1. Texas-United Kingdom Collaborative Saint Petersburg 2011 Dr. James Abbey International Strategic Collaborations Advisor Swansea University

2. The Texas – United Kingdom Collaborative: Background:   Following a lecture by Dr. Gillis to the Royal Society in Edinburgh in 2001 and a meeting with Lord Sainsbury, the UK Minister for Science and Innovation a high level UK government delegation to the USA visited Texas, the northeast and the west coast exploring opportunities for collaborations in the life sciences. Texas was selected as the strategic partner for the establishment of a US – UK biosciences collaborative - the Texas - UK Collaborative. The top institutions in Texas became partners in the Collaborative in 2003, these included Baylor College of Medicine, Rice University, the University of Houston, the University of Texas Health Science Center, the University of Texas Medical Branch and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Research Center. More than 70 collaborations, involving over 200 researchers have been established.

3. The Texas – UK Collaborative: Vision: To foster cross disciplinary collaborations among researchers in world class institutions in Texas and the UK building new areas of research and capacity in these areas. The cross disciplinary research is at the interface of the nano, bio and information sciences creating new ideas, techniques and opportunities. The Collaborative supports: ~ Thematic workshops bringing researchers from diverse backgrounds together focusing on specific problems. ~ Research planning meetings for the preparation of research proposals. ~ Faculty/student visits/exchanges, including student internships, to build collaboration and broaden horizons. ~ Seed funding research projects and “proof of concept studies” bringing projects to the demonstration, D2, in the R&D3 continuum.

4. International Collaborations: Importance for Wales: A small fraction of the world’s research can take place in Wales - international collaborations will increase the influence and reputation of Wales in research and development Wales can benefit from research carried out elsewhere by forming collaborations with leading researchers in other parts of the world, especially the USA Building international collaborations provides access to the world’s best science, scientists and facilities

5. International Collaborations Building Team Science: Team Science through alliances, collaborations and consortia availing of the synergy of team approaches and “big” science. An example is the changing face of the biosciences in the post genomic era with converging technologies – nano, bio and info. New enabling technologies. Opportunities for interdisciplinary collaborations – cross- departmental, cross-institution, academia/public/private, international. Building new areas of research and building capacity in these areas.

6. The Texas – UK Collaborative: Why Texas?: Houston is home to the world’s largest medical center, the Texas Medical Center (TMC) with more than 40 MM sq.ft. in 47 institutions. The UT MD Anderson Cancer Center located in the TMC is frequently ranked #1 cancer center in the US Texas ranks # 4 in the US for its share in Federal R&D funding – almost US$4billion annually. Rice University, opened the Smalley Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology in 1993 - the first such center in the world, Rice leads in the development and commercialization of nanotechnology. The Alliance for NanoHealth, an alliance of all academic institutions in the region, has more than 150 researchers researching applications of nanotechnology in medicine and health. The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston with international recognition in emerging infectious diseases is home to a National Laboratory providing BSL-4 facilities.

7. The Texas – UK Collaborative: Why Texas?: University of Texas Medical Branch is also home to the Sealy Center for Vaccine Development with demonstrated excellence in translation with programs in immunization for respiratory diseases, malaria and Hepatitis C Baylor College of Medicine, #1 medical school in Texas and ranked in the top 10 in the USA houses the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy with GMP facilities and, with Texas Children’s Hospital, a translational research laboratory Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) with a budget of $3 billion over 10 years funds cancer research and prevention in public and private entities Texas A&M University has particular strengths in engineering, and early stage clinical development

8. The Texas – UK Collaborative: Why Texas: The University of Texas at Austin is the nation’s largest state university with a student population approaching 60K – particular strengths are in engineering, physical and life sciences The University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston is home to the Institute of Molecular Medicine which holds the leadership position in the recently established Texas Therapeutic Institute (TTI) The University of Houston with a student population of 35K has strengths in cell signalling, technology development,the Center for Industrial Partnerships, and, together with the Methodist Hospital, the Center for the Future of Health.

9. Structure: Structure: The Collaborative consists of nine research led entrepreneurial institutions in Texas and nine institutions regionally distributed in the UK. The Collaborative is led by an Executive Director, Dr. Malcolm Gillis, the 6 th President of Rice University, and by a director working with an advisory group composed of one representative from each of the participating institutions. Fiduciary responsibility is provided by Rice University on the Texas side and by Imperial College London on the UK side. Two program coordinators, one in Texas and one in the UK provide the necessary support.

10. Texas Baylor College of Medicine Methodist Hospital Research Institute Rice University Texas A&M University University of Houston University of Texas at Austin University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center University of Texas Medical Branch United Kingdom Imperial College London King’s College London Queen’s University Belfast Swansea University University College London University of Cambridge University of Southampton University of Strathclyde Partner Institutions:

11. Notable Achievements: A collaboration between UT M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and Imperial College London, the “Texas Proteomic Collaborative”, was established with funding of more than US$1MM. Endomagnetics, Inc., a spin out company from the University of Houston and University College London, supported by the Collaborative, completed a clinical trial detecting sentinel lymph nodes in 20 breast cancer patients. A Quantum Grant of US$2.9MM, over 3 years, from the National Institutes of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering of the National Institutes of Health (USA) to fund a research project for ‘neuro-vascular regeneration’ has been awarded to Baylor College of Medicine, Rice University, King’s College London and the National Institute for Medical Research in London 30% will be spent in the UK. The proposal was facilitated through support from the Collaborative. The Abramson Center for the Future of Health at the University of Houston and at the Methodist Hospital Research Institute will work with researchers in the Institute of Life Sciences at Swansea University, Queen’s University Belfast and the European Center for Connected Health, Belfast, in the development of their Blue Box Technology. Over the past two years the Collaborative has organized workshops in the areas of nanohealth, intelligent control systems, healthcare technologies, regenerative medicine and connected health, bringing together more than 150 researchers from Texas and the UK.

12. Recent Highlights: Prime Minister Brown’s speech, “Enlarging the Anglosphere”, delivered in the US on April 16, 2008 contained six proposals, four of which are currently fostered by the Collaborative: enhancing student and faculty exchanges, increasing cooperation on enterprise, strengthening cooperation in health research and fostering collaboration in other areas of research. In 2008 Endomagnetics was awarded the Innova Award, an award presented in the USA, for the most promising developments involving the use of magnet technology. Arrowhead Research Corporation is at an advanced stage with respect to a decision on locating their European operations at Swansea University. nanoTox, Inc., is currently in progress of establishing their UK center in its global activities in risk assessment of nanotechnology at Swansea University.

13. Recent Highlights: The Collaborative has been recognized as a unique network of leading research led and entrepreneurial institutions in the UK and Texas: Rice University’s Bioscience Research Collaborative Center, a 500,000 sq.ft., strategically located between the Rice campus and the Texas Medical Center, has just opened. The State of Texas has committed funds of US$3 billion over 10 years for cancer research through the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). In 2008, Texas was named as one of the top 5 regions in the world for biotechnology development. The ‘Global Medical Excellence Cluster’ in the UK includes four UK partners.

14. Recent Highlights: The successful £50M proposal for the establishment of a Center for NanoHealth and Institute of Life Science II at Swansea University was greatly strengthened by the support of the Collaborative. Funding of £6.77 million from the EPSRC for research on number entry errors with medical devices has been secured by Professor Harold Thimbleby of Swansea University and colleagues at University College London which will lead to the design and safe use of interactive medical devices – the proposal was enhanced through the support of the Collaborative. Research support for Professor Huw Summers and Dr. Shareen Doak of Swansea University of more than £1 million from the EPSRC involves a collaboration with researchers at Texas A&M University was facilitated by the Collaborative.

15. Funding: Annual budget amounts to approximately $1MM – funds from participating institutions, government agencies and philanthropy Funds provide infrastructure supporting thematic workshops, research planning meetings, faculty and student exchanges. Support provides opportunities to leverage research and educational support from state and national funding agencies Funding for the Texas – UK Drug Development Post Doctoral Training Program is being finalized Research support of more than $25MM has been awarded for successful proposals which were facilitated by the Collaborative

16. Building for the Future: The challenges and the opportunities in the first half of the 21st century are clear: The integration of biomedicine with engineering, physical, biological and computational sciences and with nanotechnology will be one of the most important developments. The application of nanotechnology in medicine - Nanohealth - will be one of the most fertile areas of technological and economic development and opportunity. Partner institutions in the UK with the Texas partners in the Collaborative are uniquely positioned in the at the frontiers of research in the converging technologies – in the past such frontiers have offered the greatest opportunities.

17. Spasibo Bolshoi j.v.abbey@swansea.ac.uk