Bitterroot College, Bitterroot Health partner on health care workforce

Health care is Montana’s largest industry and is projected to experience more job growth than any other industry in the state over the next eight years. However, with the State employment rate hovering around 2.6%, health care facilities are facing extreme workforce shortages. Because of this high demand for health care workers, Bitterroot Health and Bitterroot College are partnering to address these workforce issues through innovation and collaboration.

Tonix Pharmaceuticals Announces Collaboration with Boston Children’s Hospital

Montana’s Tonix Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, announced that it has entered into a sponsored research agreement with Boston Children’s Hospital to study TNX-15001 (Fc-modified anti-CD40L mAb) for the prevention of graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT) in animals.

$5M funding, new UM research office to boost Montana rural health

The University of Montana recently secured $5.1 million in federal grants from the Health Resource and Service Administration, leading to the formation of a new UM Office of Health Research & Partnership. The office will use the HRSA funding for programs to bolster the health care workforce and increase access to quality health care in rural and underserved parts of Montana.

MSU Billings professor pioneers ALS research with undergraduate students

MSU Associate Professor of Molecular Biology Lynn George, Ph.D., was recently awarded a National Institutes of Health Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. This three-year, $385,000 grant will support George’s efforts to continue and expand her research on Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. George’s grant proposal scored in the top one percentile, which is laudable, given the highly competitive nature of NIH funding.