UTA lands first-in-U.S. biotech discovery platform

The University of Texas at Arlington has acquired the Beacon Discovery instrument from Bruker Cellular Analysis. The Carnegie R1 research university is the first in the United States to obtain the platform, which researchers at its Institute of Biomanufacturing and Precision Medicine for North Texas are using to speed the discovery of new antibodies and connect early-stage work more directly with drug development pipelines. Jon Weidanz, senior associate vice president for research, professor of kinesiology and bioengineering, and founding director of the institute, said the acquisition targets bottlenecks in antibody discovery. Traditional screening methods carry high time and cost demands, and the platform supports scalable contract research, workforce training, and industry partnerships. Weidanz has spent more than two decades developing T-cell receptor mimic antibodies that target cancer and immune-related diseases. The system performs rapid single-cell analysis to isolate B cells producing antibodies with specific functions or targets. Researchers are applying the technology to cancer immunotherapy projects. The university also plans to offer contract research services to biotechnology companies seeking to identify and develop new antibody-based treatments. Students and trainees gain direct experience with tools used in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors. The platform shortens the time from immune response detection to identification of a therapeutic candidate. The acquisition advances the institute's aim to build an ecosystem that moves discoveries in immunology, genomics, and bioengineering toward therapeutic development and scalable production in North Texas.