A broad coalition representing New York’s leading scientific, academic, healthcare, business and advocacy organizations sent a letter to Governor Kathy Hochul urging a transformative state investment designed to expand New York’s global competitiveness as a destination for scientific research and the advancement of treatments and cures that benefit all New Yorkers.
The letter was led by the Associated Medical Schools of New York (AMSNY) and signed by more than 35 major institutions, including the state’s medical schools, cancer centers, universities and business groups. According to the coalition, an independent, state-supported grantmaking institute would advance new discoveries, attract scientific talent and life science companies and improve health.
“Ongoing changes in federal policies and funding for scientific research challenge the sustained growth of our life sciences sector,” the coalition writes. “However, there is opportunity for states like New York that possess the infrastructure and workforce and are willing to invest boldly in science.”
Recent shifts in federal research priorities have interrupted research programs and introduced unprecedented uncertainty. Meanwhile, states like California, Texas, and Massachusetts, as well as Europe, China, Canada and other global competitors, continue to make historic investments in life sciences and are aggressively recruiting talent and expanding infrastructure.
“New York’s medical schools, research institutions and life science companies have built world-class facilities and recruited top scientists from around the world to become global leaders in scientific innovation, largely through our decades-long partnership with the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and other federal funders,” said Jonathan Teyan, CEO of the Associated Medical Schools of New York. “With recent changes in federal priorities, we need a new, comprehensive approach to supporting science. With visionary leadership by the State, New York is well positioned to be globally competitive for many decades.”
New York’s biomedical research sector:
- Drives nearly $6 billion in annual research expenditures
- Employs 120,000 New Yorkers
- Anchors a growing startup economy
- Supports an $8.3 billion statewide research enterprise
The letter to Governor Hochul was signed by:
- Albany Medical College
- Albert Einstein College of Medicine
- American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
- Associated Medical Schools of New York
- Blood Cancer United
- Cancer Research Institute
- Central New York Biotech Accelerator, Upstate Medical University
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
- Columbia University
- Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities (CICU)
- Cornell University
- CUNY School of Medicine
- Healthcare Association of New York State
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
- Mount Sinai Health System
- New York Institute of Technology
- New York Medical College
- New York State Academic Dental Centers
- Norton College of Medicine at Upstate Medical University
- NYCURES
- NYU College of Dentistry
- NYU Langone Health
- Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy
- Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
- Stony Brook University and Stony Brook Medicine
- SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University
- The Business Council of New York State, Inc.
- The Rockefeller University
- Touro College of Dental Medicine
- Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine
- UAW Local 4100
- University at Buffalo
- University of Rochester
- Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell
AMSNY has proposed a new Empire Biomedical Research Institute, including:
- A $500 million initial investment to fund research programs, support the scientific workforce and create a new research institute.
- A $6 billion, 10-year commitment to fund investigator-driven research, modernize infrastructure and expand workforce training.
- An institute that complements existing initiatives like Empire AI and the Life Science Initiative, accelerating the translation of discoveries into new technologies, treatments and cures.
“The Empire Biomedical Research Institute represents exactly the kind of long-term, visionary commitment New York needs,” Mr. Teyan continued. “It will protect our research enterprise, strengthen our workforce, attract new companies and talent, and ensure that the next generation of medical breakthroughs is developed right here — for the benefit of all New Yorkers.”