The burgeoning life sciences/biotech sector here is gratifying and indicates that Seattle isn’t just about airplanes, software and coffee. However, in order for our industry to enjoy the success that others in our region have, it’s crucial that we prioritize training the next generation of scientists.

Last fall, Xconomy hosted an event called “Biotech’s Back,” where leaders from our sector, including Stefan Kappe of Seattle BioMed, shared their views. It is notable that the leaders of both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations were in agreement that the single most important thing we can do is train and mentor young scientists to one day take over our leadership roles. These bright young minds bring innovation, challenging the way we look at existing research problems and pioneering new areas of research.

So what can we do to ensure the next generation is ready to carry forward in the future? We must start early and provide a continuum of training. Today’s headlines shout about the lack of young people interested in scientific careers. Early intervention at the high school level when maturing minds are making educational decisions works. Seattle BioMed’s BioQuest science education program has shown that providing engaging scientific experiences results in students becoming interested in pursuing careers in biomedical research or a related field. In fact, the leaders of this program and its pre-college immersion program, the BioQuest Academy, published a report in PLoS (Public Library of Science) ONE (Nov. 3, 2010) that examined the impact of the Academy during the past five years. This year, for example, 93 percent of the 2005 BioQuest Academy students have completed undergraduate studies with nearly one-quarter explicitly entering fields of study directly related to life sciences careers.

Seattle BioMed is certainly not alone in its work to train the next generation. The Northwest is home to a plethora of opportunities for learning audiences to interact with practicing scientists. Our colleagues include The Center for Inquiry Science program of the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB), which advances K-12 education; the Science Education Partnership teacher immersion training program of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center; and the ethics-focused outreach program of the Northwest Association for Biomedical Research. All three are award-winning programs that complement the BioQuest program, creating a supportive framework for today’s students and tomorrow’s life sciences leaders.

Partnerships are also fueling further success. When Seattle BioMed built a research-quality lab that was specifically designed for high school students, the for-profit biotech Amgen provided funding at the inception of the program in support of the development of an innovative and exciting curriculum. The Washington Global Health Alliance (WGHA), with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, enabled Alliance members to develop the Global Health Ambassadors project and its cross-discipline infectious disease curriculum. This program partnered with the public schools and introduced students at four underserved schools across the state who otherwise not get such an opportunity to the worlds of biotechnology, life science and global health. These examples show how working together can sow seeds that can have the lasting impact.

Still, there must be a continuum of training that builds on and amplifies the earlier educational experiences and illuminates career pathways. Undergraduate research experiences are valuable complements to classroom university education. Partnerships between UW, biomedical research institutes and the biotech companies are valuable in this regard. Support of graduate and postdoctoral education is critical because these are the men and women who have made a career commitment to BioMedicine – it’s from this group that the leaders of tomorrow with emerge. Indeed their training is doubly valuable since it combines learning with the research that is advancing the frontiers of knowledge. Arguably, support … Next Page »

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When you hear “Michigan,” the automotive industry and Motown automatically come to mind, much as when someone says “Seattle,” one thinks of software, airplanes and coffee.

That has changed over the years, and Seattle has increasingly gained recognition as a growing leader in the fields of life sciences and global health. And how we’ve done that offers good insight into what entrepreneurs and innovators in Michigan might do.

—Look to the future. Michigan obviously has a productive and creative workforce—just look at the history of its automotive industry. But what’s the next big thing? The future is biomedicine and how we improve the health of the world through research, development and manufacturing. The life sciences industry in Washington has provided islands of stability and growth during the recent economic downtown.

—Collaborate for success. One of the things that has led to the success of our global health sector in Seattle is collaborations. While many of us compete for funding, we’ve moved beyond the old scientific research model to realize that more progress can be made by working collaboratively and exploiting complementary capabilities.

—Form public-private partnerships. Over the past few years public/private partnerships have emerged as important alternatives to large single organization enterprises. Innovative ways of partnering can generate working relationships that can be both productive and efficient, providing a useful economic model and new way to get things done.

—Train the next generation. At Seattle BioMed, we start hands-on training with high school students in our BioQuest lab and continue through the post-doctoral level. This ensures a well-trained workforce for the future that will stay in our region to sustain the life sciences industry.

—Look beyond the obvious. To make progress, it often takes different skills and abilities—and sometimes going beyond the obvious skill set leads to innovation.

[Editor's note: To help launch Xconomy Detroit, we've queried our network of Xconomists and other innovation leaders around the country for their list of the most important things that entrepreneurs and innovators in Michigan can do to reinvigorate their regional economy.]

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It is somewhat strange to me that one day each year is selected as “World Health Day.” My belief is that every day should be “World Health Day.” But I certainly won’t miss the opportunity to observe today, April 7th, which has been celebrated as World Health Day since 1950, to mark the founding of the World Health Organization. This day affords a worldwide opportunity to focus on key public health issues that affect the international community.

This year’s theme for World Health Day focuses on urbanization and health with a campaign called “1000 cities – 1000 lives.” The idea of cities focused on promoting world health made me proud of what’s happening right here in our own city of Seattle. In fact, just recently we changed our “nickname” from SBRI to Seattle BioMed to more closely reflect our ties with and pride in the city we’ve called home for nearly 35 years.

But aside from the pride of having so many world-class global health organizations clustered together, what’s the biggest advantage of our city? It’s the opportunity for more collaborations, increased idea exchange and additional partnerships. While the old saying is that “necessity is the mother of invention,” I actually believe that “proximity is the mother of invention.” By being close together, we’ll form tighter bonds that can lead to new solutions for global health. I can already see it happening as I take the two-block stroll to PATH (a new neighbor in the growing global health/biotech hub that is the South Lake Union neighborhood) for meetings or hear of casual conversations between researchers in local restaurants or gatherings.

Just two weeks ago, Hans Rosling – the guru of global health statistics and long-time darling of TED conferences – was in town to keynote Seattle BioMed’s annual event. In addition to visiting Seattle BioMed, he also spent time at PATH, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as met with key members of the Washington Global Health Alliance. He was amazed at the how closely we were all located, and noted the benefit that gave us as a global health community. Hans urged us – several times – to take advantage of that by determining how to more fully engage students and the public in our work. He’s right: there is strength in numbers, and by banding together we can more fully engage others in how to play a role in improving the health of the world. Ideas are already coming forth.

And, we already know of our city’s legacy for global health leadership. Each year, Seattle BioMed gives its “Advancing Global Health Award.” And, we rarely have to look beyond our own backyard for honorees. In the past, we’ve recognized very deserving people from Bill Foege, the man credited with helping eradicate smallpox, to Ralph Munro, known for his work with Rotary to help eliminate polio. This year, we recognized a new partner, the Seattle Sounders FC, which has been responsible for turning thousands of soccer fans into warriors in the fight to eliminate malaria. Without a doubt, more global health leaders will emerge from our city.

So, on this day, let’s celebrate Seattle’s role in global health, but let’s work to make every day “World Health Day.”

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In science, success is often measured in small advances in understanding. But in the past decade, technology has led to large leaps of new knowledge that has been well utilized in the battle against global infectious disease.

And, this decade holds even greater promise.

Genomics is an excellent example. We’ve seen the genomics revolution begin in force, providing researchers with vast amounts of data that presented new possibilities. In October 2002, there was a landmark achievement in the world of infectious disease research: Nature published the complete genome sequence of Plasmodium falciparum, the main cause of human malaria. That was accompanied by the complete sequence of Plasmodium yoelii, the agent in rodent malaria. These simultaneously provide the malaria community with a foundation of knowledge for both a lethal human pathogen and its model animal pathogen. The sequencing and annotation of the malaria parasite genome was led by Malcolm Gardner, a malaria researcher who is now at the Seattle Biomedical Research Institute (SBRI).

Importantly, the knowledge gained by knowing the 5,000+ genes that make up P. falciparum has been exploited by malaria researchers around the world to develop new strategies to fight an age-old disease. During 2010, SBRI will move into human clinical trials with a promising malaria vaccine that would not have been possible without genomics. SBRI scientists have found that by removing specific essential genes from the malaria parasite genome the malaria infection is stopped while it is in the liver, before it migrates into the blood and causes disease. Most notably, this resulted in complete immune protection from subsequent infection in the mouse model system. Two genes have been removed from the human malaria parasite, P. falciparum to create the live genetically attenuated parasite vaccine that will be tested.

In addition to the genomics revolution, we’ve witnessed exponential growth in high-throughput analyses that assess the activities and functions of genes that were identified in genome projects. There’s also been advances in the field of informatics that provided the ability to store, integrate and evaluate the abundant data. This is accelerating the ability to translate these findings into applications.

This explosion of data over the past decade has led to new understanding and the realization that much more can be accomplished, especially if researchers worldwide collaborate … Next Page »

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What does the global health community in Washington need in order to firmly stake our claim as a world leader in this endeavor? That question will be a central topic next week when nearly 250 leaders from the Seattle area gather at Suncadia Resort in Cle Elum for the Seattle Chamber’s annual Regional Leadership Conference (Oct. 22-24). The focus of this year’s conference is global health research, innovation, distribution, and philanthropy.

The goal of the conference is to provide our regional leaders – including Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, who will be attending along with Gov. Christine Gregoire and Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels – with a clear understanding of the importance of the global health sector and the opportunities that it presents. And, we want to leave the conference with marching orders about what needs to be done to ensure our state as a center for excellence in global health.

The question of what the global health community needs has been considered for quite some time by me and my colleagues in the Washington Global Health Alliance. We have generated a framework with four major categories of what is required:

• Increasing marketing, outreach and recruitment activities
• Improving education, training and mentoring opportunities
• Enhancing infrastructure and incentives
• Creating public-private sector partnerships

Along with my colleagues Chris Elias of PATH, Judy Wasserheit of the University of Washington and Guy Palmer of Washington State University, I have been asked to address this issue head-on. The four of us will take part in a panel discussion to present our views and stir the creative juices of attendees with the intent of identifying the best ways to strengthen the global health enterprise in the state.

So what will I say? I will point out that Washington State global health community has made remarkable progress since the 1970s when I started Seattle Biomedical Research Institute. The well-developed health research community welcomed and embraced me, as well as my scientific goals, at a time when America was primarily focused on diseases that directly impacted this country. There was interest — but little research activity — in the global killers that were known at that time as “tropical diseases.”

That all changed with the multiple surges of emerging and re-emerging diseases, the HIV pandemic, the ability of many pathogens to resist common drugs, and economic globalization. As a consequence, awareness of the importance of what is now called “global health” has grown through the years. The fortunate presence of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has further enhanced that awareness. In addition, Washington State possesses superb intellectual capital, the best technologies, and organizations that are committed to this sector. So we are well-positioned to work on developing new solutions to be delivered to improve global health. This has already had significant economic impact in our state – creating new jobs to expand the research infrastructure.

A key factor in this success is the tradition of cooperation and collaboration among the global health organizations, an element that I experienced so keenly when SBRI started. From its inception, SBRI collaborated with University of Washington research faculty and that cooperation was expanded when SBRI first became formally affiliated with the UW in the early 1990s.

SBRI also recognized that the mission of PATH — to deliver appropriate health technologies globally — complemented our mission of scientific discovery. SBRI and PATH shared space years ago, which both of our organizations outgrew. Our vision that SBRI’s discoveries would one day be delivered by PATH is now becoming a reality through our partnership within PATH’s Malaria Vaccine Initiative. SBRI will now be home to one of only four centers in the world that will test malaria vaccine candidates in humans. This cooperative tradition helped each of organization move forward both individually and collectively. And, it is a key advantage in competing with other states and regions.

But, what needs to be done to ensure that Seattle and Washington State remains a, if not the, leading center for global health research? … Next Page »

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is coming soon.

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