Sun Devil 100 Class of 2022 honors 136 alumni business leaders

March 31, 2022

The ASU Alumni Association is delighted to announce this year’s Sun Devil 100 Class of 2022. The Sun Devil 100 is an annual awards program that recognizes the fastest-growing alumni-owned or -led organizations.

The Class of 2022 features 136 outstanding Arizona State University alumni representing 107 organizations. They range from individual business owners to leaders of large corporations from dozens of industries, including architecture, construction, information technology, legal, marketing and public relations, nonprofit and real estate. The diverse mix of organizations that make up this year’s class has combined total revenues of $15 billion for the last year, employs more than 130,000 people and has locations in 13 states. ASU Alumni Sun Devil 100 Awards laid out on a table. Download Full Image

“This is the eighth year Sun Devil 100 has celebrated entrepreneurs, changemakers and leaders who have graduated from ASU,” said Christine Wilkinson, president and CEO of the ASU Alumni Association. “In alignment with ASU’s charter, we are expanding the awards program to include revenue tiers and showcase more ASU alumni-owned and -led organizations. We are proud of each alum and the impact they’ve made in their fields.”

The fastest-growing organizations will be unveiled at the awards reception on Thursday, April 28, at Sun Devil Stadium. With the program evolving to include financial tiers, this year the top 10 fastest-growing organizations in each of the three tiers based on the company’s revenues from 2020 will be highlighted. The tiers are broken down by revenues of $250,000–$1.999 million, $2 million–$9.999 million and $10 million-plus.

To be considered for the Sun Devil 100, companies must be ASU alumni-owned or -led; have been in business for at least three years; have revenues of $250,000-plus for the past three years; and operate in a manner consistent with the ASU Charter.

For the fourth consecutive year, ProVision, the Tempe-based CPA firm, is the presenting sponsor of the Sun Devil 100. ProVision’s leadership team includes four ASU alumni, and the company believes in hiring Sun Devil graduates.

Meet the Sun Devil 100 Class of 2022.

Morgan Harrison

Vice President, ASU Alumni Association

480-727-7106 morgan.harrison@asu.edu

Viral transformations in the female genital tract can spell trouble for women’s health

The human papillomavirus (HPV) is a known risk factor for cervical cancer. Researchers at Arizona State University are hoping to better understand the factors leading to persistent HPV infection and the progression to cancer by studying the complex communities of microbes in the female reproductive tract, known as the vaginal microbiome.In a new study, Efrem Lim and his colleagues examine an often...

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Viral transformations in the female genital tract can spell trouble for women’s health

March 31, 2022

In a new study, Efrem Lim and his colleagues examine an often-overlooked subset of the vaginal microbiome — the viruses. Lim is a researcher with the ASU Biodesign Center for Fundamental and Applied Microbiomics and an assistant professor at the School of Life Sciences. Microscope closeup of cervical cancer Cervical Cancer: Invasive squamous carcinoma arising in association with severe squamous dysplasia related to HPV (human papilloma virus). HPV vaccination in teens can be preventive. Image by David A Litman/Shutterstock Download Full Image

The research demonstrates that crucial changes in the vast community of viruses, or virome, may enable persistent HPV infection and progression to cancer. The viral alterations appear to be associated with changes in bacterial composition and genital inflammation.

“Microbes maintain a delicate balance in our body to promote health,” Lim says. “Viruses can tip the scale towards a worse health outcome.”

The research appears in the current issue of the journal mSystems.

Efrem Lim

Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers among women. In 2020, more than 600,000 cases and 340,000 deaths were reported worldwide. In addition to infection with the HPV virus, known risk factors for cervical cancer include immunodeficiency, smoking and oral contraceptive use.

Recent studies have explored the relationship of the vaginal microbiome to cervical cancer, though the viral component has often been neglected. Viruses interact with both human cells and the vast profusion of bacteria present in the genital tract. The new study uses next-generation gene sequencing to get a clearer read on the community of viruses present in vaginal microbiome samples from women in the Phoenix metropolitan area.

The results highlight an association between genital inflammation and low abundance of the bacterial species lactobacillus with reduction in virome diversity. Lactobacillus bacteria are known to be important mediators of genital health. Further, conditions conducive to persistent HPV infection were also associated with the abundance of a group of viruses that infect bacteria — known as bacteriophages. The findings further emphasize the importance of studies of the virome and its complex interactions with other constituents of the human microbiome.