Meeting Minutes
August 18, 2004
Members in Attendance:
John Houghton, Dr. John Park, Tom Slaight, Dr. Robert Morantz, Diane Seif, and Joan Kelly Horn
Absent: Dr. William Longmore
Others in Attendance:
Debra Cheshier; Department of Higher Education, Deanne Hackman; Department of Agriculture, Brad Ketcher; Citizen's for a Healthy Missouri, Jackie D. White; Commissioner of the Office of Administration, Ted Smith; Office of Administration, Karen McCann; Office of Administration>
Introductions:
Jackie D. White welcomed the board and guests. Each attendee introduced themselves and gave a brief description of their background and interest in life sciences.
Welcome from the Governor's Office:
Jake Zimmerman, Deputy Chief Counsel to Governor Holden, welcomed the board. He conveyed the importance of life sciences research in terms of the bigger picture for the State of Missouri. He urged everyone to approach the life sciences as a team and to think about what can be done to foster greater development intellectually and fiscally in the life sciences community in Missouri. On behalf of Governor Holden, he thanked the board for their service and moving life sciences forward in the State of Missouri.
Overview and Purpose of the Board:
Ted Smith presented a statutory review of the Life Sciences Research Board (LSRB) and Life Sciences Research Trust Fund (LSRTF). (Handout) Sections 196.1100-196.1130, RSMo, Cumulative Supplement, 2003, authorize the LSRB and LSRTF. The LSRB is a type III entity in the Office of Administration.
It was reported that a 25% share of the Tobacco Settlement Fund in FY 2007 would be $36.9 million.
Previous Work in Life Science:
Dr. John Park explained how, the Life Science Research Committee created by executive order 01-10, urged collaborations and gave preference to proposals with collaborative efforts. The committee was looking for collaborations that were more than geographic in nature. Dr. Robert Morantz added there was fear that almost all the money would be in one part of the state. The centers for excellence concept, in turn, were developed in order to prevent that from happening.
The executive order created the 8 member committee which was made up of scientists. The committee dedicated themselves to support the best research proposals with the most economic potential to the State of Missouri.
The program design employed by the committee allowed any Missouri public or not-for-profit entity that met the requirements to be eligible. There was a requirement that the collaborations had to have had $10 million in prior research. The lead institution was restricted to two proposals. Proposals were required to describe their life sciences capability and the proposals had to enhance their life science research capacity. Submissions were also required to demonstrate how the proposal would turn new knowledge into science. The committee limited each grant awarded to between $2-6 million. Leveraging potential was also given preference by the committee. The committee asked the institutions to describe in the proposals how the committee would know they succeeded.
The eight member committee did not have the capability to review all the proposals in the time allowed. The committee contracted with the Washington Advisory Group (WAG) to review the proposals. After the initial peer review by WAG, the committee reviewed the proposals. None of the institutions with bad initial reviews by WAG were funded. The committee chose the institutions to fund and they were spread throughout the state. In the end, the committee discovered the funds were recalled because of the budget shortfall. The committee then voted that the proposals would not be made public but did send the institutions/individuals their reviews. The committee has been on hold since 2002.
Future Considerations:
Dr. Morantz questioned the future of the board due to the new legislature and the fact that the Senate has not confirmed their appointments. Jackie D. White and Brad Ketcher both shared that a new Governor has the authority to withdraw interim appointments. A new Governor could reappoint all or some of the current members.
There was discussion held on the future commitment by the Governor and legislature. There is a general belief of a commitment, but there could be challenges for the future funding of life sciences. The issue of cloning and stem cell research may create fear and affect funding.
Jackie stated that in light of the message the board just received, it would be unwise to appoint a chair. However, the board should be aware that in calendar year 2005 they will need to begin budget preparation for the fiscal year 2007 budget per legislation. Administrative costs and distribution of grant money should be included in the budget.
Another issue is the amount of lead time that may be necessary to create the centers for excellence. This may be more appropriate once the board is reconstituted next year. By the time the moneys are appropriated in fiscal year 2007, the board will want to have thought about the rules and criteria necessary for the Centers of Excellence. Jackie suggested the board begin thinking about these areas some time next year.
John Houghton inquired about the care taker of the records developed in the past and it was agreed that OA will be responsible for now. John added that what the previous committee did could be used as a blueprint for this board.
Once the new board is established next year, Dr. Park urges them to get the word out to begin developing the collaborative groups in advance of actually creating the centers.
The board agreed to communicate to the life sciences community. The board would like to update the website including the legislation, listing the interim board members, expectations of funding, etc. The Office of Administration will work on updating the website and prepare a letter to send to the life sciences community to share what is going on. The letter and website will be sent to the board in about 30 days for approval.