Industry Support For UB Research Reaches Record $19 Million In 1994

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- For the first time, industrial sponsorship of research at the University at Buffalo last year surpassed all categories of external support of research besides federal, according to the Fiscal Year 1994 Year-End Report of the Vice President for Research.

The report, which takes a comprehensive look at UB's contract and grant awards, shows industrial awards received in 1994 totaled $19 million, an 18 percent increase, compared with $16 million in 1993.

"Industry has been our fastest-growing sponsorship sector for many years," said Dale M. Landi, Ph.D., vice president for research.

The total amount of money spent by UB on research in 1994 was $122.3 million, a slight decrease from $123.4 million the previous year.

The total of contract and grant awards from external sponsors -- which in some cases represent funds to be expended over several years -- was $284 million.

"UB has continued to attract significant federal funding for its research programs, despite a much more competitive environment for federal funding," Landi noted.

In fact, he said, across-the-board external sponsorship for the current fiscal year (FY 1995) is up by 11 percent.

Addressing the increase in industrial sponsorship of UB research, Landi pointed out that in order to succeed in the global marketplace, many companies have downsized their operations to become more cost-competitive.

"At the same time, with technology advancing rapidly in many areas, large corporations are realizing they can no longer do it all in-house and have turned to universities for research assistance," he said.

More than 200 companies funded 294 UB research projects in 1994.

€ Grants of $168,428 and $165,626 from the Upjohn Co. to researchers in the School of Pharmacy to study the effectiveness of AIDS treatments. Upjohn was the top industry sponsor of UB research in 1994, funding 13 projects with a total value of $681,887.

€ A $163,955 grant to School of Pharmacy scientists to conduct research on vasodilators from Baker Norton Pharmaceuticals.

€ A $161,855 grant to engineers with the National Center for Earthquake Engineering Research from Steinman Boynton Gronquist Birdsall, an engineering firm, to conduct a seismic-hazard assessment of the Queensboro Bridge in New York City.

€ A $142,897 grant from Biogen, a biotechnology company, to researchers in the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences for work on a new multiple sclerosis treatment.

Major grants awarded to UB researchers in 1994 included $6.3 million from the National Institute on Disabilities and Rehabilitation Research for the establishment of the first national center for screening, selecting and commercializing new assistive devices for persons with disabilities and $3.3 million from the National Institute of Dental Research to develop molecular approaches to anti-infective and anti-inflammatory therapy for periodontal disease, and to assess the role of growth factors in regenerative therapy.

The report also highlights UB's first Multidisciplinary Research Pilot Project Program, which was initiated in 1994. Designed to provide seed funding for pilot projects that improve the university's chances of attracting external support, the program awarded grants to 15 multidisciplinary faculty teams.