History
The IBT was first established as part of the Texas A&M University System with the broad goal to expand biotechnology in the system. Plans for an institutional campus in Houston came to fruition in 1986 under Mr. David Eller (Chairman of the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents) and Dr. Richard Wainerdi (Chairman and CEO of the Texas Medical Center). Dr. Eugene G. Sander, head of the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics in the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (COALS) was named first director of the institute. The Robert A. Welch Foundation endowed a $1 million Robert A. Welch Chair in 1990.
In 1988 the institute administration was moved from the Texas A&M University System to the Texas A&M University under the leadership of Dr. Charles Arntzen, Vice Chancellor of Agriculture and Dean of the College of Life Sciences and Agriculture (COALS). Arntzen secured a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture for $12.5 million and other private donations including one from Texas oilman Albert B. Alkek to build the Albert B. Alkek Institute of Biosciences and Technology Building in the Texas Medical Center at a cost of $21.5 million. The 11-story building stands on the former site of the historic Shamrock Hotel. Under Arntzen’s leadership, Centers for Animal Genetics, Advanced Invertebrate Molecular Sciences and Biotechnology Policy and Ethics were established and funding secured for additional endowed chairs from the Allen, John S. Dunn, and Neva and Wesley West (see Wesley West) Foundations. In 1990, he recruited Dr. Robert D. Wells into the Welch Chair as Chairman of the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics (COALS) and Director of the IBT. Under Wells directorship (1990–1994), Centers for Genome Research, Macromolecular Design, Extracellular Matrix Biology, Crop Biotechnology, Animal Biotechnology, Genome Informatics and Cancer Biology were established.
Dr. Fuller W. Bazer was Director from 1994-2001. Under the Bazer administration by agreement between the Texas A&M University President Ray Bowen and The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston President Dr. David Low, the University of Texas' Institute of Molecular Medicine for Prevention of Human Disease (Hans Muller-Eberhard, Director) was established on two floors of the IBT building. During this period similar cooperative efforts between Texas A&M University and The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston resulted in acceptance of IBT Texas A&M faculty into the UT Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. The building became a hub for the Texas GigaPop and similar high speed, broad bandwidth internet activities of the Texas A&M University’s Academy for Advanced Telecommunications and Distance Learning. In 1997 the IBT became a college level unit of the newly established Texas A&M Health Science Center.
Dr. Richard Finnell served as director 2001-2005 under whose leadership the Texas Institute for Genomic Medicine (TIGM) was established. Dr. Robert Schwartz served as director for 2006-2009. In 2007 a self-study called for a strategic plan in which the IBT would be the founding basic research element of a broader Texas A&M Health Science Center Houston Campus representing all components of the Health Science Center in Houston. Currently Dr. David Carlson, the Texas A&M Health Science Center Vice President of Research and Graduate Studies is the interim IBT Director.
Read more about this topic: Institute Of Biosciences And Technology
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