IU requests $80 million for life sciences

IU President Adam Herbert requested an additional $80 million from the Indiana General Assembly Tuesday in an effort to further expand the University's growing life sciences programs. \nThe appropriations, spread over two years, would be used to advance the state's economic shift toward the health care and biotechnology sectors, said Larry MacIntyre, IU director of Media Relations. \n"We would recruit 460 life science workers, and this would expand IU's already large life science activities," MacIntyre said. "The reason we are proposing to do that is because Indiana has already set a goal in the 21st century to have the economy based heavily on the life sciences."\nAt IU, chemistry, biology and other programs are beneath the life sciences umbrella. Most of these departments offer both undergraduate and postgraduate coursework, but the majority of the proposed funding would only affect upper-level research, taking place at the IU School of Medicine, MacIntyre said. \nHe said he believed in certain cases an increase in funding could produce extraordinary results. Citing an example, he said Dr. Linda Malkas, IU School of Medicine professor and a leading breast cancer researcher at IU, has come very close to producing a simple blood test that could detect breast cancer. He said a portion of the extra funds would go toward further researching and developing these tests. \nHerbert and his team also made it clear that IU's intentions for the funds were in line with the state's planned economic shift.\n"I think this will be a transformational investment," said J. Thomas Forbes, the executive director of the IU Office of State Relations.\nHe said this type of investment could be the spark needed to advance the state's economic base.\n"There will be at least 100 new businesses," he said. "With those sort of numbers you are bound to get some real winners."\nHerbert's presentation was the first of three he will give to policy makers before the budget is approved. However, Forbes said IU's president has been privately meeting with legislators to promote his plan. \n"We wanted to make sure that everyone knew what this plan was all about and they knew really what this money meant before the vote," he said. \nThe first step in approving the funds will come if both the governor and the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, an executive appointed committee that oversees public and private universities, approves Herbert's plan. It would then be taken for consideration in the Indiana General Assembly. MacIntyre said the entire process is expected to continue for months. \nHowever, Forbes refused to look past the first step in the legislative process.\n"Right now we are focused on the governor having all the information he needs, so he and the commission can make the best recommendation possible," he said. \nEven outside of IU, some saw what such a funding shift could mean for the state. \nSteve Bryant, director of the Bloomington Life Sciences Partnership, said Indiana was now in the position financially to pursue such bold initiatives. \n"We are not in the deficit situation we were in two years ago. People want to push jobs, jobs, jobs," he said. "If you expect the University to be an economic engine, then you have to put the facilities there to support it." \nBryant said he was confident in Herbert's handling of the situation and felt his approach would have the best chance for success.\n"Dr. Herbert and his team have seen all of this and said, 'if we are going to go bold, let's go bold and not nibble around the edge of this thing,'" he said.