Governor pledges $1.5 million for new biosciences faculty

Gov. Tommy Thompson on Tuesday night announced a proposed $1.5 million funding boost for UW–Madison, dedicated to hiring new faculty in the biological sciences.

The governor’s recommendation, part of his state budget adjustment bill, would fund eight new faculty positions and help UW–Madison capitalize on its national strengths in the biological sciences, from biotechnology to genetics. Budget adjustment legislation will be sent to the state Legislature for consideration.

Funding new faculty positions, according to Gov. Thompson, is the first step in a much larger initiative to help UW–Madison take advantage of the growing support for the biological sciences nationally. “We intend to follow that commitment with millions in additional funding for the remodeling of instructional and research laboratories,” Thompson said.

“At the moment, Wisconsin enjoys a competitive advantage in the generation of basic research in biotechnology, genetics and biomedicine,” he added. “But unless we make a commitment now, that advantage will be fleeting.”

Thompson’s announcement came during an annual dinner organized by the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce.

UW–Madison Provost John Wiley said science is on the threshold of a new frontier. Biology will provide the core of economic and technological development in the world, especially in sequencing the genomes of humans, animals and plants.

“The university appreciates the governor’s support and foresight in recognizing the benefits that these new faculty positions will bring,” Wiley said.

UW–Madison is nationally prominent in nearly all of the biology fields, including genetics, plant sciences, animal sciences, bacteriology and biochemistry. Other related departments such as chemistry, computer science, mathematics and engineering are contributing new technologies and computational tools to further genetics and biotechnology research, Wiley said.

“We’re in a very good position to benefit from this new frontier,” said Wiley. “If one would list all of the departments important to capitalizing on the federal research priorities in biology, we are strong across the board. This proposal will allow us to add key faculty to make sure Wisconsin stays strong.”

As an illustration of UW–Madison’s research strengths, every faculty member in the biological sciences currently generates an average of $260,000 each year in outside funding grants. The eight new faculty would be projected to generate an estimated $2 million per year.

Major advances in genetics have also come from UW–Madison labs. Last year, geneticist Frederick Blattner completed the genetic mapping of the bacterium E. coli, one of the most complex organisms to date to be fully sequenced.

Undergraduate student interest in biological science fields has been booming, Wiley said, adding that the governor’s proposal will provide new teaching opportunities in the highest-demand areas. In attracting federal research funding, the new positions will help UW–Madison compete for literally hundreds of millions of dollars in new funding available for biological science research.

Wiley said the breadth of UW–Madison’s strengths could help Wisconsin become a major economic player in this scientific revolution. Through technology transfer from the laboratory to local industry, UW–Madison innovations in biology have already led to the formation of more than a dozen businesses in the Madison area in the last decade, employing more than 200 people.

“The governor’s proposal will allow us to attract cutting-edge faculty whose research will be a catalyst for new biological sciences companies based in the state,” Wiley said.