“Since we were not initially pursuing venture capital, the business plan competition provided us with a challenge to develop and refine our strategic and tactical thinking,” said Zapata, chief executive officer and chairman of ArrayXpress.

ArrayXpress is a biotechnology company that designs, produces, and analyzes DNA microarrays. The company provides services and products for companies to study gene expression on a global scale. This technology helps scientists identify genes and their traits in order to produce a desired effect. Through continued research, this technology could help treat human diseases. ArrayXpress is the only commercial company to offer a complete and customizable microarray solution to the market at the highest quality and lowest total cost.

ArrayXpress was founded by Dr. Len Van Zyl, an assistant professor of forestry in the College of Natural Resources and by the HiTEC program in the College of Management.

“The HiTEC program provides the business assistance that a scientist needs. I know technology and science; they provided me with trustworthy assistance for the business aspects of building my new company,” said Van Zyl, the chief scientific officer.

The HiTEC program assists technologists, researchers, and inventors in commercializing their ideas by steering them through the process of evaluation and development of the business.