Dr. Leslie Boyer, director of the University of Arizona’s VIPER Institute and a local expert on bites and stings from venomous creatures, will share her latest research and information at 6 p.m. Wednesday at St. Gregory College Preparatory School, 3231 N. Craycroft Road.
Boyer’s presentation at St. Gregory’s “Spotlight on Science” is free and open to the public. It will be followed at 7 p.m. by telescope exploration with Steward Observatory’s Andrew Marble.
Science projects by St. Gregory students will be on display throughout the evening.
Boyer is the founding director of the VIPER — Venom Immunochemistry, Pharmacology and Emergency Response — Institute. Along with scientists and clinicians around the world, the institute studies the effects of venom on people and animals, according to a press release from St. Gregory school.
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Boyer was named the 2013 Arizona Bioscience Researcher of the Year by the Arizona Bioindustry Association in recognition of her work as lead investigator for the multicenter scorpion antivenom clinical trials program conducted in Arizona and Nevada by the UA, which resulted in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of Anascorp. The antivenom was developed with the Institute of Biotechnology of the Universidad National Autonoma de Mexico.
The FDA’s Office of Orphan Products Development named Boyer one of 30 heroes of rare diseases in 2013, the press release says. She previously participated in an FDA-funded project that led to the development of CroFab, the standard antivenom given to victims of rattlesnake bites.
St. Gregory College Preparatory School is an independent school for students in grades 6 through 12. The school recently announced the addition of fifth grade for the 2014-15 school year.
