| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to biomedical research and training; |
| 3 | providing for establishment of the Center for Excellence |
| 4 | in Biomedical Training and Investigation upon designation |
| 5 | by the Board of Governors of the State University System |
| 6 | of the institution responsible for operating the center; |
| 7 | providing criteria for such designation; providing duties |
| 8 | of the center; requiring the center to work with Scripps |
| 9 | Florida and other such entities; requiring a report to the |
| 10 | Governor, Legislature, and Board of Governors; providing |
| 11 | an appropriation; providing an effective date. |
| 12 |
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| 13 | WHEREAS, expanding cooperative networks of biomedical |
| 14 | research is urgently needed to speed the delivery of new |
| 15 | treatment discoveries, and |
| 16 | WHEREAS, the State of Florida has developed an excellent |
| 17 | medical education and research infrastructure in the northern, |
| 18 | central, and southern regions of the state, and |
| 19 | WHEREAS, private corporations have expressed a desire to |
| 20 | partner with public institutions devoted to biomedical research |
| 21 | and training, and |
| 22 | WHEREAS, the Legislature intends to foster such |
| 23 | partnerships and nurture biomedical research and training in |
| 24 | this state by establishing a Center for Excellence in Biomedical |
| 25 | Training and Investigation as provided in this act, NOW, |
| 26 | THEREFORE, |
| 27 |
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| 28 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 29 |
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| 30 | Section 1. Center for Excellence in Biomedical Training |
| 31 | and Investigation.-- |
| 32 | (1) The Center for Excellence in Biomedical Training and |
| 33 | Investigation is established upon designation by the Board of |
| 34 | Governors of the State University System of the institution |
| 35 | responsible for operating the center. The center shall be |
| 36 | designated by the Board of Governors no later than September 1, |
| 37 | 2004. |
| 38 | (2) The Board of Governors shall designate the institution |
| 39 | responsible for operating the center based on the following |
| 40 | criteria: |
| 41 | (a) The institution must be a public university. |
| 42 | (b) The institution must include colleges of medicine, |
| 43 | dentistry, pharmacy, and veterinary medicine. |
| 44 | (c) The institution must be accredited by the appropriate |
| 45 | accrediting bodies. |
| 46 | (d) The institution must be authorized to confer earned |
| 47 | M.D., Ph.D., D.M.D., D.V.M., and Pharm.D. degrees. |
| 48 | (e) The institution must be able to raise up to $10 |
| 49 | million in private funding to match $10 million in state |
| 50 | revenue. |
| 51 | (3) The duties of the center shall include, but not be |
| 52 | limited to: |
| 53 | (a) Training biomedical investigators, including medical |
| 54 | and academic doctors, under the auspices of the college of |
| 55 | medicine of the institution operating the center. |
| 56 | (b) Developing a program to provide a professional |
| 57 | workforce to enhance the quality and amount of biomedical |
| 58 | research conducted in the state. |
| 59 | (c) Creating a cadre of investigators to develop and |
| 60 | conduct translational research initiatives that are the direct |
| 61 | outgrowth of fundamental research in areas such as drug |
| 62 | discovery, genetics, cancer, and neuroscience, including |
| 63 | Alzheimer's disease, brain trauma, and memory loss. |
| 64 | (d) Creating research and educational opportunities for |
| 65 | medical students, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows on |
| 66 | regional campuses to be developed in concert with local health |
| 67 | care and research facilities. |
| 68 | (e) Providing training opportunities with investigators |
| 69 | from colleges of medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, and veterinary |
| 70 | medicine who are funded by the National Institutes of Health. |
| 71 | (f) Providing technology-intense environments for both |
| 72 | training and research. |
| 73 | (4) The center shall work in partnership with Scripps |
| 74 | Florida and other entities involved in biomedical research and |
| 75 | training as appropriate. |
| 76 | (5) The findings and achievements of the center shall be |
| 77 | reported to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the |
| 78 | Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Board of |
| 79 | Governors no later than September 1, 2005. |
| 80 | Section 2. The sum of $10 million is appropriated out of |
| 81 | nonrecurring general revenue to the Center for Excellence in |
| 82 | Biomedical Training and Investigation to carry out the purposes |
| 83 | of this act. |
| 84 | Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2004. |