ASU professor Wayne D. Frasch, Ph.D. was named the 2015 Arizona Bioscience Researcher of the Year for his DNA profiling technology.
“The Arizona Bioscience Researcher of the Year Award is our industry’s way of recognizing the amazing work happening here in Arizona,” President and CEO of AZBio Joan Koerber-Walker said. “Nominations are collected statewide from our universities, hospitals, and research centers. With the depth of talent here in Arizona, the body of work was impressive.”
Attometrics, Frasch’s company behind DNA profiling technology, is capable of detecting protein molecules that indicate disease or cancer. The process takes as little as 30 minutes, compared to six days for most tests.
Frasch and Attometrics is currently adapting the technology to detect bacterial contamination in water supplies with support from Dow Chemical and Arizona Commerce Authority.
“With 10,000-fold improvement compared to current approaches in the ability to detect cancer-related proteins, Dr. Frasch’s technology has the potential to provide earlier diagnoses and thus earlier intervention,” AZBio president and CEO Joan Koerber-Walker said.
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Attometrics’ patented technology detects proteins, DNA and metabolites in much smaller amounts than currently possible with other methods.
Frasch is a professor and faculty leader of the Biomedicine and Biotechnology group at ASU’s School of Life Sciences. He will be honored at the AZBio Awards Gala at the Phoenix Convention Center October 1.
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Photos courtesy of ASU
