November 23, 1999
Contact: Lynn Bretz, University Relations, (785) 864-3256, or Andrea Ernst, director, corporate communications, Midwest Research Institute, (816) 753-7600, extension 1201.
LAWRENCE -- University of Kansas Chancellor Robert Hemenway and Midwest Research Institute Chief Operating Officer James Spigarelli today announced the formation a comprehensive alliance to promote joint research projects and other collaborations.
The KUMRI Alliance crosses all of the disciplines of both institutions but will target cooperative relationships in pharmaceuticals, biomedical engineering and information technology.
"Given KU's strength in basic and clinical research and MRI's expertise in applied research, this partnership is a great fit," Hemenway said. "KUMRI will be financially beneficial to both institutions. It will maximize our scientific expertise, and it will raise the profile of science and technology in the region."
The two institutions have a history of collaborative clinical research in such areas as smoking cessation, cancer prevention, chemotherapy and anti-estrogen drugs. KU and MRI joint research contracts currently total $5 million.
"This alliance breaks new ground in cooperative research between MRI and KU by creating an easier mechanism for the free flow of ideas and information and the advancement of research programs and activities," Spigarelli said. "It also crosses what has sometimes been the barrier of a state line."
The KUMRI Alliance will be led by senior-level representatives from MRI, based in Kansas City, Mo., the KU Center for Research Inc., on the Lawrence campus, and the KU Medical Center Research Institute in Kansas City, Kan.
Hemenway and Spigarelli have set a goal of $50 million in annual research revenues directly attributable to the alliance by the year 2010. Other goals include:
-- establishing a database of common capabilities for KU and MRI researchers
-- coordinating seminars and other professional activities that promote collaborations and the exchange of ideas
-- creating mechanisms to allow sharing of equipment and services
-- promoting joint research projects and other collaborations
-- creating joint appointments, internships and postdoctoral fellowships.
MRI is an independent, nonprofit organization that performs contract research for business, industry and government. MRI operates the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo., for the U.S. Department of Energy. The institute has a staff of 1,300, with facilities in five locations across the U. S.
The Carnegie Foundation designates KU as a Research I university, a classification held by only 59 public research universities. In 1998, KU researchers attracted more than $147 million in external funding.
Members of the KU and MRI task force that proposed alliance goals were James Baxendale, KUMC Research Institute; Peter Smith, KU Medical Center; Charles Decedue and Eli Michaelis, KU's Higuchi Biosciences Center; and William Duncan, Bert Maidment, Antonio Sastre and Patricia Swann, all from MRI.