The University of Iowa Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development is cosponsoring the Eastern Iowa Biotech Spotlight Tour, which showcases the pharmaceutical, chemical, nutraceutical industries that make up Iowa’s Creative Corridor biotech companies. The event, which runs Oct. 4-5, is free and open to the public though registration is required.

Click here to register for the event.

The event will kick off with a welcome reception from 5-7 p.m. Oct. 4 at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Cedar Rapids. The following day, a bus tour will take attendees to more than 10 of Iowa’s Creative Corridor biotech companies and facilities including the DuPont, Red Star Yeast, the State Hygienic Laboratory, and the UI Center of Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing.

A number of guest speakers will give presentations including Director of UI Pharmaceuticals Mick Wells, Assistant Director of Iowa Institute of Human Genetics Colleen Campbell, Director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority Debi Durham, and Industrial Collaboration and Innovation Director of the ISU Center for Biorenewable Chemicals Peter Keeling.

In addition to OVPR&ED, the event is sponsored by PhRMA, the Cedar Rapids Economic Alliance, ISU College of Agriculture and Life Science, and Iowa’s Creative Corridor.

The Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development provides resources and support to researchers and scholars at the University of Iowa and to businesses across Iowa with the goal of forging new frontiers of discovery and innovation and promoting a culture of creativity that benefits the campus, the state, and the world. More at http://research.uiowa.edu, and on Twitter: @DaretoDiscover.