| Contact: Colleen Roche/Curt Ritter (212) 788-2958 | Mayor's Task Force on Biomedical Research and Development |
"New York City has more world-class medical research institutions than any other City in the world," said Mayor Giuliani. "With the right spirit of collaboration and cooperation we are ideally positioned to lead the nation and the world in this fundamentally important area."
The Mayor offered his support for a number of groundbreaking collaborative research efforts bringing together New York's top hospitals and healthcare institutions. He specifically noted the development of The New York City Cancer Project, an unparalleled consortium of over 20 of New York City's top research and community health institutions united to address the epidemic of cancer. He also announced plans to create The New York Structural Biology Center, a landmark collaborative venture formed by the New York City Partnership and nine area universities and hospitals that will make New York City the world leader in an important emerging field by building a world-class research institution on the CCNY campus in Upper Manhattan. Mayor Giuliani also praised Queens College for its commitment to The Bernard & Gloria Salick Center for Molecular and Cellular Biology at Queens College, which will be one of the world's foremost research institutions on HIV and AIDS when it opens in 2001.
"The reality of the modern economy is that sustained growth demands collaboration," the Mayor continued. "Unfortunately, the multiplicity of medical schools and health care institutions that once made New York the dominant player in medical research have frequently acted as a hindrance to growth because those institutions have traditionally competed with one another for money, talent and prestige."
To help create a climate more conducive to growth and unite academia and industry in furthering economic development, the Mayor announced the formation of his Task Force On Biomedical Research And Development, to be co-chaired by Dr. Herbert Pardes, Dean of the Columbia University Faculty of Medicine.
The task force will have a three-part mission:
The Mayor announced that he will designate an advisor for medical research and development to offer biotechnology companies and medical researchers a key liaison to all the information they need to know about innovating in the City of New York. The advisor and his staff will be available through a hotline and website to be implemented shortly.
"Since 1981, New York has fallen behind California and Massachusetts in total funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)," the Mayor added. "The Federal Government now plans to double NIH funding over the next five years. It is imperative that New York City position itself to secure its share of this
funding and create economic opportunity for people throughout the City. We have always benefited economically and culturally from encouraging innovation. As we enter the 21st Century, which will be driven more than ever by advanced research in science and technology, it is pivotal the we remain not only a business-friendly City, but a City more open to innovation than any other City in the world."
The Mayor also announced the City's commitment to ensuring long-term collaboration between academia and industry, developing educational programs that emphasize medical research, and attracting talent from around the nation and the world. The Mayor stated his support for recent federal legislation increasing the number of immigrants eligible for H-1B visas, which are designated for people "in a specialty occupation which requires the theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge requiring the completion of a specific course of higher education." The provision also includes a series of strict requirements designed to protect American workers.
"We believe this legislation will enhance economic growth and create more opportunities not only for the hardworking immigrants who will most directly benefit, but for businesses and individuals throughout the City," the Mayor continued.
The program outlined today will help New York City harness its tremendous potential to lead the nation in medical research.
"Enhancing biomedical research and development is fundamental to New York City's economic future. The idea behind quality of life is that achievements and accomplishments don't give you license to rest. On the contrary, they give you a responsibility to do more, to push further ahead. That's exactly what we hope to do today," the Mayor concluded.