Arkansas Research Alliance

While serving as a summer intern at a local hospital, Dr. Steven Foley was met with an unexpected event that would help him realize what he wanted to do with his career. Out of the blue, an acquaintance walked through…

Discovery Economics: The Science Behind the Natural State I often wonder how Arkansans view the state’s efforts to bolster innovation, support entrepreneurship and advance research activities. Growing up in Mena (technically Board Camp, but Mena is where we went for…

Arkansas Research Alliance celebrated Tuesday the addition of two new ARA Scholars and six ARA Fellows to its ARA Academy of Scholars and Fellows. The Arkansas Research Alliance operates as a public-private partnership and invests in research to stimulate innovation,…

Despite a close relationship spanning decades, Dr. Mark Smeltzer has not developed fond feelings for his professional protagonist, Staphylococcus aureus. “I am of the personal belief that bacteria do not care about you,” Smeltzer said. “They just don’t want to…

Discovery Economics Global commerce and corporate America are in a race to harness the power and meaning of data. Nearly every company in every industry is data-driven. The ones that propel the Arkansas economy are no exception: agriculture, aerospace, manufacturing,…

The FDA National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR) in Jefferson celebrated its 50th anniversary and renewed its strategic partnership with the Arkansas Research Alliance this week. FDA Acting Commissioner Janet Woodcock and Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed a five-year renewal of…

My dad suffered a massive stroke two months after this picture was taken. Eighteen months later, he walked unassisted across a room for the first time. Despite reclaiming some abilities, his cognition, communication and motor skills will never be what…

Raise your hand if you regularly get to walk the halls of the research universities in Arkansas. Most of us are probably still holding onto our tablets (or the edges of this magazine). There are really important things going on…

For Dr. Tansel Karabacak, 2017 Arkansas Research Alliance Fellow and member of the ARA Academy, physics began as an “intellectual adventure.” When his doctoral advisor inspired him to connect fundamental science to applications, he realized he had found his true…

Amy Hopper recalls her parents setting an example of community activism and entrepreneurship during her childhood years in Norman, Okla. Her mother served as the executive director of Meals on Wheels, taking Amy along with her as she oversaw the…