Research activities and "jobs" are very tightly connected.

1. Research activities at the University of Virginia generate jobs, both at the University and within the Commonwealth.

   Based on the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis, the current estimate of "multiplier" (jobs per $1M) for research funding in the Commonwealth of Virginia is 36.3.

   For FY99, this means the University of Virginia’s research activities generated over 6,200 jobs;

   for FY97 (the most recent year for which I have complete aggregate data) this meant more than 16,000 jobs in the Commonwealth of Virginia as a result of R&D expenditures at doctorate granting institutions.

2. At the University of Virginia we try to develop ties to local companies to provide the benefit of our research expertise in specific areas. There are several possible examples, many of which are licensees of intellectual property at UVa: Carlisle Motion Control in our North Fork Research Park; Argonex; Indoor Biotechnologies; Applied Metacomputing; ContraVac; Medical Automation Systems; Viginia Diodes.

   As one example, Argonex, Inc. has a contract for UVa intellectual property related to specific antiboby-based approaches to the treatment of melanoma. Originally, this intellectual property was licensed to a very interesting small company, Receptor Labs, which in turn sold the technology to a larger pharmaceutical corporation. This corporation built a laboratory in Charlottesville, and began research on joint projects. However, within just a few weeks of this opening, the parent company received some bad news about one of their products which was in Phase III clinical testing, their stock declined, and they proposed to close the lab in Charlottesville, layoff the research personnel and to sell our technology.

   In an effort to keep this lab in Charlottesville open and to continue research and development efforts on this valuable technology, we worked with a local Charlottesville company and this firm was able to acquire the technology, and the lab facility. The lab is still open in Charlottesville, we are engaged in several joint projects and the size of the laboratory has doubled over the last two years.

3. The University of Virginia has a very high demand for laboratory research technicians, and at any one time there are many position unfiled at the UVa. To address this need and to provide workforce development training for local residents In Charlottesville, we have just begun a training program specifically for research laboratory positions. This BioTechnology Training Program, planned by one of our researchers with the cooperation of the City of Charlottesville, and the Piedmont Virginia Community College, should benefit the community and the university. The first class of students has begun training and initial responses are very enthusiastic.

Back to the Main Page

---

Posted: October 25, 1999
By The Educational Policy Institute of Virginia Tech
sjanosik@vt.edu