Access and Innovation: Georgia Bio Recommits to Industry as a new c6 & New GRA CEO Opens the 2023 Georgia Life Sciences Summit

Mainstage at the GA Life Sciences Summit

Having recently renewed our commitment to advocating for, educating and connecting our member enterprises and stakeholders, the 2023 Georgia Life Sciences Summit by Georgia Bio brought more than 300 members of the ecosystem together in Sandy Springs on November 1st.

We reconnected with friends and colleagues, made new connections, learned from academic, industry and elected leaders, shared news and awarded both the [early stage] Company Showcase Winners and the Anthony Shucker Scientific Poster Winners. 

Our CEO Maria Thacker Goethe reinforced a statement made during the October virtual town hall , as a 501c6, Georgia Bio can be more politically active and allows for future creation of a political action committee. The organization is the sole Georgia representative to the life science sector and an official partner to the national Bioscience Industry Organization and AdvaMed, which means practical discounts for purchasing programs, but also provision of a connection to federal government affairs representation to those sectors. 

Session by session, we offer the following highlights from our colleague Paul Snyder.

Introducing the new CEO at the Georgia Research Alliance

Mainstage at the GA Life Sciences Summit

In literally his first day on the job, Timothy Denning, President and CEO of the Georgia Research Alliance introduced himself and highlighted its impact in the life science innovation ecosystem with the following statistics: 87% of GRA funded startups are still in business four years hence – the national average is just 44%. Further every $1 invested by GRA through its commercialization funding programs has returned $19 in follow on investment in or by those portfolio companies.

Mr. Denning specifically pointed to GRA life science portfolio companies Micron Biomedical (microneedle drug delivery) and EarliTec (early diagnosis of autism) as standouts for what’s possible when marshaling the right resources in promising technologies brought forth by the state’s universities, its faculty, investigators and researchers. 

Scientific Poster Award Winners

We also congratulate the Anthony Shuker Scientific Poster Award Winners and thank our judges Stacy Shuker Reece, Rick Hillstead and Jamie Graham. Thank you to all the applicants. View a list of the finalists and all the submission here :

  • Grace Nguyen , University of Georgia: Multifunctional Nitric Oxide-Releasing and Slippery Surface for Enhanced Antibacterial and Anti-fouling Therapeutic Efficacy
  • ​ Dedeepya Pasupuleti , College of Pharmacy, Mercer University; Marissa D’Souza, University of Michigan: Advancing Drug Delivery to the Brain: Developing a Novel Nanoparticulate System Using Microfluidics to Enhance Central Drug Availability
  • Jannatul Ruhan Raha , Georgia State University: mIntranasal Vaccination with Multi-subtype Neuraminidase and M2 Ectodomain Virus-like Particle Improves Protection Against Influenza Viruses
  • Rick Hillstead Medical Device Award : Dominique Monroe , Medical College of Georgia – Augusta University: Modulated dNTP Pools and Their Influence on DNA Repair Mechanisms and Apoptosis in Therapy Resistant Cancers

Company Showcase Winners

We congratulate the Company Showcase Winners. And thank you to all presenters and judges in the Company Showcase and Rapid Fire Research Showcase.

  • 2023 Company Showcase Winner: Nutrivert , Horace Nalle
  • 2023 Company Showcase Runner-Up: EnOPrep , Austin Tull

Summit 2023: Click a Post Below for a Comprehensive Dive to What We Heard and Learned at the 2023 Georgia Life Sciences Summit

In closing, we thank everyone who helped bring the event and the ecosystem together. This includes our production team, volunteers, showcase and poster judges and sponsors without which this is simply not possible. We encourage you to consider ways to support their interests, goals and businesses.

We hope everyone involved derived high value from our latest response to the life science industry’s need: bringing the ecosystem together to advance our advocacy, education and inspiration through an industry that means more to more lives at home and abroad than we can measure.

Stay in the loop by following Georgia Bio on LinkedIn , Instagram and Twitter/X. You can also subscribe to our weekly bioBEAT by emailing us at admin@gabio.org.

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America's Biotech Leadership Depends on the States

By Maria Thacker Goethe • January 8, 2026
By: Patrick Plues | RealClearHealth January 8, 2026 For decades, America has led the global biotech industry – thanks, in part, to state-level policies that encourage research and manufacturing investments. But other countries, including China, are sparing no expense in the bid to overtake us. Beijing has officially made biotechnology a national strategic priority and is pouring billions into state-backed research and manufacturing efforts. All states should consider impactful biotech policies that grow and strengthen our domestic biotechnology industry. If states fail to utilize and replicate what are considered to be the best and most successful policies in biotech-focused economic development, the United States will soon lose its long-term leadership in developing medicines and medical technologies, which underpin our health, our economy, and our national security. Thankfully, many governors and state legislatures around the country are already answering this call -- as our new study, The U.S. Bioscience Industry: A Powerful Engine for State Economies, demonstrates. Keep Reading at https://www.realclearhealth.com/2026/01/08/americas_biotech_leadership_depends_on_the_states_1157584.html

GLS 2025 Year in Review

December 22, 2025
Dear Georgia Life Sciences Community, As we reflect on the past year, I want to extend my sincere thanks to our Georgia Life Sciences members for making it such an impactful one. Your engagement and leadership continue to move our industry forward and advance our shared strategic priorities— driving strong policy, expanding the talent pipeline, and creating intentional spaces for collaboration across Georgia’s life sciences ecosystem. Our Year in Review captures the progress we’ve made together across these priorities and highlights the collective impact our members are having statewide—from strengthening the workforce and supporting manufacturing growth to elevating Georgia’s position as a national life sciences leader. This progress is only possible because of the collaboration, commitment, and insight of our member community. 
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