TAMPA BAY, FL—In a first, the Department of Defense has formed a partnership with Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration to pursue a network for sharing electronic medical records. The Tampa Bay Regional Health Information Organization, a public-private partnership, will take a lead technical role. It is the first time the DOD formed a partnership with a non-federal agency.

Cancer researchers get $7.3 million
Researchers at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute have received a $7.3 million, five-year grant from the National Cancer Institute to examine DNA and data to identify which women are at risk for ovarian cancer based on the the makeup of their genes.

Rescuing coral reefs
Scientists from the Tampa Bay area are leading the first-ever efforts to transplant coral raised in land-based aquatic “farms” to damaged reefs in the Florida Keys. Scientists with The Florida Aquarium in Tampa conceived of the idea of “rescuing” coral fragments, attaching them to concrete bases, then growing them in tanks at the University of Florida’s Tropical Aquaculture Laboratory in Ruskin and in a lab in the Keys.

The first batch of 160-cookie-sized coral fragments were planted on a damaged reef in the Keys in December. Divers will return this spring or in early summer to see if the transplants are healthy and growing.

Tech Council up for award
The Florida High Tech Corridor Council has been chosen as a finalist for the prestigious CoreNet Global Economic Development Leadership Award for its unique approach to high tech economic development. One of six finalists in the innovation award category, FHTCC was selected on the basis of best practices, leadership and innovation in economic development.

Southeast Venture Conference, February 29 – March 1, 2012 at the Ritz Carlton in Tysons Corner, VA – Where Smart Money Meets Smart People.
www.seventure.org

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