The Arizona Bioindustry Association, or AZBio, annually honors bioindustry leaders from across Arizona who epitomize the depth, breadth and expertise of the state's bioscience industry. At the organization's upcoming 2017 awards ceremony on Oct. 11, many of the honorees have deep connections with the University of Arizona and have brought UA ideas and inventions from the laboratory to the marketplace.

Awardees will include two UA inventors (Dr. Marvin J. Slepian and Laurence Hurley) and two companies (Avery Therapeutics and NuvOx Pharma) that have worked closely with Tech Launch Arizona, or TLA, the office of the UA that commercializes inventions stemming from research. UA educator Carol Bender of the UA Undergraduate Biology Research Program, or UBRP, also will be honored.