Angsuman Chakraborty15 Mar 2007 08:02 am
University of Massachusetts trustees yesterday approved a plan to ask the state for $66.4 million over six years to launch a stem-cell institute.
The proposed institute would back research at all five UMass campuses, but particularly at the Amherst campus and at the UMass Medical School in Worcester. The plan also calls for the construction of a 30,000-square-foot research center in Worcester.
Although the state is home to a robust biomedical research community, it has not invested in a field of research that is considered promising and that could generate economic benefits in the future, a group of UMass officials wrote in a report to the trustees.
UMass is seeking money for stem cells, however, at a time when Gov. Deval L. Patrick is warning of tight financing. The UMass system is also watching its funds, with trustees voting yesterday during a meeting at the medical school to raise student costs by 3.4 percent to meet rising expenses.
The state has previously provided $2.5 million for stem-cell research. Gov. Patrick’s office did not reply yesterday to a request for comment on the stem-cell institute proposal.
One industry researcher who has urged state and federal legislators to support stem-cell research called the proposal an excellent start.
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