Published: 02-10-09
Will Creating Institute of Biomedical Research -- Urges Legislature to Continue Funding Emerging Technology Fund
AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry has announced the state will invest $5.5 million in the University of Houston to create the world class Institute of Biomedical Research in conjunction with the Methodist Hospital Research Institute which will house the Texas International Center for Cell Signaling and Nuclear Receptors. The governor also urged the Texas Legislature to continue to appropriate funds to the Texas Emerging Technology Fund (ETF).
“The biomedical industry is one of the largest in our state and has the potential to greatly improve many Texans’ quality of life with continued research and expansion” Gov. Perry said.
“This world class research team will lead the charge in developing treatments for diseases that plague our citizens and enhance the University of Houston’s presence as a biomedical research institution.”
Gov. Perry is committed to enhancing the quality of Texas’ higher education system and building universities’ research potential through the ETF by attracting world class researchers and their staffs to institutions in the state. This provides a dynamic environment for graduate and doctorate students while building a culture of commercialization for research projects.
Jan-Ake Gustafsson of Sweden will serve as director of the center and will work with longtime research partner Margaret Werner of Sweden and a 10 member support staff from Sweden’s Karolinka Institute. Preliminary research will extend Gustafsson and Werner’s work in the use of nuclear hormone receptors as therapies for an array of diseases.
Initial research has shown that estrogen receptor drugs have potential applications for treatment of breast and uterine cancer in women and prostate cancer in men. Studies have also shown that other nuclear hormone receptors can be used to treat atherosclerosis type 2 diabetes Parkinson’s disease Lou Gehrig’s disease and depression. The center will work to commercialize this research.
The ETF is a $200 million initiative created by the Texas Legislature in 2005 at the governor’s request and was reauthorized in 2007. A 17-member advisory committee of high-tech leaders entrepreneurs and research experts reviews potential projects and recommends funding allocations to the governor lieutenant governor and speaker of the house. To date the ETF has allocated $56 million in funds to 16 universities attracting more than 40 top researchers and their teams to the state and creating more than $69 million of industry capital investment.
For more information on the ETF please visit www.emergingtechfund.com.
