In light of the doom and gloom in the financial markets, an upbeat assessment from the University of Washington is a refreshing change — and its estimate of benefits from the federal stimulus plan bodes well for research universities across the U.S. The university expects to rake in a $300 million windfall of research money in the next six months as part of President Obama’s stimulus measure, according to Linden Rhoads, UW vice provost of technology transfer. The cash infusion would represent about a 30% boost in research funding at UW, which already commands a $1 billion budget for sponsored research. But the new money will also force the school’s biomedical researchers to show results from their work in two years instead of the usual five-year grant cycle, Rhoads said during a panel discussion at Invest Northwest. That pressure will also lead to a frenzied recruitment effort, she said, predicting “competition for any loose postdocs and scientists out there.” Also addressing the venture forum, Ulrich Mueller, vice president for technology transfer at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, agreed that the pressure is on scientists to submit more grant applications and to figure out how to meet a two-year deadline to show results. Mueller reports that all of the Hutchinson Center’s scientists are working on one or two additional grant applications in response to the stimulus package.

Go to: Xconomy

Posted March 25th, 2009 under Tech Transfer

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