Schumer, Clinton: Key Senate Panel Backs $2.4 Million In Defense Funds For Bioinformatics Center
US Senators Charles Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton today announced that the Senate Appropriations Committee approved $2.4 million under the FY05 National Defense Appropriations Act for the State University of Buffalos Center for Bioinformatics. The bill must now be approved by the full Senate before being sent to a House and Senate Conference Committee and eventually being signed into law.
"This money will do great things for Buffalos economy while supporting major advances that will improve the lives of Americans, said Schumer. This funding for Bioinformatics will help the university in its drive to develop a stateoftheart research center. We've been fighting tooth and nail to bring federal money home for Bioinformatics and we'll continue to push to get more."
The Center for Bioinformatics continues to excel as one of the nations premier institutions for research. It has always been a top priority of mine and I am so pleased that we have secured this commitment today as a measure of support for this cuttingedge research, for the University at Buffalo and for the entire Western New York region, Senator Clinton said.
The Bioinformatics center at the University of Buffalo uses sophisticated computer technologies to analyze vast amounts of data found through the Human Genome Project making possible the development of new drugs that could transform the world of medicine. The center will transform cutting edge biological discoveries and will fuse the University at Buffalo's skills and those of its partners in highperformance computing, highend visualization, genomics, proteomics and bioimaging to advance health care science.
The center will also act as a research, development, education, and economic outreach resource for industries based on bioinformatics, including those engaged in information technology, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals. It will provide resources for workforce development and training to provide the hightech workforce assets required to attract and retain critical sectors of the biomedical, information technology, and bioinformatics industries in Buffalo.
Bioinformatics technology takes advantage of Buffalo's renowned medical, academic, and research institutions, such as the University at Buffalo, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, HauptmanWoodward Medical Research Institute, as well as companies such as Veridian, all of which will work in partnership.
