Two new federal contracts will help a local research group create more Phoenix medical jobs. Visit phoenix.jobing.com/jobs/healthcare to learn more.

The International Genomics Consortium has secured two contracts worth almost $59 million with the Cancer Genome Atlas project, a federal effort meant to figure out how genetics are connected with common forms of cancer.

Under the first contract, which is worth $21.4 million and will last five years, IGC will secure cancer-tumor samples for the CGA project. The second contract, which is work $37.5 million and will last five-years, will allow IGC to continue serving as a tissue bank for the project.

IGC currently employs 45 scientists, lab technicians, project managers, and office workers in Phoenix. The company is planning to hire 10 more workers to help with the contracts, and could eventually create spin-off companies, as researchers develop new drugs and tests.

IGC also will expand its relationships with local hospitals, including Scottsdale Healthcare, St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, Banner Health, and University Medical Center in Tucson. In addition, the company plans to work with up to 14 out-of-state hospitals.

Chairman Richard Mallery launched IGC almost 10 years ago after his wife died of cancer. The organization's downtown lab was an initial anchor of the Phoenix Biomedical Campus, which also is home to the Translational Genomics Research Institute and the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix.