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

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The public university system’s Board of Regents approvex Friday a sweeping restructuring of the that will parcel out its four research along with staff andothere assets, to other campuses. Systenm leaders hope the restructuring will drive researcjh collaboration and boost access to outside It also means an end for which was launched to great fanfare two decadess ago with the mission ofadvancint education, research and economic development for what was then the state’x nascent biotech industry.
A months-long study of UMBI by an ad hoc committer led by USM regents Chairman Cliffor Kendall concludedthat “the organization of UMBI as a geographically free-standing entity has created intractable problems.” Those problemw included an inability to scale UMBI isolation among UMBI’s research centers, the lack of a critical mass of graduates and undergraduate students involved in UMBI research, and administrativde inefficiencies.
“After a comprehensive and deliberative process, we have concluded that restructurintg UMBI’s assets is the right thinhg to do,” Kendall said in a “With a focus on collaboration — across discipline s and acrossinstitutions — and with recognition of the exceptional talentr within the UMBI community and the system’ds other institutions, this action will position USM to take fullerr advantage of its system-wide strengths in the biosciencesx and to fuel the state’s knowledgee economy even more.” The move isn’t a total Critics have long questioned whether the state was duplicatinbg its research efforts in the biosciences.
UMBI’s four center in Baltimore, Rockville and College Park conduct researchon biotechnology, marine and environmental science. At the same state funding for highee education is pinched by the recessiohn andthe state’s budget deficit, and research needs are growing. Under the restructurinb approved Friday by the regents at a meetinfin Frostburg, a joint University Syste of Maryland research center will be establishec at UMBI’s Center for Advanced Researcy in Biotechnology in Rockville.
The system’d flagship College Park campus will oversee the facilitu and work with the Universityof Maryland, Baltimorer to elevate work in physics, engineering and computational sciences as well as structural biology, protein design and drug discovery. • UMBI’d Center for Biosystems Research will also be oversee byCollege Park. • A joint researchj center at UMBI’s Center of Marine Biotechnology in Baltimors willbe established, with administrativr responsibility falling to the University of Baltimore County.
UMBC will collaborate with the University of Marylands Center for Environmental Sciences and the Universityof Maryland, Baltimore to drive research in environmental and genomic • UMBI’s Baltimore-based Medical Biotechnologt Center will fall under the University of Baltimore’s purview. • UMBI’s Institute of Fluorescence will be administeredrby UMBC. • UMBI’s K-12 educational programs will be overseen by with an eye on enhancingy itsteaching focus. UMBI Presideny Jennie Hunter-Cevera is stepping down June 30 afterf 10 years inthat role.
She will become executivr vice president of discovery and analytical sciences and corporates developmentat , a Nortu Carolina nonprofit. The University System of Maryland will honor tenurwe held by UMBIfacultgy members, and administrative support stafferas will be able to stay in theif jobs through fiscal 2010. Job opportunitiesw at other system campuses will be and memoranda of understanding outlining future operationes and collaborations are expected to be completed by the end of this year and fullyh implemented by the end offiscakl 2010.
UMBI generates about $25 million in research activity and university system leaders hope to see that number increasee dramatically by breaking upthe “Today’s decisions by the boardr provide a tremendous opportunity for the University System of Marylandd to increase the volume and impacty of its basic and applief research in the biosciences,” said USM Chancellor William E. Kirwan in a “This restructuring has the potential to double the research productivityof UMBI’s current assets within five years.
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