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Editorial: MIIR moving ahead with Marshall's biotechnology plans
The Robert C. Byrd Biotechnology Science Center is a large part of Marshall University’s plans to establish research in biotechnology-related fields through the Marshall Institute for Interdisciplinary Research. With the hiring of its director, who also will be its first researcher, MIIR is taking the first steps toward making that goal a reality.
Purchase this photoThe Marshall Institute for Interdisciplinary Research (MIIR) has its first researcher. Eric B. Kmiec, the director of applied genetics at the University of Delaware, has been hired as MIIR's first endowed professor.
Kmiec, who will be the director and lead research scientist of the institute, is the first of what Marshall University President Stephen Kopp hopes will eventually be nine professors working on research projects that will produce patents for the university and license agreements with the corporate sector, establishing Marshall as an elite school. The positions would eventually be funded based on the results of the research after five years.
"Several years ago, people were saying this was a good idea, but wondering if it could actually happen," Kopp said. "Well, it's happening."
Already an established name in the field of gene repair, Kmiec is bringing his own small biotech company, OrphageniX, with him from Delaware to "blossom" in Huntington. The company has five issued patents and seven pending.
Kmiec's own research is being funded by a separate $5 million grant from the state that has been matched by private dollars raised by the university.
Several years ago, Marshall committed itself to biotechnology research. That effort was helped by the construction and opening last year of the $48 million Robert C. Byrd Biotechnology Science Center. There's more to be done, including fundraising to match $15 million for science research that the state has offered to Marshall.
Biotech research could be what Marshall needs to make a name for itself and become known as much for its scientific accomplishments as its athletic performances. Now that MIIR has its first researcher on campus, things could start moving. This could be an early stage in the development of a new industry that could create thousands of new jobs in the Tri-State and in West Virginia.
