Author: Ken Stuart

Ken Stuart wrote:

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.]

Comments | Reprints | Share:  

 
 
 

UNDERWRITERS AND PARTNERS

Ken Stuart wrote:

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.”

Comments | Reprints | Share:  

 
 
 

Ken Stuart wrote:

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 »

Comments | Reprints | Share: