Fearless Sifting

Scientific research, and more specifically stem cells, in Wisconsin have been making some headlines recently. Governor Doyle has recently called for a focus on science to propel the Wisconsin economy. The Cap Times also featured an editorial calling for an increase in focus on stem cell research. That part is not really too surprising. The largest chunk of UW-Madison’s gargantuan research budget is focused on the life sciences. See the research budgets of CALS and the School of Medicine and Public Health, pg. 56 or note that well over half of our federal research funding comes from the Department of Health and Human Services for starters. UW professor Dr. James Thompson is one of the world’s leading stem cell researchers and Madison is home to the next World Stem Cell Summit.

The part that is a little bit stunning is the consensus shared by Gov. Doyle and the Cap Times editorial that Wisconsin is doing a great job with the public sector side of research and that its the private sector that needs to do the catching up. From fellow blogger, William R. Benedict, writing an editorial for the Cap Times:

Perhaps the place to begin is with better and more accurate information about who really is paying for this research. We can begin with eliminating two major myths: that university funding for science discoveries is generally paid for by the private sector, and that public revenue sharing would discourage scientific research.

Wisconsin citizens need to consider who owns the university. Who really pays for the laboratories, equipment, supplies, buildings, utilities and salaries of the scientists and staff who work there? Who supports and sustains the gigantic and robust interdisciplinary and collaborative resources deposited there? It is the taxpayers, the students and alumni (you and me) who support and sustain this marvelous and successful research enterprise.

Most readers of this blog should be familiar with the levels of state funding for the UW as a whole, less than 20 %. A closer look at the numbers on research show that the state funds even less of our research. That number is about 9 %, $63.8 million of the $706 million total. The only source of public funds that comes close to making that above quoted statements true is federal funding at $439.3 million. Which makes up more than half of our total research expenditures. The percentage of federally funded research at the UW is also lower than most other public schools. No other institution gets more money for research from non-federal sources and our rank in total research in any category is higher than our rankings in federally funded research in that same category. He does have a point that much of the non-federal money comes from alumni and individuals.

Sorry it's blurry, click on it to see it full sized and clear

Governor Doyle also thinks along those same lines:

“We need to develop research and development in the private sector,” he stated. “We have done a great job in public research, but I want Wisconsin to be known as the leading state for energy and the center of biotech research on the private side.”

While it would be great for Wisconsin to fulfill his goals for private research, saying we have done a great job in public research is only true if he is talking about successfully bringing in federal research money to Wisconsin.

This all is not to say that the state should be investing hundreds of millions of dollars into research or not continuing to encourage private sector research. Privately funded research that can be brought to Wisconsin is always a good thing and with the budget deficit and current economy increasing state funding of research would be a terrible idea. The availability of federal and private money also makes it unnecessary and state funding could be put to much better use in other places at the UW. We just need to be realistic about the efforts that the state is making to fund and encourage stem cell and biotechnology research.

Especially in light of support and funding coming from other states, if we’re serious about making Wisconsin an international center of stem cell research, we need to step up our game. The other state that has made a public goal of attracting stem cell research is California. Steven Clark, a former professor and medical researcher at the University of Wisconsin, writing for the Wisconsin Technology Network puts it best when he said:

By my count, of the $750 million, $421 million comes from non-state sources or is money that already was earmarked for medical school buildings when Doyle made his announcement, leaving about $330 million as Wisconsin’s total commitment to life sciences since 2004—a tidy sum to be sure, but not as impressive as it was made to sound. This is about what California will spend on stem cells each year for the next ten years.

If anything in this post interested you, I can’t emphasize enough how worthwhile it would be for you to read the rest of Dr. Clark’s article. I won’t bother to summarize it here, but it contains all kinds of insight into and criticisms of the UW and Wisconsin’s investments into stem cell research, biotechnology research and the still-under construction centerpiece of that investment, the Wisconsin Institute of Discovery.