana College of Humanities and Sciences, and Missoula College.

Amber Freed was like any mother looking for answers. Her twins – born in 2017 – were still babies when she and her husband noticed Maxwell wasn’t advancing at the same pace as his sister, Riley. The doctors tried to reassure the family, but Freed knew there was something wrong. Soon the doctors did, too.

While the linguistic feats of ChatGPT and other chatbots have been capturing headlines, researchers at Montana State University have been steadily advancing another, more ordinary — and potentially life-saving — application of artificial intelligence: helping to diagnose and treat prostate cancer.

Frederic has been fighting cancer since 2017, when it was finally discovered, but it was not too early. He claims that as an entrepreneur he endured a series of health issues, but that these inspired him to launch Alercell, a company dedicated to the early detection of cancer. His new mission in life is to reform cancer detection practices at Alercell so that patients can avoid grueling treatment if the disease is detected at an early stage.

In this modern, ever-growing competitive era, most businesses tend to overlook one of the most significant aspects of their organization i.e., the people. Without question, they are the foundation of any business and carry the potential to take it to the zenith of success.

Cynthia Tsai, CEO of Tana Systems & Healthquest, stands out as a global leader who believes that the road to excellent global leadership cements on forming personal connections with the people along with a personal commitment to exploration and curiosity.

Although you may not consider Montana a center of biotechnology, Golden Helix has proven time and again how they are able to expand their influence and impact on the biotech community amid the scenic Northwest. The software company is a leader in Next-Gen Sequencing DNA software and supports the creation of clinical reports in the cancer and inherited disease spaces. Their technologies and analytics continue to empower scientists and healthcare professionals to derive meaning from their vast amounts of data. Here is how Golden Helix got to where it is today and where they plan on going.

Just like guitarists can simply say Gibson, or Fender, or Martin to instantly signal rock star quality, most businesses hope for a one-word brand that can sum up their company. It turns out there is a quantum equivalent. After over a decade of service to the academic community and pioneering work done to help the emerging quantum ecosystem, Montana Instruments has earned that rock star status among deep tech researchers.

Montana State University will play a leading role in improving medical care and public health across the Northwest through collaborative research as part of a partnership with one of the nation’s top medical schools that is backed by a new $63 million grant.

Golden Helix is laser-focused on providing innovative NGS analysis software to their customers. Founded in 1998, they have been at the forefront of the genomic revolution while empowering the world’s top clinicians and researchers to derive meaning from their increasing volume of genetic data. As reported in a recent article in CIO Views, the company is also recognized as a top biotech company worldwide, equally as dedicated to fostering a healthy workplace and supporting each of their employees.