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May 2013

Governor Cuomo Unveils Initiative to Transform University Communities into Magnets for New Businesses and Investment

May-22-2013 — Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today unveiled "Tax-Free NY," a game-changing initiative that will transform SUNY campuses and university communities across the state into tax-free communities that attract start-ups, venture capital, new business, and investments from across the world.

FedEx Ground-Breaking Gives Region Bragging Rights

May-14-2013 — FedEx Trade Networks began construction Tuesday on its new distribution center in the Town of Tonawanda, giving hope to local development officials that the company’s expansion will boost to the Buffalo Niagara region’s efforts to become a distribution and logistics hub.

Materials Testing Company Moves Headquarters to Buffalo

May-13-2013 — A company that developed sensors and software used to test materials and components in the aerospace, defense and energy industries has moved its headquarters from Idaho to Buffalo, bringing 10 jobs to this area with the potential for many more, officials said Friday.

Robert Moses Rehab to Connect Tourists to N.F.

May-08-2013 — After years of wishful thinking, a one-mile stretch of the Robert Moses Parkway leading directly to Niagara Falls may get a makeover that makes it more tourist and pedestrian-friendly.

Internet Sales Tax Easily Passes Senate; Tougher Fight Ahead in House

May-07-2013 — Sales taxes are coming to most Internet purchases, if the Senate has its way.

Training Workers to Meet the Future of Manufacturing

May-03-2013 — With nearly one of every three local factory jobs expected to come open within the next seven years, local development officials on Wednesday took a major step toward laying the groundwork toward ensuring that local workers will be able to fill those jobs when they open up.

Grants Flow to Dozen Roswell Park Researchers

May-02-2013 — Researchers at Roswell Park Cancer Institute have received new grant funding exceeding $3.3 million.

April 2013

UB's NYS Center of Excellence in Materials Informatics: Innovation Snapshot

May-14-2013 — A machine learning system that can automatically scan through millions of scientific articles and answer critical questions for materials discovery. “Smart windows” that block heat when it is warm outside and let in heat when it is cold

Human Genome, Then and Now

Apr-26-2013 — Eight years of work, thousands of researchers around the world, $1 billion spent — and finally it was done. On April 14, 2003, a decade ago this week, scientists announced that they had completed the Human Genome Project, compiling a list of the three billion letters of genetic code that make up what they considered to be a sort of everyperson’s DNA.

Groundbreaking on Two Big Projects in Buffalo

Apr-26-2013 — State and local officials broke ground on two major projects in the City of Buffalo.

Understanding How Diseases Spread Between Species

Apr-26-2013 — HWI Research Scientists Tim Umland and Wayne Schultz have recently received a 3-year (with an option to extend to a total of 5 years), $1.1M grant from the Department of Defense to study the relationship between conserved protein-protein interactions and successful host-range expansion.

Selling Buffalo Bio to the world

Apr-26-2013 — It's not unusual for a team of Buffalo-based institutions and companies to attend the world's biggest biotech conference, the BIO International Convention, which is in Chicago and runs from April 22 to 25. But things are markedly different this year because they'll be waving their own banner, "Buffalo Niagara BIO," after years of participating in the "New York Loves BIO" campaign.

Buffalo Niagara Sends contingent to Global BIO Convention

Apr-23-2013 — A contingent including representatives from 12 area life-sciences companies and the major institutions on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus is in Chicago this week for the BIO International Convention.

U.S. Manufacturing Resurgent, Advocate Says

Apr-15-2013 — The AAM, a group founded in 2007 by labor and business, aims to bolster U.S.-based manufacturing. Paul, a 46-year-old Indiana native, visited Buffalo for a town hall-style meeting last week, and discussed in an interview why he believes U.S. manufacturing is strengthening:

New UB Medical School is designed to be an integral part of its community

Apr-15-2013 — The rapidly changing landscape of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus was filled in a bit more last week, and when it’s complete it should rival in design and layout any medical complex in the country.

Canadians Now Developing U.S. Side of the Falls

Apr-09-2013 — Three groups of big-name investors – some who shaped the Canadian skyline more than a decade ago – have been scooping up hotels in Niagara Falls, N.Y., turning them around and injecting some $100 million in new investment into the city.

Blue Jays GM Already Familiar with Buffalo

Apr-09-2013 — Thursday’s home opener marked the first regular season game the Bisons played under their new Triple-A baseball affiliation pact with the Blue Jays. Anthopoulos drove down from Toronto along with a host of other Blue Jays officials and scouts to check it out.

Polymer Conversions Initiates Western New York Healthcare Trust

Apr-01-2013 — In an effort to save money and consolidate finances, eight manufacturing companies located in Western New York have formed a health insurance consortium with leadership from MedTech member, Polymer Conversions.

Rail Station to be Medical Campus Gateway

Apr-01-2013 — UB's planned downtown medical school will also assume a role assigned to few – if any – medical schools around the world: It will incorporate Metro Rail's current Allen/Medical Campus Station onto its ground floor, providing a crucial role for the Buffalo subway as a gateway to the new Medical Campus.

March 2013

Buffalo Jumps Back Into Top 40 in National Economic Rankings

Apr-09-2013 — Buffalo is climbing back up in the national economic rankings. The March edition of the On Numbers Economic Index, which was released this morning, ranks Buffalo 39th among 102 major markets in terms of economic vitality.

It’s all about passion for Yahoo’s CFO

Mar-28-2013 — The financial chief of Yahoo told local technology entrepreneurs Wednesday that being passionate and offering unique and compelling services can put their Web-based startups on the path to success.

UB Catalyst Fund rewards researchers

Mar-28-2013 — UB recently announced the second round of project awards through the Catalyst Fund, bringing the total disbursement to nearly $450,000, according to a UB release.

Effort to Bring Canadian Companies to WNY Paying Off

Mar-28-2013 — Effort to Bring Canadian Companies to WNY Paying Off

Greatbatch is taking the lead on medical devices

Mar-26-2013 — The bulk of the battery and medical device maker’s business historically has come from the batteries and other components it makes for medical devices, such as pacemakers and implantable cardiac defibrillators that help manage the rhythm of a person’s heartbeat.

Millard Fillmore Suburban marks robotic surgery milestone

Mar-26-2013 — Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital on Monday marked its 1,000th robot-assisted surgery case with an open house for visitors to see and hear about the device.

Pioneering doctors here use new devices, techniques on severely clogged arteries

Mar-26-2013 — Advocates say the procedure offers a minimally invasive alternative to potentially tens of thousands of patients including individuals who want an alternative to surgery, others who are considered too risky for bypass operations, and still others whose surgically repaired arteries have reclogged.

IDA Hears Growth Plan for Holiday Valley Site

Mar-25-2013 — Holiday Valley’s parent company, Win Sum Ski Corp., unveiled plans for the next phase of development at the popular ski resort to the Cattaraugus County Industrial Development Agency on Friday.

National Grid Lends Hand to GM Tonawanda Upgrade

Mar-25-2013 — National Grid has awarded General Motors Co. Tonawanda Engine Plant a $50,000 Power Quality Enhancement Program grant, which will be used to increase productivity by improving the reliability and consistency of their electric power supply.

Med Campus Innovation Center adds 2 companies

Mar-22-2013 — Two spin-off companies from Roswell Park Cancer Institute — Tartis Aging Inc. and OncoTartis Inc. — are set to become the Thomas R. Beecher Jr., Innovation Center’s newest tenants.

Launch New York gets not-for-profit status

Mar-22-2013 — The Internal Revenue Service has approved the not-for-profit status of a venture development organization led by the University at Buffalo, a move that allows the program to begin investing in promising new technologies this year.

Robotic surgery training curriculum effective way to train surgeons

Mar-22-2013 — Researchers from Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) and four collaborating institutions have evaluated the effectiveness of a novel curriculum to safely train surgeons on the da Vinci Surgical System, which is used to perform robot-assisted surgeries. Results, published in Urology, showed that participants trained in the curriculum executed key skills with greater precision than those who did not receive training.

Peek inside Oishei Children's Hospital

Mar-22-2013 — Big plans are in store for a new hospital in Buffalo. We got a sneak peek at what Oishei Children's Hospital will look like from the inside.

Yahoo! to Hire 115 for Second Data Center, Call Center in Lockport

Mar-22-2013 — For the second time in four years, state agencies and the Town of Lockport are teaming up to produce a giant incentive package for another data center to be built by Internet giant Yahoo in May.

New Use for GM Engine

Mar-21-2013 — A new engine being made at the General Motors Town of Tonawanda engine plant will be available on the 2014 Cadillac CTS sedan, GM said.

Downtown Living: Medical Campus Connection?

Mar-19-2013 — From the vistas of the ever expanding Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus to the early Friday happy hour crowd at the Michael A's bar in the Hotel @ Lafayette, there's a feeling that seems to be "building downtown" with more people who are recuited to work at the campus moving in to downtown. 

Manufacturing a New Direction Employers Using Insyte Consulting to Guide Improvements

Mar-18-2013 — “Manufacturers are still investing in themselves in Western New York,” Rand said. “I think a lot of people believe manufacturing’s left the U.S., that this is all in China now somehow. And the reality is that we’re still far and away the No. 1 manufacturing economy in the world. And even in Western New York, you’ve got a lot of manufacturers who are still investing and growing and doing well.”

FedEx Building $5.2 Million Facility in Tonawanda

Mar-18-2013 — FedEx Trade Networks Transport and Brokerage will invest $5.2 million in a new facility in the Town of Tonawanda that is expected to create 82 jobs, state economic development officials said.

Agreement Reached in Pre-Clearance of Trucks at Peace Bridge

Mar-14-2013 — American-bound cargo traffic could be cleared on the Canadian side of the Peace Bridge as early as next year under an agreement between the Canadian and U.S. governments finalized today.

Colorful Manufacturing Work by UB Team Recognized

Mar-14-2013 — Researchers at the University at Buffalo has received national recognition from a manufacuturing group for a rainbow filter technology.

Genesee County Feasting on Yogurt Plants

Mar-11-2013 — Muller Quaker Dairy’s yogurt plant, a $206 million investment, is on track to open this summer in the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park.

UB Bioinformatics site welcomes Tonus

Mar-05-2013 — Tonus Therapeutics has opened its headquarters in the University at Buffalo’s New York Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences.

UB granted $2.5M for image technology research

Mar-05-2013 — A University at Buffalo researcher has received a four-year, $2.5 million federal grant to continue developing technology within a new class of image detectors.

UB Goes to great Lengths to Recruit Top Medical Talent to Buffalo

Mar-05-2013 — Recruiting top doctors and medical researchers to Buffalo is not unlike the Bills or Sabres going after blue-chip free agents.

International Partnership to Train and Educate Future Nanotechnologists in Zimbabwe

Mar-05-2013 — The Hon. Professor Heneri Dzinotyiweyi, Zimbabwe minister of science and technology development, visited Buffalo on Feb. 19 to tour two UB research facilities and discuss the vision and implementation strategy for the Zimbabwe International Nanotechnology Center (ZINC) with officials from UB, its primary academic partner.

Hauptman-Woodward Researchers Granted $1.1M for Virus Study

Mar-05-2013 — Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute researchers will use a new $1.1 million federal grant to advance their work into how cross-species diseases jump between hosts.

Buffalo: booming with startups

Mar-05-2013 — 54-hour crash course Startup Weekend attracted an ever-growing entrepreneurial community to grow a business just 3 days.

UB helps life sciences company QuaDPharma grow

Mar-05-2013 — Stephen Panaro, a chemist from Western New York, was working for Contract Pharmaceuticals Limited (CPL) in 2010 when the Canadian company announced plans to shut down Buffalo-based operations.

WNY cheesemaker could triple its plant size and double its workforce

Mar-01-2013 — The cheesemaker is working with the Genesee County Economic Development Center and Empire State Development Corp. on a proposed expansion plan that could see its main plant grow more than three-fold.

February 2013

Rigged Marketplace at the Heart of U.S.

Feb-13-2013 — Nearly two years after Finance Minister Jim Flaherty urged the Senate to get to the bottom of the often-vast gap between what Canadians and Americans pay for the same consumer products, the official answer is that it’s a conundrum.

Genesee Yogurt Maker Headed School Menus

Feb-11-2013 — The recently-opened Alpina Foods plant in Batavia may soon see a boost in orders by providing products to schools.

Upstate New York, Yogurt Hotbed

Feb-08-2013 — Once a niche business, Greek yogurt now accounts for 36 percent of the $6.5 billion in total U.S. yogurt sales, according to investment firm AllianceBernstein (AB). Upstate New York, with its 28 plants owned by Chobani, Fage, Yoplait maker General Mills (GIS), and others, has become something like the Silicon Valley of yogurt.

Kinex begins overseas cancer testing

Feb-05-2013 — A Buffalo pharmaceutical company has begun clinical trials in Korea, with the first patient enrolled in a study to treat solid tumors.

UB researcher receives funding to fight pediatric ear infections

Feb-05-2013 — A new $1.5 million federal grant will help researchers at the University at Buffalo advance the development of a vaccine to fight children’s ear infections.

AirSep exec wins National Medal of Technology and Innovation

Feb-05-2013 — Norman McCombs, a University at Buffalo alumnus and executive at Amherst-based AirSep Corp., has been awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, the U.S. government’s highest honor for technological achievement.

A cluster of high-tech firms has quietly taken root on Grand Island

Feb-05-2013 — One of the area’s major clusters of life sciences and chemical companies isn’t located downtown on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, and it isn’t found near the University at Buffalo’s Amherst campus.

UB awarded fed funding for diabetes research

Feb-05-2013 — A new federal grant will advance diabetes research at the University at Buffalo.

Medical School to develop tools for cloud-based simulations of patient visits

Feb-05-2013 — The American Medical Association is providing funding to support the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and other institutions in a national consortium to develop simulated, interactive “encounters” with virtual patients to supplement the education of students in the third year of medical school.

Personalized medicine offers glimpse into the future

Feb-05-2013 — “Personalized medicine will change how we view medicine and oncology. You are going to see cancers classified by their mutations instead of the organ where they originated,” said Dr. Candace Johnson, deputy director of Roswell Park.

January 2013

National Grid Rate Proposal Praised by Business Groups

Jan-25-2013 — National Grid got rave reviews Thursday afternoon from business groups for its proposed three-year rate agreement that would increase the company’s revenues but still lead to lower bills for its customers.

WNY Commercial Real Estate Market Shows Improvement

Jan-17-2013 — Western New York’s commercial real estate market is improving once again, as retail, office and industrial vacancies fall, while the multifamily housing market continues its climb back to pre-recession levels, according to the annual MarketView reports by brokerage firm CBRE.

The Process of Food

Jan-07-2013 — From taste to cost - and from farms to refrigerators - the food processing industry has several back - end considerations that need to be addressed before anything tasty winds up on your plate.

2013 Federal Tax Rate Update

Jan-07-2013 — After months of fiscal cliff negotiations, Congress finally reached an agreement to address the tax rate increases that were scheduled to take effect automatically on January 1, 2013

Former Spaulding Fibre site Ready for Prime Time

Jan-04-2013 — Thanks to a cadre of funding sources, Erie County and other organizations – such as New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Empire State Development Corp., federal Housing and Urban Development allocations made to the county, National Grid and the City of Tonawanda – the plant property has been reborn as a shovel-ready development site. It is now Spaulding Business Park.

Tonus Therapeutics newsest med campus tenant

Jan-03-2013 — Tonus Therapeutics develops drugs that target “mechanosensitive ion channels, which are tiny conduits that help control the flow of important substances, such as calcium, into cells,” according to a UB news release.

UB touts seven new tenants at incubators

Jan-03-2013 — The University at Buffalo made note of seven new tenants at its business incubators in 2012

M&T Bank donations support SUNY Fredonia Technology Incubator, scholarships

Jan-03-2013 — M&T Bank is continuing its longstanding support of SUNY Fredonia with two substantial gifts, made through the Fredonia College Foundation, to benefit the SUNY Fredonia Technology Incubator and the Keeper of the Dream Scholarship and Leadership program.

Work by UB, Amherst firm could expand area’s biotech industry

Jan-03-2013 — Researchers at the University at Buffalo and IMMCO Diagnostics of Amherst say it may be possible to diagnose Sjogren’s earlier.

Pharmacy Opens on the BNMC

Jan-03-2013 — Mobile Pharmacy Solutions (MPS), located in the Innovation Center at 644 Ellicott Street, is a convenient pharmacy option on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus for the entire community.

BNMC Work Begins with Conventus

Jan-03-2013 — Fencing went up, and construction is expected to begin soon on a major medical office building on the block bounded by Main, High, Ellicott and Goodrich streets.

Hutch-Tech alumni come home to help their roots

Jan-03-2013 — Rodolph and Phelps are helping to ensure students at Hutchinson-Central Technical High School and 11 other Buffalo Public Schools will keep pace with what’s happening outside their classrooms, as part of a new program that transforms how science is taught in the district.

Personalized medicine offers glimpse into the future

Jan-03-2013 — “Personalized medicine will change how we view medicine and oncology. You are going to see cancers classified by their mutations instead of the organ where they originated,” said Dr. Candace Johnson, deputy director of Roswell Park.