Clemson University startup company earning rave reviews for improving implant sensors

Innovation and expertise are two major strengths behind Aravis BioTech, a startup headed in part by Jeffrey Anker of the College of Science and John DesJardins of the College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences, as well as Dr. Caleb Behrend, an orthopedic surgeon in Arizona specializing in the spine. The team is developing screws used in orthopedic surgery that employ easy-to-use sensors to determine the status of fracture healing. This, in turn, helps physicians know when patients can safely apply weight to their healing fracture.

Aravis BioTech is one of three finalists for the InnoVision Technology Development Award. Read more here.

Clemson University researchers create cutting-edge solutions to COVID-19

A new Clemson University lab that researchers are calling “a cutting-edge solution to help fight COVID-19” could be stocked with 13 sample-handling robots and have a staff of about 50 students fully trained as early as November. The COVID-19 Clinical Diagnostics Lab started off by testing the saliva of athletes and Tiger Band members and is now poised to broaden testing across campus. Once fully operational, the lab will be able to test 5,000 samples daily and return results the same day. 

The lab is overseen by Delphine Dean, the Ron and Jane Lindsay Professor of Bioengineering, with the help of Mark Blenner, the McQueen Quattlebaum Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering. The University received a commitment of $6.9 million through Gov. Henry McMaster and the state’s Joint Bond Review Committee to assist in the development and expansion of the lab. Read more the lab here.

• SC-TRIMH (The South Carolina Translational Research Improving Musculoskeletal Health) will host Zoom interest meetings on Nov. 16 and Nov. 19 at 4 p.m. SC-TRIMH is looking for Clemson faculty who would like mentoring to become established National Institutes of Health principal investigators. More information here.
• Nov. 18 - The Addiction Research Collaborative meeting will feature a presentation from Taylor Beachler, MPH, who will speak on "Building a Taskforce to Combat the Opioid Epidemic: Lessions Learned from a Rural Community." The meeting will be held from 12:30-1:30 p.m. ZOOM LINK: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85384870678 ZOOM PASSWORD: Collab
• The 2020-2021 Office of Creative Inquire & Undergraduate Research Seminar Series is held every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month at 11 a.m. This series is designed to offer opportunities and topics to assist students interested in or currently engaged in research, inquiry, creative, or other academic engagement experiences. More information here.