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 | Testimony in Support of S-2913 by Donald H. Sebastian, PhD, Sr. Vice President for Research & Development |
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Dec. 12, 2005
Chairman Bryant, Vice-Chairman James, Committee members. My name is Donald Sebastian, Sr. Vice President for Research and Development at NJIT and I am here to speak in favor of Senate Bill 2913. I am speaking on behalf of a coalition of scientists, engineers and community representatives that has been forged over the last year that includes our own university, New Jersey Medical School of UMDNJ, the Public Health Research Institute in Newark, the Coriell Institute in Camden, Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, and the list is growing.
This legislation speaks directly to “the transition of basic research into lifesaving clinical applications for New Jersey residents” and I would like to focus on the need for public support to realize the goal of developing commerce from science.
Well in advance of the promise offered by controlled differentiation of embryonic stem cells, clinical trials are already underway for a diverse array of diseases and conditions using various forms of adult stem cells. Examples include:
- Solid tumors, including breast, kidney, lung, brain and bone cancers
- Blood cancers, including lymphoma, leukemia and multiple myeloma
- Pediatric cancers
- AIDS-related cancers
- Anemia, including sickle cell disease and bone marrow transplant failures
- Liver damage
- Infectious diseases, including CMV (Cytomegalovirus) and RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus)
- Gangrene
- Bone disease
- Periodontal diseases
But the promise of these limited victories will go unfulfilled if there is not equal attention paid to developing a delivery infrastructure that can scale up to the global demands for such therapies.
Technologies for the collection, preservation, differentiation, growth and distribution of stem cell-based therapies have yet to be invented. This is not a simple transformation of conventional pharmaceutical manufacturing steps and this industry is not expected to develop such solutions out of current core competencies.
By analogy, we are talking about something that is as different as the first transistor, hand-made here at Bell Laboratories, was from the mass production technology that can now put millions of tiny transistors on new Pentium chips – each identical to the next, and each working without failure for years of service. We can now look back with 20-20 hindsight to see what happened to the area of California that embraced the creation of commercial systems based on solid state physics.
An approach that integrates basic science to clinical practice connected by engineered delivery systems is critical if New Jersey is to reap not only the medical benefits, but the economic development benefits. New sensors and devices, new information technology, new process systems and even new services are all part of a supply chain ecology that will feed both researchers and practitioners.
This is core to our interest and involvement as it forms a signature identity for the Newark Innovation Zone as well as a shared theme with hubs in Camden and New Brunswick. The state’s investment in research does more than create a windfall for scientists and engineers, it can catalyze formation of a new industry – one that draws on skill sets already resident in the state, builds on our heritage as a process technology state, and creates job opportunities across the entire spectrum of skills.
To this end, our group has already been active. Research discussions facilitated by our interinstitutional Roundtables, workshops and collaborative grant development activities resulted in over one-third of the 72 proposals submitted to the New Jersey Commission of Science and Technology’s recent competition for $5M in stem cell research funds – and we anxiously await the announcement of those awards on Friday. These proposals were both interdisciplinary and multi-institutional with topics like:
- Neural stem cell differentiation (e.g., Pat Soteropoulos [CAG/PHRI] and Pranela Rameshwar [UMDNJ])
- Stem cell transplant tolerance (e.g., Beverly Barton [UMDNJ])
- Umbilical cord blood banking (e.g., Atlantic Health Systems + Newark Roundtable partners)
- Gene expression in in vivo stem cell models (e.g., Pat Soteropoulos [CAG/PHRI] and David Moscatello [Coriell])
- Stem cells in tissue engineering with advanced biomaterials (e.g., Treena Arinzeh [NJIT] and Joachim Kohn et al. [Rutgers])
- Bone repair using stem cells and nanomaterials (e.g., Treena Arinzeh and Mike Jaffe, [NJIT] et al.)
- Single cell analysis of stem cell properties e.g., (Mike Jaffe [NJIT] and Bob Dombrowski [Microview Consulting] et al.)
- Microenvironment-sensitive stem cell culture techniques (e.g., Kam Sirkar, Jing Wu et al. [NJIT, Stevens)
- Supply chain management for stem cell research and commercialization community (Rich Peters [Adeena], Keith Christoffers [SyncCom], Robb Klashner [NJIT] et al.)
- Utility of electrostimulation in stem cell-based tissue engineering (Ewa Herbst [Herbst Research], Hongjun Wang [Stevens] et al.)
- New stem cell separation and characterization methods (Laurent Simon [NJIT] et al.)
These collaborations validate your desire for this investment to be a true statewide effort. Furthermore, the academic researchers have already served to support new business starts in NJIT’s incubator.
The jump from basic science to commercial delivery is always a leap of faith. If it were easy and predictable, there would be no need to discuss an infusion of public support. A number of you have direct experience with NJIT and know of our institutional commitment to translating the assets of academe to societal benefit.
We have utilized this approach with many of you on other issues:
Senator Littell, we have worked with you on a variety of issues related to manufacturing competitiveness and delivered a successful NIST program that has created over $150M of documents cost savings, new or retained sales to our state’s small businesses.
Senator Bucco, and Senator Doria, you have seen what we did with the thorny problem of child safe handguns.
Senator Coniglio, we have helped your constituents with transportation engineering issues and Senator Sarlo’s strong support led to the creation of a Homeland Security technology center that is already providing heightened security to soft targets like our shopping malls and elementary schools across the state.
You have our continued commitment that our entire team embraces the integration of science, public service and economic development that these other projects exhibit.
There are many steps between here and the ultimate flow of funds. The voting public will ultimately decide upon the wisdom of this investment but your actions now can send a strong message that paints the full picture of opportunity before us.
Have no doubt that the science will continue to progress as a global effort. Properly managed, the state investment will not only make New Jersey a leader in developing that science but first out of the gate to harness discovery regardless of place of origin.
Our citizens will benefit from the cures, our economy will benefit from the new and expanded industrial base and our researchers will benefit from the international acclaim. For all of these reasons I ask you to support S-2913, thank you.
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