The Office of Workforce and Community Development at Nashville State Community College is offering 10 free online courses in professional development available through June 30.

The COVID-19 pandemic has left many Middle Tennesseans without jobs or rethinking career plans. Anyone can take advantage of these free, online professional development solutions.

Courses include:

• 12 Steps to a Successful Job Search

• Creating Webpages

• Creating Word Press Websites

• Fundamentals of Supervision & Management

• Individual Excellence

• Keys to Effective Communication

• Managing Customer Service

• Marketing Your Business on the Internet

• Personal Finance

• Small Business Marketing on a Shoestring

Register Information

YWCA opens nominations for Women of Achievement

YWCA Nashville & Middle Tennessee is calling for nominations for the 29th annual Academy for Women of Achievement.

The AWA award recognizes Middle Tennessee women who have made extraordinary accomplishments through career success, community service and leadership.

They are also dedicated to the YWCA mission of eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice freedom and dignity for all.

The YWCA also honors a local organization each year with the AWA corporate award.

Corporate nominees must be Middle Tennessee companies or organizations that have demonstrated a commitment to aid the entry, career advancement and working conditions of female employees.

Since 1992, YWCA has inducted 171 women and 31 organizations into the prestigious Academy for Women of Achievement.

The AWA award ceremony is scheduled for Oct. 21 at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel.

Information and nomination forms

TN hospitals receive $35M+ from DHHS

The Department of Health and Human Services is distributing $35,378,052 to hospitals in Tennessee in areas that have been particularly impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak.

A total of $12 billion has been allocated to support to health care providers fighting the pandemic through the $175 billion in relief funding to hospitals and other health care providers on the front lines of the coronavirus response.

Funding is provided through the bipartisan CARES Act and the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act.

The $12 billion is going to 395 hospitals that provided inpatient care for 100 or more COVID-19 patients through April 10 and will be used to support healthcare-related expenses or lost revenue attributable to COVID-19 and to ensure uninsured Americans can get testing and treatment for COVID-19.

The distribution methodology takes into consideration the challenges faced by facilities serving a significantly disproportionate number of low-income patients.

Airport unveils new website

Nashville International Airport has launched a new website, replacing the previous version that had been in place for seven years.

The new website is flynashville.com and is a fresh, dynamic and interactive presentation of all BNA, John C. Tune Airport and the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority have to offer and will benefit users with its efficiency and ease of use.

The site is designed with the traveler in mind, making it “mobile first,” with prominent features such as flight tracking, real-time parking data and security checkpoint wait times.

Additional features of the new site include:

• Streamlined organization and navigation

• Searchable content (i.e., dining options and retail by concourse and type of fare/shopping experience)

• Interactive maps

• Airport news, information, background and data

• Business and career opportunities

Horton Group of Nashville designed the site and will provide ongoing web support.

Vanderbilt, ACADIA announce licensing deal

Vanderbilt University and ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. have an exclusive worldwide license agreement to develop and commercialize novel drug candidates targeting the muscarinic M1 receptor with the potential to treat a range of central nervous system disorders.

Under the terms of the license and collaboration agreement, Vanderbilt will receive $10 million upfront and is eligible for potential milestone payments of up to $515 million and tiered royalties.

The collaboration will focus on positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) of the M1 receptor.

Cryoport Inc. reports year-over-year increase

Brentwood-based Cryoport, Inc., a life sciences solutions company, has announced financial results for the three-month period ended March 31.

“We reported revenue of $9.8 million for the first quarter of 2020, an increase of 47% from the first quarter of 2019,” says Jerrell Shelton, chief executive officer of Cryoport.

“This was driven largely by record revenue from our commercial agreements supporting Gilead’s YESCARTA and Novartis’ KYMRIAH which contributed $2.9 million to the first quarter of 2020, representing an increase of 110% compared with the first quarter of 2019.

“In the first quarter, we experienced minimal disruption of our commercial portfolio resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and are working closely with our partners to ensure eligible patients continue to have access to these life-saving therapies.

“In April, Gilead’s Kite Pharma renewed its agreement with Cryoport, which cover its entire portfolio of therapies in development as well as YESCARTA. The ongoing rollouts of both YESCARTA and KYMRIAH to patients in the Americas, EMEA and APAC are expected to drive a continued ramp in activity related to our agreements supporting these commercial products.’’

Qualifacts, RCG support remote operations

Nashville-based electronic health records provider Qualifacts has announced it is using a cloud communications and contact center solution, selected and implemented by Resource Communications Group, to support operations and remote employees across 35 states.

A leading EHR provider for behavioral health and human services organizations across the United States, Qualifacts and its EHR platform, CareLogic help providers adapt to rapidly changing environments and focus on what is most important – client care – by optimizing efficiency and productivity.

Qualifacts began preparation for the COVID-19 crisis in January to ensure long-term business continuity and sustainability through the arch of the anticipated pandemic.

MTSU receives engineering grant

Middle Tennessee State University has received a $447,000 U.S. Department of Education grant.

The funds are designated to help MTSU’s Master of Science in Professional Science program meet the national need to deliver outstanding engineering management graduates into the workforce.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need, or GAANN, program is supporting MTSU engineering management students with the grant, says Saeed Foroudastan, MTSU’s MSPS director and associate dean in the College of Basic and Applied Sciences.

The GAANN program provides fellowships to assist graduate students with excellent academic records who demonstrate a financial need and plan to pursue the highest degree in the field designated as an area of national need.