President's Testimony

• I mentioned that Higher Education Investment Funds (HEIF) are being used partially to offset the cost of equipment for our new Institute for Genome Sciences.  Here to tell us very briefly about that institute is Dr. Claire Fraser-Liggett.  [Chart 10]  
  
  
• The UM Institute for Genome Sciences is an important new venture for UMB from which we expect great things. 
  
  
• This current fiscal year saw the administrative relocation of the Institute for Human Virology to the UMB campus.  That relocation has worked very well.  In fact, last year the IHV brought in over $73 million in sponsored research to the campus. Of that amount, $6 million came from externally funded research grants that were transferred to UMB accompanying those IHV faculty, like Dr. Gallo himself, who originally had their primary appointments in UMBI.   The Gates Foundation has since provided a $15 million grant over three years to support Dr. Gallo's work on emerging vaccines.
  
  
• UMB faculty and programs are helping to drive the economy of Baltimore City and the State of Maryland.  A recent independent analysis using FY 06 data shows that for each $1 of State general funds investment, the campus generated $16 in economic activity and 22,000 jobs.  The campus and its affiliates are the second largest employers -- second only to Johns Hopkins -- in Baltimore City, and fourth largest in the State of Maryland.  [Chart 11]
  
  
• Entrepreneurship also plays a role in technology development.  Our faculty produce intellectual property which we patent and then license to firms around the world.  We currently hold 416 patents with another 716 pending.  These patents brought in nearly $1 million in licensing revenue last year alone.  [Chart 12]
  
  
• When I discussed our budget with you last year, I mentioned one faculty inventor, Dr. Alessio Fasano in the UM School of Medicine.  Based on his research Dr. Fasano created a firm -- Alba Therapeutics -- which recently allied with Shire, plc to receive over $325 million to develop UMB technology. 
  
  
• Dr. Fasano and his colleagues are using intellectual property to advance health care and create jobs in Maryland.  Note in particular the 13 year time from initial invention to level 2 clinical trials.  It will almost certainly take several more years before we'll know for certain whether 'Zonulin' is indeed successful in treating Type I Diabetes, but in the meantime Maryland's economy is benefiting handsomely.  [Chart 13]
  
  
  

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