University of Albany, Albany Med to collaborate on Institute for Biomedical Education and Research

One of the nation’s oldest medical schools in Albany is turning to academia for help in its fight against cancer and Alzheimer’s Disease, and a new biomedical research facility at the University at Albany’s East Campus will serve as the staging ground for that collaboration.

Officials from Albany Medical Center and UAlbany announced today a partnership that will combine their research and educational operations in a physical location for the first time in the history of the 169-year-old hospital and 164-year-old school.

Combined, Albany Med and UAlbany expect to garner more National Institute of Health grants for research. Albany Med also plans to broaden its medical doctorate offerings by pairing them with professional doctorate, master’s and bachelor’s degree programs.

“Today marks the beginning of the collaboration,” Albany Medical Center President and Chief Executive Officer James Barb said at a news conference at the Gen*NY*sis Center for Excellence in Cancer Genomics. Gen*NY*sis is the East Campus’ newest 113,000-square-foot facility, which opened in 2005.

The two institutions on Friday entered a memorandum of understanding, which said they will work together to bring the 110,000-square-foot Institute for Biomedical Education and Research at UAlbany’s East Campus.

“This is going to be world class in every way,” state Sen. Joseph Bruno, R-Brunswick, said at the news conference.

Bruno called the biomedical institute “a done deal,” with $42 million in capital funding already set aside for the East Campus project in the state’s current fiscal year budget. Hospital and university officials could neither specify how many jobs the new facility would host nor when it would open.

However, Barba said the biomedical institute would be an economic driver and likened it to the Georgia Research Alliance, a partnership between research universities, businesses and state government that has helped attract 90 startup companies and create 40,000 technology sector jobs since its founding in 1990.

The biomedical institute will continue the East Campus’ 12-year-old transformation from a pharmaceutical research complex abandoned by the Sterling Winthrop Co. The 87-acre campus now also houses 20 public and private entities and employs 1,000.

By James Schlett
Gazette Reporter

Latest Gifts Bring Private Philanthropy Support for UAlbany's Cancer Research to $1.07 Million

Interim President George M. Philip was joined by E. Stewart Jones and several other donors to announce $166,000 in gifts to support cancer research at the University at Albany-SUNY, bringing total support to $1.07 million on the strength of more than 1,000 individual donors. The gifts include $150,000 from Jones to support the Cancer Research Endowment, $10,000 from The Community Foundation for the Capital Region's Bender Scientific Fund, as well as $1,000 gifts from the Rensselaer County Chamber of Commerce and researchers Scott Tenenbaum and Thomas Begley.

The support is the latest measure of success for the University's Cancer Research Center, the signature building of UAlbany's East Campus and home to the Gen*NY*Sis Center for Excellence in Cancer Genomics (GCECG) and the Center for Functional Genomics (CFG). Recent developments include the hiring of senior researchers Martin Tenniswood and JoEllen Welsh from The University of Notre Dame through the Empire Innovation Program. The program aims to boost economic development and research competitiveness across New York State by enabling SUNY's university centers and doctoral campuses to hire investigators in areas in which the University is already demonstrating national and international strength.

Other investments include $2.2 million from the National Institutes of Health for Begley to continue research on molecular pathways. Begley, an assistant professor of biomedical sciences at the School of Public Health (SPH) and researcher at GCECG, was also awarded $200,000 through the James D. Watson Investigator program to research cellular responses to chemotherapeutic drugs used to treat cancer. Assistant professor and researcher Douglas S. Conklin received a $450,000 award from the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program. Tenenbaum, an assistant professor biomedical sciences and GCECG scientists, received $2.6 million grant from the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) to study the organization and function of human genes. GCECG scientists have also partnered with other regional medical facilities, including St. Peter's Hospital, Samaritan Hospital and Glens Falls Hospital to secure grants helping to advance cancer research.

"I want to thank E. Stewart Jones and all those in the community who have given to support cancer research here at the University at Albany," said Philip. "Their generosity and commitment to assist us in our efforts to discover the root causes of cancer is inspirational. It's also another measure of how the Cancer Research Center is a successful investment for the Capital Region."

"I appreciate the support of E. Stewart Jones, the Rensselaer County Chamber of Commerce and others in the Capital Region for building upon our investment in cancer research at the University at Albany," said Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno. "I also commend the scientists at UAlbany who continue to inspire support through their commitment to cutting-edge research aimed at finding the cure for cancer."

"It's an honor to be a part of this effort at the University at Albany to find a cure for cancer," said Jones. "I look forward to following the progress of the cancer researchers in this building as they continue their groundbreaking study in cancer genomics."

"These gifts are a recognition of the maturation of the Cancer Research Center and the Gen*NY*Sis Center for Excellence in Cancer Genomics," said Paulette McCormick, director of the Gen*NY*Sis center. "With this investment, we will be better equipped to unlock the fundamental causes of cancer and work toward developing a cure."

"We're happy to make the investment to support cancer research at the University at Albany's Cancer Research Center," said Jake Dumesnil, director of programs and communications for the Rensselaer County Chamber of Commerce. "We take it as part of our mission at the chamber to assist in the progress of this Center and its scientists."

"The support of E. Stewart Jones, the Chamber of Commerce and all those who have given to this facility is essential to our educational mission at the university and the School of Public Health," said Dean Philip C. Nasca. "Our researchers in the Cancer Research Center are also indispensable as educators for the biological sciences program at the School and these investments will help them better serve the students of UAlbany."

"As a scientist and professor, I'm happy to be able to give back to the University by donating to support cancer research here at UAlbany," said Tenenbaum. "The community has been instrumental in supporting our work, and I feel it is only fitting that we recognize these investments by contributing as well."

The goal of the Cancer Research Endowment is to accelerate finding effective treatments for cancer through investment and research, including:

Recruiting renowned senior-level scientists with the ability to propel and inspire scientific accomplishment, as well as junior-level faculty to complement existing research strengths
Establishing competitive fellowship stipends to attract top doctoral and post-doctoral students
Provide capital for pilot and innovative new projects and approaches
Maintain cutting-edge equipment critical to a researcher’s success
Sponsoring symposia, visiting scientists and publication of research findings in national and international journals
The Cancer Research Center combines UAlbany research expertise in genomics and biomedical sciences with state-of-the-art technology in an 113,000 square-foot facility. The Center hosts scientists committed to discovering the genetic origins of cancer and who conduct research into finding a cure for the disease. It is part of New York State's Generating Employment Through New York Science (Gen*NY*Sis) program, a $500 million initiative in government and private investment, spearheaded by Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno. Its goal is to lure new life science industries to the state and make New York a leader in creating science and technology jobs.

Distinguished Cancer Researchers Arrive at the University of Albany

Prostate cancer specialist Martin Tenniswood and breast cancer researcher JoEllen Welsh join faculty at School of Public Health, Gen*NY*Sis Center for Excellence in Cancer Genomics

Cancer researchers Martin Tenniswood and JoEllen Welsh have joined the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the University at Albany-SUNY's School of Public Health from the University of Notre Dame as the Empire Innovations Professors of Biomedical Sciences. Tenniswood and Welsh will join the Gen*NY*Sis Center for Excellence in Cancer Genomics as researchers.

The Empire Innovation program aims to boost economic development and research competitiveness across New York State by enabling SUNY's university centers and doctoral campuses to hire investigators in areas in which the University is already demonstrating national and international strength. The program was instrumental in recruiting both professors from Notre Dame.

Tenniswood and Welsh have focused their research on improving current hormone therapies for prostate, breast and endometrial cancers. Their goal is to obtain a better understanding of the development of hormone-resistant disease, which ultimately leads to the death of the patient. Their approach has been to clone, and characterize the expression of a number of apoptosis-related genes that are involved in prostate and mammary gland regression.

The laboratories for Tenniswood and Welsh are located in the University's Gen*NY*Sis Center for Excellence in Cancer Genomics at the Cancer Research Center. The Center combines UAlbany research expertise in genomics and biomedical sciences with state-of-the-art technology in a 113,000 square-foot facility. The Center hosts scientists committed to discovering the genetic origins of cancer and who conduct research into finding a cure for the disease. It is part of New York State's Generating Employment Through New York Science (Gen*NY*Sis) program, a $500 million initiative in government and private investment, spearheaded by Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno. Its goal is to lure new life science industries to the state and make New York a leader in creating science and technology jobs.

"The appointment of Drs. Tenniswood and Welsh to the School of Public Health and Gen*NY*Sis Center for Excellence in Cancer Genomics is just one more sign of the maturation of the Center since its inception in 2005," said Interim President George M. Philip. "I would like to thank Senator Bruno for his vision for the Cancer Center and Dr. Paulette McCormick and Dean Philip Nasca for bringing such distinguished, world-class researchers to our campus."

"The East Campus, along with its School of Public Health and Gen*NY*Sis Cancer Research Center, continues to serve as a magnet to attract the best and brightest researchers from around the world," said Senator Bruno. "I commend the University at Albany, most especially President Philip, Dr. McCormick and Dean Nasca for bringing two of the foremost leaders in cancer research to the Capital Region to further their work in developing innovative technology in the fight against cancer."

"It is a pleasure to welcome such fine scientists as Drs. Tenniswood and Welsh to the University and to the School, joining the ranks of top researchers here in the fields of bioterrorism, emerging diseases, and health policy," said School of Public Health Dean Nasca. "Their arrival strengthens our programs and research for undergraduate and graduate students in the field of biological sciences and cancer studies."

"Martin Tenniswood and JoEllen Welsh are well-established leaders in their fields," said McCormick, director of the Gen*NY*Sis center. "As senior researchers, they will help mentor a strong core group of young scientists and students and help steer the Cancer Research Center so that the discoveries we make here can quickly be translated into information that directly helps patients."

Welsh, an expert in steroid hormones, nuclear receptors and breast cancer, is internationally recognized as the prominent researcher in the role of Vitamin D in breast cancer prevention and treatment. She has been funded for her research on Vitamin D through the National Institutes of Health since 1985, and currently holds two NIH grants, with funding of $1,080,000 per year through 2010. Her research has been published in Endocrinology, the Journal of Biological Chemistry, and the Journal of Nutrition.

An expert in apoptosis in prostate cancer, Tenniswood was previously the Coleman Foundation Chair of Biological Sciences at Notre Dame. Tenniswood has been published in a variety of journals, including the Journal of Biological Chemistry, Molecular Cancer Therapeutics and Oncogene.

Through its partnership with the New York State Dept. of Health, UAlbany's School of Public Health offers students immediate access to internships at the Health Department, Albany Medical College, and variety of other public and private health institutions throughout New York. The school serves as the academic anchor of the East Campus, the biotech hub of the university's life sciences research, which includes the Cancer Research Center, home to the Gen*NY*Sis Center for Excellence in Cancer Genomics and the Center for Functional Genomics.

Students and faculty at UAlbany's globally-oriented School of Public Health study the most profound health issues facing us today: the origins of disease such as cancer, the threat of bioterrorism, the spread of HIV/AIDS and other emerging diseases, the lack of affordable and accessible health care for individuals and families, environmental hazards, substance abuse and social violence, maternal mortality in developing countries, the promises and threats of genetic engineering, and protecting food and water supplies.