Candace Hunter Wiest, president and chief executive of West Valley National Bank, was recently selected as the 2010 Woman of the Year by a group of West Valley businesswomen. The group chose Wiest for her commitment to growing the bank and promotion of West Valley businesses and organizations. | Bank president focuses on small business lending

In the world of industrial real estate, few areas have been clobbered harder than Phoenix, which suffered from a rash of overbuilding during the boom years by developers dreaming of the region as a national distribution hub. But a major lease signed by Amazon.com Inc. at a vacant distribution center offers a glimmer of hope that the space glut is starting to be absorbed.

A researcher at the University of Arizona has patented a nontoxic molecular therapy that stopped tumor growth and metastasis in lab and animal trials without affecting other cells. Armed with a "first-in-class" patent awarded this month, Joyce Schroeder is now looking for grants to begin clinical trials on humans. The proof is years away, but Schroeder says she is certain that her new cancer drug will work on a particularly dangerous form of breast cancer. (AZStarnet.com)

• Genome study establishes new model for molecular research
  
• New research pinpoints disease
  
• Arizona policy expert to lead new Flinn Foundation initiative
  
• New approaches to drug delivery
  
• Reduces storage needs, costs for genomic data | Bioinformatics
  
• Abraxis sale good for Phoenix bioindustry | Jobs in biotech
  
• Mesa biotech gets boost| DOE gets involved in algae biofuel | NYT | Bloomberg
  

Seven Arizona renewable energy companies will receive more than $2.7 million in grants to improve their efficiency as part of the federal stimulus package. The U.S. Department of Energy invested $55 million of federal stimulus money in Arizona’s State Energy Program. The $2.7 million is part of the program’s Manufacturers’ Energy-Efficiency Grant Assistance Program at the Arizona Commerce Authority. The companies will use the funding to purchase new energy-efficiency equipment and hire 180 additional workers.

A White House report today commended ECOtality for its leadership in clean electric transportation and storage technologies. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Innovation Report, released by Vice President Joseph Biden, cited ECOtality and The EV Project as examplary of federal ARRA funding stimulating investment from the private sector and other levels of government to build dynamic infrastructure, support renewable energy adoption and spark job creation.