The UMass Life Sciences Task Force

‘UMass LSTF’ UMass Board of Trustees

Committee on Science,Technology & Research

September 3, 2008

Formation of the UMass LSTF

Formation was the result of a recognition that there exists with the university no single entity better positioned to realize the potential created by continued investment in the life sciences and the economy of all the regions of the state

Creation of the UMass LSTF important and timely

– Willingness on the part of senior administrators, faculty and staff across the university to foster university initiatives in the life sciences, increase collaboration, leverage and optimize use of resources

– Commonwealth’s emergent life sciences vision, in which the university is featured prominently as a partner of the Commonwealth, intersects with a critical point in the future of life sciences research

Structure of the UMass LSTF UMass LSTF decided it most prudent to organize its efforts into six

working groups, each responsible for crafting focused reports on life sciences thematic areas, represented as “pillars”

– Shared Infrastructure and Additional R&D– Advanced Therapeutics– Nanotechnology – Technology Innovation Centers– Workforce and Policy Initiatives– Health, Disease and Behavior

Each of the working groups conducted thorough situational analyses of campus and university-wide research activities that occur within its thematic areas and provided a set of recommendations to the UMass LSTF

UMass LSTF identified common themes and endorsed them as ‘UMass LSTF Recommendations.’

UMass LSTF Takeaways

UMass Is Well Positioned UMass LSTF Recommendations document that the university is poised

to achieve its full potential as a world class research university, particularly in the life sciences

Success Depends On Collaboration And Engagement Potential dependent upon a commitment of the five campuses and its

life sciences leadership to collaborate actively and to integrate the many resources and expertise that exist throughout the university system and in the government, private research institutions and life sciences industry of the Commonwealth

We Have The Potential To Be World Class UMass LSTF process has made clear that there exists a willingness

and desire to continue to work together actively and collaboratively to implement strategies that advance the university’s position as a world class center of life sciences education, research and innovation

UMass LSTF TakeawaysNew Collaborative Structures Are Essential

Developing collaborative structures to coordinate life sciences information, activities and initiatives would be in the best interest of both the university system and the five campuses

– Helps to reduce and avoid unnecessary inefficiencies and redundancies

– Helps to bring together multidisciplinary UMass faculty who would otherwise not be presented with opportunities to engage with colleagues on other campuses or in other disciplines

– Strengthens the university’s position as an attractive institution to invest in (industry; extramural funding agencies; the state; philanthropists)

UMass LSTF Takeaways

The Time To Act Is Now

Report presents wonderful opportunities for collaboration

University embarking on a major life sciences infrastructure improvement campaign

UMass LSTF Key Recommendations1. Attract, Retain and Graduate

University Students in STEM Degree Programs and Prepare Them to Become the Life Sciences Talent of the Future

2. Focus on Existing University R&D Strengths in the Life Sciences

3. Develop a Network of University-led or Supported Regional Innovation Centers Across the Commonwealth

4. Continue University-wide Support of Life Sciences Collaborative Efforts

5. Establish the University of Massachusetts Center for Clinical and Translational Science

6. Establish Life Sciences-specific Seed Funding

7. Establish the University of Massachusetts Core Facilities Steering Committee to Develop New Models for Inter-campus Sharing of Core Facilities

8. Develop Organized and Funded Programs of Inter-campus Retreats, Symposia, Seminars and Visiting Professorships

9. Undertake a Systematic Review of Administrative, Regulatory and Statutory Barriers that Inhibit Inter-campus Collaboration and Prevent the University from Acting in an Entrepreneurial Manner

10. Pursue Capital and Operating Funding to Enhance University Life Sciences Infrastructure and Research Initiatives

UMass LSTF Panelists Greer Glazer

– Attract, Retain and Graduate University Students in STEM Degree Programs

Paul Vigeant– Develop Regional Technology Innovation Centers

John Sullivan– Establish UMass Center for Clinical and Translational Science

Terence Flotte– Establish the UMass Life Sciences Moment Fund

Susan Braunhut– Establish the UMass Core Facilities Steering Committee

Paul Kostecki– Develop Incentives and Removing Barriers to Inter-Campus

Collaboration and Entrepreneurial Efforts

Attract, Retain and Graduate University Students in STEM

Degree Programs and Prepare Them to Become the

Life Sciences Talent of the Future

Greer Glazer, PhD

Attracting, Retaining and Graduating Students in STEM Degree Programs

Academic and professional achievement in the life sciences requires increasing the number of students prepared for, recruited to, and successful in STEM degree programs and the dynamic life sciences industry

Efforts should include:– strengthening K-12 initiatives to attract more students into STEM fields– undertaking special strategies to improve retention and graduation

rates of STEM students, such as summer bridge programs, developmental advising for STEM majors and increased use of supplemental instruction in STEM courses with poor success rates

– hiring new STEM faculty, as well as administrative and support staff– improving the undergraduate curriculum by integrating the life

sciences with other disciplines– providing additional experiential learning experiences through

expanded use of co-ops and internships– developing new kinds of graduate degrees that target high demand

areas and link the life sciences with business and management.

Next Steps in Developing Talent Use capital funds in Higher Education Bond Bill and Life Sciences

legislation to develop necessary infrastructure for teaching STEM Use the Life Sciences Talent Initiative report as a “blueprint” for

new program development Aggressively pursue state funding opportunities to be developed

by the Mass Life Sciences Center Seek out federal funding through the Readiness Project to

support K-12 STEM program development Work with industry associations and key firms to develop

academic-industry partnerships Creation of a database of programs and students involved in

STEM initiatives across the system Establishment of program-specific post-doctoral traineeships in

the life sciences in areas where they don’t exist in the UMASS system

Develop a Network of University-led or Supported Regional Innovation Centers Across the Commonwealth

Paul Vigeant

UMass is Key to Developing Regional Innovation Centers

UMass is uniquely positioned to serve as a strategic resource for the development of regional technology innovation centers throughout the state

Such centers can provide regional infrastructure and services to support growth of key elements of the life sciences industry

Such centers will enable UMass to link its research and teaching capabilities with the needs of industry around the state

UMass campuses already have some centers in place or in development

– PVLSI (Amherst/BayState), VDC (Boston), ATMC (Dartmouth), M2D2 (Lowell), Stem Cell Bank (Worcester)

UMass chancellors have been appointed to the advisory board to the Mass Life Sciences Center

Next Steps in Developing a Network of Regional Innovation Centers

Develop centers that will incorporate:– An understanding of industry’s needs…appropriate staffing

and organizational models…business-like administrative policies and practices…state-wide linkages on common roles such as tech transfer and workforce development

Ensure UMass campuses make effective use of the nearly $30MM already allocated to such centers

Pursue additional capital funds to develop additional centers (over $50MM in life sciences bill)

Pursue annual operating funds for such centers from the Mass Life Sciences Center, industry fees, etc.

Organize the centers as state-wide “network” using a group such as Mass Tech Transfer Center to assist in coordinating activities

Establish the University of Massachusetts Center for Clinical and Translational

ScienceJohn Sullivan, MD

Michael F. Collins, M.D.SVP for the Health

Sciences

UMass Center for Clinical and Translational Science (UMCCTS)

J. Sullivan, DirectorT. Flotte, J. Gurwitz, Chair QHS, W. Ettinger, K. Luzuriaga,

S. NooneResearch Leaders: Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell

Co-DirectorsUMCCTS

Executive Committee

UMCCTS Strategic Advisory

Group

UMCCTSExternal Advisory

Committee

Campus LeadersAmherstBostonDartmouth LowellChair, MedicineChair, Molecular MedicineChair, CardiovascularChair, PathologyChair, OrthopedicsCEO UMMHCCancer CenterTom Chmura, UMassP. Isakson, Abbott BioresearchR. Farquhar, Charles River LabsE. Overstrom, WPI-BEI

Operations Committee

Community Advisory

Board

Co-DirectorsT2 and T3Bedside to Patients & Community

Biostatistics &CT Design

Biomedical Informatics

Community Research &

Engagement

Child Health Research

Novel MethodologiesUMATCM2D2CWM MBL

Research IntegrationPilot & Collaborative Studies

Translational Technologies & Resources

K-12 Program

PhD, CPHR, MD PhD, Millennium PhD

Master’s in Clinical Investigation

Medical Student Research Track

DNP, PhD Education and

Research in Nursing

Regulatory Knowledge &

Support

Participant Clinical

Interactions

Clinical Research Ethics

Co-DirectorsT1

Bench to Bedside

Co-DirectorsResearch Education,

Training & Career Development

Co-DirectorsResearch Integrity &

Clinical Operations

UMass Center for Clinical and Translational Science

Never before in the history of UMASS campuses has any administrative structure been created to facilitate and enhance research collaboration and education and training between campuses

The UMCCTS will provide an innovative structure which will:– streamline processes for UMass and non-UMass inventors to achieve

rapid ‘bench to bedside’ assessment and advancement of effective new medical devices and innovative therapeutics

– allow for “cutting edge” core technologies to be available to faculty on all university campuses

– provide pilot research grants to facilitate research collaboration between faculty at the medical school and faculty on other campuses

– serve as the first center to bring research faculty from all campuses with interest in clinical and translational research together through symposia and research retreats

– make education and training programs focused on training the clinical investigators and research professionals of the future available to faculty and students on all UMASS campuses.

UMass Center for Clinical and Translational Science

UMCCTS envisioned as the training ground for the next generation of clinical and translational research investigators at the University of Massachusetts

UMCCTS will provide all the resources necessary for the growth and development of clinical investigators

Example:– A young investigator working with our Research

Integration Co-Pilots to obtain Pilot grant funding which will utilize novel translational research methodologies and core technologies to speed the development of new therapeutic agents and medical devices based on discoveries made by our basic science faculty. Therapeutic agents or medical devices shown to be effective will be piloted in the community setting with implementation or standard of care being our final goal

Establish Life Sciences-specific Seed Funding

Terence Flotte, MD

UMass Life Sciences Moment Fund $ 1 Million UMass LS Moment Fund will be funded by the medical

school and overseen by the Office of the SVP for Health Sciences Funds dedicated to multi-investigator pilot projects identified as

key strategy to incentivize collaborative partnerships– Fund will complement the highly successful President’s S&T Fund,

which has had $80MM ROI on $5MM investment– Fund will be made available for inter-campus collaborative projects,

involving at least one faculty member from the Worcester campus– Collaborative projects must be oriented towards clinical and

translational research Envisioned that the LS Moment funding will be leveraged to

attract additional extramural funding, particularly NIH (R21, R01, P01) and NSF program awards

Ultimate goal is to develop technologies that will interest industry partners

Establish the University of Massachusetts Core Facilities Steering

Committee to Develop New Models for Inter-campus Sharing of Core FacilitiesSusan Braunhut, PhD

UMass Core Facilities Steering Committee

There exists well-equipped laboratories and sophisticated equipment in individual labs and core facilities on particular campuses, but there is no “one service-one fee” structure and no centralized database alerting investigators of the existence of these resources

Cores throughout the university lack adequate critical technical staff to operate them

– Forms for requesting services are not standardized– Some cores do not have web-based information about their

specialized services– Provisions for shipping materials and adequate descriptions on

expected results and analysis are not well defined for potential user– Little contact and collaboration with industry

Certain highly desired capabilities, such as a high performance computing capability, do not exist anywhere in the university

– Desired capabilities need to be identified, prioritized and funded

UMass Core Facilities Steering Committee

Implement a plan to improve access and use of university cores, with particular focus given to reviewing: services; fees; governance and the establishment of a Web-based portal listing of the core facilities

Comprised of members from each of the campuses to coordinate core facility resources within the university system

Committee would be charged with the following:– identifying and prioritizing new instrument acquisition needs that are lacking

throughout the five-campus system new equipment acquisition should focus on desirable capacities that are currently limited

or not found within the current cores

Soliciting applications for supplementation or select cores that would receive funds for staffing

– Staffing of a core facility should, by design, address the care and use of sophisticated instrumentation and should provide, where appropriate, training to students at the undergraduate, graduate and post-doctoral level in the use of such equipment.

– Staffing would include a core manager, as well as an additional technical staff person.

Developing Incentives and Programs and Removing Barriers to Inter-Campus

Collaboration and Entrepreneurial Efforts

Paul Kostecki, PhD

Developing Incentives and Programs Identified need and desire to develop structured

opportunities for UMass faculty engaged in life sciences-related research to interact and collaborate with each other and with potential industry partners– Annual or bi-annual life sciences meetings or retreats– Faculty-industry seminar series or meetings– Visiting Professorships– Seed funding for multi-campus projects (i.e. Life Sciences

Moment Fund)– Collaboration-enabling technology (i.e., wikis, blogs,

portals, video-conferencing)

Removing Barriers

Barriers exist at multiple levels of the university and between the university and outside institutions that impede collaborative and entrepreneurial efforts– Life Sciences” definition beyond just biomedical– Expertise awareness– Library resources access– Core facilities access– Articulation agreements– Real estate, construction and leasing authority and

flexibility

Addressing Barriers

The five libraries of the university learned of the administrative barrier recommendation and decided to act upon it– Organized a task force to discuss those barriers

that exist between the libraries and that impede collaboration and/or access to library resources

– Libraries have proposed a unified strategy to address access issues

Now What??

How do we capitalize on the process, as well as the

recommendations?

Maintaining the Momentum into Academic Year 2008-2009

Ensure that we deliver exceedingly well in the initial state-supported initiatives that were awarded to UMass (e.g., stem cell bank, M2D2)

Receive support and encouragement of the STR Committee, as well as the entire board, to advance the work of the UMass LSTF

Distribute the report broadly throughout the university community– Enlist the help of governing bodies such as the

campus faculty councils to raise awareness and channel campus input

Maintaining the Momentum into Academic Year 2008-2009

Establish and bring together UMass LSTF Steering Committee to:– Facilitate chancellor-level discussion to move life sciences vision

forward– Consider broadening life sciences– Bring together executive committee of the UMass Center for Clinical

and Translational Science to develop the center– Organize, structure and administer the ‘UMass Life Sciences Moment

Fund’– Populate and oversee a steering committee to review core facilities

throughout the university – Follow through on the recommendations of the Life Sciences Talent

Initiative Use the Standing Meetings of the President’s Council, the

Provost’s Council and the Research Council to identify and address those administrative barriers that impede inter-campus collaboration and entrepreneurial activities in the life sciences