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UW-Milwaukee grant to start new institute

Continuing in a trend of academic expansion, Gov. Jim Doyle, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Chancellor Carlos E. Santiago and Aurora Health Care President Ed Howe announced the creation of the Wisconsin Institute for Biomedical and Health Technologies.

Through a $1 million UWM-provided seed grant, the WIBHT will involve the support of six schools and colleges and 65 researchers from UWM and Medical College of Wisconsin, according to a release.

The research institute will combine non-profit and private research institutions under one roof, according to Doyle Spokesperson Ethnie Groves. She added Doyle began meeting with the UWM-headed group last fall.

“He is committed, Wisconsin is a place for the forefront of this new [research],” Groves said.

Additionally, the WIBHT will contribute to boosting the economy through research.

“This institute is another great step forward in our economic development effort and is aligned with my vision for a high-end economy,” Doyle said in a release. “It brings together both the public and private sectors to create good-paying jobs, while also providing a vehicle to build the workforce needed to fill those jobs.”

The WIBHT will tackle a variety of different types of objectives including nursing informatics, providing educational training opportunities and developing intellectual property.

The WIBHT will also combine the strengths of some of Milwaukee’s area universities, including UWM, MCOW, Marquette University, Milwaukee School of Engineering and UW-Parkside.

“It will offer southeastern Wisconsin a dynamic area of inquiry that has the potential not only to spawn innovation, but also to contain soaring health care costs and improve patient care,” Santiago said in a release.

However, the institute’s function will not be limited to universities, but will also promote commercial efforts. That effort has already begun with the cooperation of TechStar, a Wisconsin-based technology transfer organization.

The state’s dedication to turning Wisconsin into a research powerhouse began last November when Doyle committed $375 million to UW-Madison’s Wisconsin Institute of Discovery, which will be located east of Luther’s Blues in Madison. A multidisciplinary institute dedicated to new research and research methods, the institute will combine biology, bioinformatics and computer science.

According to Groves, this is another step in Doyle’s dedication to promoting research in the state.

“Madison will serve as the nerve-point for research across the [UW] System,” Groves said.