Events Highlights

The first meeting of the ARCS fiscal year was held in conjunction with the Utah Biomedical Engineering Conference on Saturday, September 21, 2024 at the University of Utah Alumni House. The Utah ARCS Chapter was proud to be a sponsor of this event. The Chapter's event sponsorship was recognized both in the printed program and at the podium before the keynote speaker’s address. 

Two of our ARCS Scholars participated in the event and also had breakfast with chapter members. Bram Hunt, ARCS Scholar 2018-19, won first prize for his podium presentation “Transfer Learning for Improved Classification of Drivers in Atrial Fibrillation” (he won last year as well!) Ethan Griswold, ARCS Scholar 2021-21, presented a poster “Focused Ultrasound Targeting of Dorsal Root Ganglia Neuromodulation for Low Back Pain Management.” ARCS Scholar Alum Jocelyn Todd, Senior Software Analytics Project Manager at bioMerieux participated in a panel discussion featuring University of Utah Biomedical Engineering alum.

The keynote speaker was Kirk Ririe. Ririe's pioneering work in molecular biology led to the creation of Idaho Technology (later rebranded as BioFire and now part of bioMerieux.) Ririe has held a variety of positions including as CEO of BioFire Defense and as Chief Innovation Officer of bioMerieux. Ririe recently co-launched a new business, Faro Molecular Inc., where he continues to develop molecular biology tools in order to improve human health. Ririe's keynote speech was personal, detailing his journey in translational research, innovation and entrepreneurship in biotech.