Business

As elsewhere in Greater Washington, mixed-use projects around Metro feature large in suburban Maryland’s development scene — not least in Prince George’s County, which aspires to become the region’s next boomtown. Montgomery County has economic aspirations of its own and is well known for its dominance in the life science industry. That dominance has continued to attract a lot of new development and office-to-lab conversion projects.

Baltimore Medical System (BMS), the largest Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) system in Maryland, reached an agreement with the proposed school of Maryland College of Osteopathic Medicine at Morgan State University to serve as the school’s community health clinical teaching arm. Under the affiliation, both instructors and students from the new medical school will complete rotations at BMS facilities, including eight community health centers and eight school-based health sites across Baltimore, as part of their clinical training. Instructors of the new medical school, who are also clinicians, are expected to begin practicing at BMS centers as early as 2023 in order to incorporate the most current and advanced population health practices into the school’s curriculum.

A majority of small-business owners and business leaders believe a cyberattack on their own company is inevitable — but many haven’t taken steps to prevent an attack. That’s according to the Travelers Insurance 2022 Travelers Risk Index, which found 59% of business leaders worry a great deal about cyber threats. That echoes other surveys that have found cybersecurity is one of the top concerns for business owners, even at a time of elevated inflation, recession fears and hiring challenges. The survey found many businesses haven’t taken simple steps that have been shown to thwart cyberattacks. For example, just 52% of companies said they have implemented multifactor authentication for remote users.

Columbia’s BigBear.ai has tapped a former IBM executive to take over as CEO of the publicly traded tech company. Amanda Long, who most recently served as vice president of IT automation at IBM, took over the top job from Reggie Brothers effective Oct. 12, the company announced this week. At IBM, Long worked to grow the “Watson” artificial intelligence franchise, which famously won $1 million in Jeopardy. Watson now has 100 million users, with 70% of global banking institutions utilizing the software. Brothers will continue to have a relationship with the company, serving as a member of BigBear.ai’s board of advisors, which meets regularly with the company’s leadership team, Peter Cannito, chairman of the company’s board of directors, said in a statement to the BBJ.

The Kennedy Krieger Institute is building a research center focused on how adverse childhood experiences, such as poverty, unstable housing, and other social factors stemming from inequality, impact brain development. The Baltimore health care institution is planning a $15 million renovation to its building at 707 N. Broadway to become the home of the Center for the Neuroscience of Social Injustice. The building currently serves as an inpatient center and also holds other research areas and facilities. CEO Dr. Bradley Schlaggar said there will be no displacement of patient care, since the renovations will be taking place at the building’s research floors. He added that the center is more of a reflection of an institutional research focus, rather than a physical building location. The Maryland Board of Public Works approved a $2.5 million grant for the center on Wednesday.

Amid vendors offering caskets, urns and other tools of the trade at the Baltimore Convention Center, Sam Sieber enthusiastically described how, through a scientific process, heated water can rapidly decompose a human body. Sieber, vice president of research at Bio-Response Solutions, was one of many people this week at the National Funeral Directors Association convention discussing developments, products and trends in the industry. For much of the populace, talk of death can be morbid, grim or unsettling. But those at the convention view “death care” as a business, a passion and a necessary, noble profession. “You have to have a calling for it,” said Dorota Marshall, who owns Maryland Cremation Services. “It’s not a job. It’s a vocation.”

Thomas Gross has been living paycheck to paycheck working as a grill cook at Northeastern University’s dining hall since 2017. He lives with several family members in the Boston neighborhood of Roxbury, where rents are increasing. But life is about to get more comfortable for Gross, following a union contract victory that increases Northeastern dining workers’ hourly pay by $9.32 over the next 4.5 years. Gross, who will be making more than $30 per hour by early 2026, in addition to other union members and leaders interviewed by The Business Journals, said student support was critical to landing the contract.