BLACKSBURG, Va. (WFXR)– Senator Mark Warner convened tech sector leaders across Roanoke and the New River Valley at the Franlin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech’s Carilion School of Medicine to discuss research, economic development, and Virignia’s proposed research triangle.
The research, innovation, and economic development in biotech included more than two dozen biotech, healthcare, economic, and academic leaders from the region. The event highlighted the progress and potential of the region’s biotech research and the state’s research triangle, which includes Virginia Tech and its research institute, the University of Virginia, and VCU.
“To have Sen. Warner here, and this group of stakeholders together, is a special day for us to be able to share our common goals and interests,” said Michael Friedlander, executive director of the research institute and Virginia Tech’s vice president for health sciences and technology. “With such a well-informed, influential, and supportive person as Sen. Warner sharing a dialogue with us, I think great things are going to come out of this meeting.”
As the chairman of the U.S. Senate’s intelligence committee, Warner sees the kind of research going on at VT with its partners at Carilion Clinic and the Children’s National Research & Innovation Campus in Washington D.C., as potentially fitting into national security.
Friedlander cited the research institute’s growth from its opening 14 years ago to more than 40 faculty-led research teams this year. The research institute, consisting of over 500 employees and students, holds more than $220 million in current active outside funding which rivals some of the country’s larger and established research centers in funding per faculty member.
Friedlander also stated the globally rich talent pool the research institute has contributed to its success and is at least partly attributable to the welcoming environment provided by the Roanoke community, consistent with Warner’s assessment of the impact on our nation’s global competitiveness.
“National security is no longer simply who has the most tanks and guns and ships and plans, it’s who’s going to dominate in a variety of technology domains [such as] synthetic biology, bio-manufacturing, and the next generation of biotech,” Warner said. “In so many ways, what is happening at Fralin Biomedical Research Institute and at the medical school is really cutting edge. The next generation of bio is something I’d love to be an advocate for.”
