digital_opener_alist-4.jpg

Elisa Wong

News, Science & Startups

The A-List Awards 2021

by

VACCINE VISIONARY

Dr. David Curiel

When we found out that the father of the mRNA vaccine—the first researcher to publish proof of concept around the vaccine technology that would be crucial in fighting the novel coronavirus—lives in St. Louis, it felt remarkable. Now we await news on the latest vaccine from Dr. David Curiel, interim CEO of St. Louis–based biotech firm Precision Virologics: a nasal vaccine based on an entirely different vector, which Curiel is partnering with Bharat Biotech to produce.

SUSTAINING STARTUPS

Arch Grants

Every year, we wait to see which companies will win Arch Grants’ annual Global Startup Competition and call St. Louis home for at least one year. The nonprofit has announced that it raised $21.5 million as part of its Sustained Impact campaign. That means even more fascinating startups are just around the bend.

COUNTING VOTES

Election Boards

That the 2020 presidential election passed without so much as a hanging chad is a testament to the St. Louis City and County Board of Elections, who figured out protocol to keep poll workers and voters safe during a pandemic, as well as how to navigate an election that saw large numbers of mail-in and absentee ballots.

TIMELY OPENING

Rung For Women

Early into the pandemic, when nonessential businesses and schools closed, women’s unemployment rate climbed to 16.2 percent nationally—3 points higher than men’s. The fact that Rung, a new nonprofit with a mission of helping women climb the career ladder, opened in the middle of the crisis, was just the acknowledgement that many who felt stuck in their careers needed.

NONPROFITS & NEIGHBORS

The Delmar Divine

This fall, Build-A-Bear founder Maxine Clark’s development project will open and seek to revitalize a portion of the West End. We appreciate that the plan includes 150 well-priced apartments designed to keep the neighborhood affordable and avoid displacing residents.

FIRST UNICORN

Varsity Tutors

Last winter, the parent company of homegrown online learning hub Varsity Tutors went public with a $1.7 billion valuation, making it the city’s first billion-dollar tech company. In entrepreneur-speak, that’s called a unicorn. It also recruited such stars as Mayim Bialik, Julianne Hough, and Aly Raisman to teach free virtual classes during the pandemic. You gotta admit: That’s pretty smart.

PANDEMIC PREVENTION

Center for National Pandemic Resiliency

We really don’t want to think about the next pandemic, which is why we’re thrilled that BioSTL and its Center for National Pandemic Resiliency have relieved us of the burden. Still, we’re keeping an eye trained on the new endeavor, to see what innovations it will bring forth.

HERD MENTALITY

Pfizer-BioNTech

Pfizer-BioNTech was the first to create a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine, and the Chesterfield facility played a critical role in its design. Now the pharmaceutical company is moving the ball down the field to reach the goal of herd immunity, most recently seeking clearance to vaccinate children as young as 2 years old in September.

INSPIRED APPRECIATION

Enterprise

This spring, Enterprise took Employee Appreciation Day to a new level by showing some love to its employees here and all over the nation—and to restaurants, too. The car-rental giant gifted every employee $100 to use at a St. Louis eatery; employees got a free meal or two, and local businesses got an infusion to the tune of $450,000. Nationwide, Enterprise spent $8 million on the gesture.

MISSION MARS

Impossible Sensing

Thanks to Pablo Sobron and his company Impossible Sensing, there’s a piece of St. Louis on Mars, so to speak. Impossible Sensing created two data-gathering instruments for NASA’s Perseverance rover, which will try to figure out if there has ever been life on Mars. For us, it raises the question: “Is there a cooler place to work in St. Louis?”