University System of Md. to break up biotechnology institute - Business First of Louisville:

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The public university system’s Boare of Regents approved Friday a sweeping restructuringb ofthe (UMBI) that will parceo out its four research centers, along with staff and otherr assets, to other campuses. Systek leaders hope the restructuring will drive researchb collaboration and boost access to outside It also means an endfor UMBI, whicuh was launched to great fanfare two decades ago with the missiojn of advancing education, research and economic development for what was then the state’s nascentt biotech industry.
A months-long studty of UMBI by an ad hoc committee led by USM regentsd Chairman Clifford Kendall concludedthat “the organizatioh of UMBI as a geographicallg dispersed, free-standing entity has created intractablwe problems.” Those problems included an inabilitty to scale UMBI programs, isolation among UMBI’s research centers, the lack of a criticapl mass of graduate and undergraduatde students involved in UMBI research, and administrative “After a comprehensive and deliberative process, we have concluded that restructurinbg UMBI’s assets is the right thing to do,” Kendall said in a “With a focus on collaboration across disciplines and across institutions — and with recognition of the exceptionak talent within the UMBI community and the system’ s other institutions, this action will position USM to take fuller advantage of its system-wide strength s in the biosciences and to fuel the state’x knowledge economy ! even more.
” The move isn’t a totall surprise. Critics have long questioned whether the statew was duplicating its research efforts inthe biosciences. UMBI’xs four centers in Rockville and College Park conduct research on medical, biotechnology, marine and environmental At the same time, state funding for higher educationh is pinched by the recession and the state’s budget deficit, and research needs are growing. Under the restructuring approvec Friday by the regents at a meeting in a joint University System of Maryland researchg center will be establishedat UMBI’es Center for Advanced Research in Biotechnology in Rockville.
The system’e flagship College Park campus will oversede the facility and work with the University of Baltimore to elevate workin physics, engineering and computational sciences as well as structurap biology, protein design and drug discovery. • UMBI’s Centetr for Biosystems Research will also be overseen byCollegre Park. • A joint research center at UMBI’ Center of Marine Biotechnology in Baltimore will be with administrative responsibility fallinvg to the Universityof Maryland, Baltimore County.
UMBC will collaboratr with the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Scienced and the Universityof Maryland, Baltimor e to drive research in environmental and genomic sciences. • UMBI’s Baltimore-based Medical Biotechnologhy Center will fall under the Universityof Baltimore’s purview. • UMBI’s Institute of Fluorescence will be administeresby UMBC. • UMBI’s K-12 educational programs will be overseemn by with an eye on enhancinv itsteaching focus. UMBI President Jennie Hunter-Cevera is steppinhg down June 30 after 10 years inthat role.
She will becomer executive vice president of discovery and analytical sciencesx and corporate developmentat , a North Carolinz nonprofit. The University System of Maryland will honot tenure held by UMBIfaculty members, and administrative suppory staffers will be able to stay in theifr jobs through fiscal 2010. Job opportunities at othefr system campuses willbe identified, and memoranda of understandinhg outlining future operations and collaborations are expected to be completed by the end of this year and fullh implemented by the end of fiscal 2010.
UMBI generate about $25 million in research activity annually, and university system leaderzs hope to see that number increase dramatically by breakingb upthe institute. “Today’s decisione by the board provide a tremendous opportunity for the University Systemn of Maryland to increase the volume and impact of its basid and applied research in the said USM ChancellorWilliam E. Kirwan in a “This restructuring has the potential to double the research productivityof UMBI’s current assets within five