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Kmiec to head MU Institute for Interdisciplinary Research
Dr. Eric Kmiec, future lead of Marshall Institute for Interdisciplinary Research, stands outside of the Robert C. Byrd Biotechnology Science Center on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2008.
Purchase this photoHUNTINGTON — It wasn’t an easy decision for Eric Kmiec to come to Huntington and be lead researcher for the new Marshall Institute for Interdisciplinary Research.
It was a decision that affected not only his own career, his wife and his two sons, but his research team at the University of Delaware and their families.
When he gets to work at Marshall next year, he’ll be bringing 11 graduate students, research assistants and technicians with him. They’ll be coming in phases next year, and he’s planning to physically move his lab from Delaware to Huntington, a process that will take at least a couple of trucks, in January.
It’s quite a transition for all of them, but what it comes down to is that Marshall made a really unique offer, said Kmiec, a biology professor and director of Applied Genomics at the Delaware Biotechnology Institute. He sees the position as an opportunity to do good scientific research while keeping an eye on the practical side. It’s something every scientist wants to do, but Marshall actually has all the pieces in place to do it, said the award-winning pioneer of gene repair, who brought some of his research assistants to Huntington just last week, to check out the city and the housing situation here.
The MIIR institute is a new research and development program at Marshall that will focus on biotechnology and niche areas of molecular research. It will get up and running with $15 million from the Legislature’s Bucks for Brains program. Marshall is expected to provide a $15 million match, and the $30 million will be put into an endowment, from which the interest will fund the program.
Marshall hopes to hire nine research scientists whose discoveries will spin off into viable commercial businesses, and within five years, each researcher’s work must be at least 50 percent self-sustaining, either through grants or business contracts.
Kmiec, 52, already owns more than 60 issued patents or patent applications and has founded several biotechnology companies. His work has focused on Huntington’s Disease (a neurological disorder characterized by jerky movements and some loss in mental ability) as well as Spinal Muscular Atrophy and Muscular Dystrophy.
At Marshall, he’ll be in charge of not only maintaining a top-notch scientific lab, but helping recruit fellow researchers for the MIIR institute, and of reaching out to companies that might license the research. Rather than doing lab work that’s based on where their own scientific minds lead them, he wants researchers at MIIR to be guided by the marketplace.
In fact, Kmiec has already been on the phone with corporations and biotech companies to find out what kind of lab work companies are looking to license.
Sometimes, lab research is so basic in nature it’s hard to see where you’re going, but the federal government, which is an important source of grants, wants to see specific, goal-oriented research, he said. And with the country’s current financial situation, perhaps it’s best not to be dependent solely all on grants, he said — another reason why licensing agreements with companies are so attractive.
“We have to be proactive,” Kmiec said. “I feel strongly about getting to know these companies now.”
And Kmiec is confident that Marshall will find researchers who can easily be 50-percent self-sufficient within five years — probably more so, he said.
When it comes to recruitment, Marshall has attributes to sell itself, he said.
“I think President (Stephen) Kopp is one of the most innovative and strongest presidents,” Kmiec said. “Marshall is lucky to have him. He’s excited, but he’s also realistic.”
Kmiec also likes the environment at Marshall — the strong and supportive group of scientists there, and the fact that researchers will be doing their work right on campus. “There’s something about a university campus that draws people to it,” Kmiec said.
He hasn’t started recruiting yet. He wants to wait until he’s here for good in January, so that he can collaborate with others at Marshall about choices. But he said he has feelers out.
“We will move forward cautiously but aggressively,” he said.
“I expect a very high bar for the people in my lab. It’s a very tough lab,” he said. For other researchers, “What we will not do is hire somebody just because they’re doing really good science. We want them to be guided by what’s licensable.”
Kmiec is excited to work with other faculty and researchers already at Marshall, both in the college of science and the medical school.
“The quality of the other scientists is important,” he said, and he hopes the institute will complement what they’re already doing.
His wife, Jennifer Kmiec, will move here next year. She has a background in biotechnology business development.
John Maher, vice president of the Marshall Research Corp., said he’s excited to have Kmiec on board and eager to see the interaction between the MIIR institute and the rest of the university.
He hopes all the different departments and groups will step up and collectively raise the bar.
Maher said the university has submitted its research endowment plan to the state’s Higher Education Policy Commission for approval, and that Marshall is poised to begin raising its matching funds.
And Maher urged businesses to consider donating. For those interested in research and technology-based economic development, “It’s one of the best charitable opportunities around,” Maher said.
