Governor Proposes $2.4 Million to Fund USM Nano-Bio Research in FY 2009
ADELPHI, Md. (January 17, 2008) - Governor Martin O'Malley has proposed $2.4 million in
the FY 2009 state budget to continue funding of nano-biotechnology research
across the University System of Maryland (USM). Since 2006, a little known state fund-the Nano Bio
Fund-has been nurturing Maryland's
"small scale" revolution by providing seed money for faculty recruitment,
equipment, and research that integrates the fields of nanotechnology and biotechnology.
The fund is administered through a partnership of the Maryland Department of
Business and Economic Development (DBED) and USM.
Governor O'Malley said that
the fund is "advancing the potential of the healing sciences" in the state. "Thank
you for what you do," he told the legislators and USM researchers, faculty, and
administrators who gathered in Annapolis for the announcement on January 15. In addition, Governor
O'Malley announced his continued investment in bio-tech, maintaining $23
million in funding for stem cell research, $6 million for Biotechnology
Investment Tax Credits, and $5 million to continue development of the East Baltimore Biotechnology Park.
"Maryland can be a global leader in nano-biotechnology," said USM
Chancellor William E. Kirwan. "We have a unique concentration of
strength in
the two areas that combine to create this field-medical science and
engineering. With outstanding medical schools at Johns Hopkins and the
University of Maryland, Baltimore, and leading engineering schools, no
state can match
the concentration of scientific talent in nano-biotechnology that we
have here."
Nariman Farvardin, senior
vice president for academic affairs and provost of the University of Maryland, College
Park, commented
that the Nano Bio Fund is a force of economic growth, bringing more research
money into the state and helping to start new commercial enterprises in
nano-biotechnology.
"As a result of the Nano Bio
Fund, our researchers have submitted 33 proposals to external agencies for a
total of $16 million in grants," he said. "When we started this fund, we
promised the state a three-to-one return on its investment. I think it will
be closer to 16-to-one as more grant and research money pour into the state in
the coming years."
Established by the State of Maryland in FY 2007, the Nano Bio Fund
has provided to date a
total $4.9 million for 11 research projects at the University of
Maryland, College Park (UMCP); University of Maryland, Baltimore County
(UMBC); University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute
(UMBI); and the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB).
The fund, which is overseen
by the Maryland NanoCenter at UMCP's A. James Clark School of Engineering, is
leveraging its state support and has stimulated additional outside research
grants. In 2006, the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation gave more than $1 million to
fund a cross-disciplinary group of researchers from the Clark School, UMBI, and the University of Maryland School of
Pharmacy working to develop a nanoscale biochip that will serve as a tiny drug
discovery laboratory.
Nano-biotechnology unites the
field of nanotechnology-engineering devices and materials at the level of
molecules and atoms-with fields such as medical diagnosis, pharmaceutical
development and delivery, environmental science, and biodefense to create new
"smart" materials and technologies that can work at the microscopic scale of a
cell or smaller. Nano-biotechnology promises to make medical cures and
therapies more "tailored" and targeted to patients' needs; early detection and
prevention of disease more precise; and the monitoring and remediation of
environmental toxins more effective.
"Venture analysts believe the
first broad applications of nanotechnology technologies and products
will
likely come in the medical field," said Brian Darmody, USM's special assistant
vice chancellor for technology development. "Maryland is well-suited
to capitalize on this sector, given
the large academic health centers in Baltimore and the strong
engineering and nanotechnology
programs and resources at College Park, UMBC, the National Institute of
Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, and the National Institutes
of Health in Bethesda."
For more information about
nano-biotechnological research across USM, visit the following sites:
Center for Nanomedicine
and Cellular Delivery at University of Maryland, Baltimore
Medical
Biotechnology Center at University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute
Maryland NanoCenter at University of Maryland, College
Park
Contact: John Buettner
Phone: 301.445.2719
Email: jbuettner@usmd.edu
