Legislature(2009 - 2010)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
02/10/2010 08:00 AM Senate EDUCATION
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB56 | |
| SB206 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | SB 56 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 206 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
SB 56-APPROP: LIFE SCIENCES FACILITY AT UAF
8:02:52 AM
CO-CHAIR THOMAS announced consideration of SB 56.
8:03:36 AM
MURRAY RICHMOND, aide to Senator Thomas, said SB 56 is an Act to
appropriate funds for a new life sciences building at the
University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), which is Alaska's only
Ph.D.-granting university and is well-known in the area of
sciences, especially Arctic sciences. In a world where
technology changes as fast as it does, he said, Alaska has to
stay ahead of the curve. In order to do that, the state has to
have the best resources, the best facilities, the best scholars,
and put out some of the best graduates; this building is
designed to help the University do that. In addition, because it
is a research facility, every dollar invested in it will bring
$5.80 of federal monies into Alaska's economy, and the McDowell
Group estimates that the project will generate in the area of
$20 million in port and construction activities for not only
Fairbanks, but the Anchorage and Mat-Su areas.
He said the research that will be conducted in this facility
will really affect a lot of Alaska. They will be researching
infectious diseases, particularly the bird flu. They will be
studying obesity and diabetes in bush Alaska, which is a major
problem, and will have a wing for research on sudden infant
death syndrome.
8:05:32 AM
SENATOR OLSON joined the meeting.
8:05:53 AM
CO-CHAIR THOMAS opened public testimony.
8:06:13 AM
BRIAN ROGERS, Chancellor University of Alaska Fairbanks,
Fairbanks, Alaska, spoke in support of SB 56. He said the life
sciences building has been a top priority to the Board of
Regents for some years now in the Board's capital budget. The
biology and wildlife program is the largest single degree
program at UAF, and the facilities currently in use are spread
out across the campus; some of the labs don't look much
different than they did when he arrived in 1970. Modern
biomedical science requires much more significant laboratory
opportunities for graduates and undergraduates to participate in
research activities.
He said the new building request originally came to the
legislature in a Board priority. The Board was unsuccessful in
gaining legislative support for that, so last year they
redesigned the facility somewhat and really focused on their top
priority areas. If approved, the building will be located on the
UAF campus West Ridge, across from the state virology lab; there
is a connecting walkway under the street to allow cooperative
research with the state.
CHANCELLOR ROGERS expanded on Mr. Richmond's comments about the
interesting research being done at UAF. The Center for Alaska
Native Health Research is working in southwest Alaska on issues
of obesity and diabetes, and why there is not the same link
between obesity and diabetes in southwest Alaska that is seen
elsewhere. This research can potentially lead to treatments for
the debilitating effects of diabetes. They are also trying to
understand the cellular mechanisms of sudden infant death
syndrome (SIDS), which might allow them to understand early
which children are at risk for it. Regarding traumatic brain
injury, they know that the hibernating brain is much more
elastic and better able to handle trauma, and are studying what
is going on at the cellular level that might make a difference
in treatment.
8:08:52 AM
He said the instructional wing of the building will help the
University to prepare students for some of the higher-demand
jobs and, while people don't think of a biomedical industry in
Alaska, the state has some potential there. Alaska also has the
people needed for biological and wildlife careers that help with
permitting for major Alaska projects, people who staff the
Department of Fish and Game, the National Parks Service, the
Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Forest Service. These
are high-paying, good jobs in Alaska. He stressed that UAF is
severely space-limited on the research side compared to the
national standards on square feet per faculty member, per
student, which limits their ability to attract new funds.
Despite that, the Institute of Arctic Biology (IAB) federal
receipts are up from $6 million annually at the beginning of
this decade, to about $19 million a year now. This building will
provide additional lab space that will allow UAF to be
successful in competing nationally for additional federal funds
to support research in Alaska.
CHANCELLOR ROGERS noted that because it is already designed,
construction on this facility could actually start this summer,
and they could have a foundation in by fall if they get the
appropriation this legislative session. That means an immediate
job impact that will last about three and a half years.
8:11:13 AM
SENATOR STEVENS said he went to Fairbanks during the summer to
see the site, and was amazed at how crowded the existing
buildings are. He asked whether they will reconfigure those
buildings for use when the new life sciences building is
completed.
CHANCELLOR ROGERS confirmed that the old buildings will be
reconfigured. The [Charles] Bunnell Building will provide
additional classroom space on the main campus. In the Arctic
Health Research building, it will allow them to back-fill with
some of the research labs that were originally slated to go into
the larger bios building.
8:11:59 AM
CO-CHAIR THOMAS asked the age of the Arctic Health building.
CHANCELLOR ROGERS answered that it was built in 1962; it has
undergone some significant renovation as federal labs have moved
into the virology building, but the majority of the building is
still 1962 to 1964 vintage.
8:12:28 AM
BRIAN BARNES, Director, Institute of Arctic Biology, University
of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska, said the proposed
building will greatly enhance teaching in biology, wildlife,
biomedical, and health sciences at UAF. Biology and Wildlife is
UAF's largest major and is growing. They have over 600 majors
this year, and their graduate programs in life science have the
most PHD and Masters students in the UA system. Their programs
in life sciences make UAF a target destination to students both
inside and outside the state, but they are limited to teaching
in classrooms that were built in the 1960's, as Chancellor
Rogers said. To find classrooms and teaching laboratories big
enough for their sections, they have to schedule biology
students all over campus at classrooms that can be literally a
mile apart. This is an inefficiency that will be decreased with
the construction of this new life sciences building.
He stated that UAF has excellent teachers, a modern curriculum
with more and more offerings in molecular biology, biomedical
sciences, and wildlife biology management, and UAF graduates
fill good jobs across Alaska. The University needs the excellent
facilities they deserve to keep going. The life sciences
building is also necessary to support the continued growth and
competitiveness of their research programs in the life sciences,
including those in health, biomedical research, climate change,
wildlife, and social-ecological linkages, which is the role of
people in environmental change. The number of grants in federal
dollars coming into the state and the number of jobs created
have tripled over the last eight years, but without additional
modern space to do the research, this growth cannot continue.
There is a huge need for knowledge, discovery and intervention
in these topics and a huge opportunity to do in-state research
on special problems in Alaska such as health-disparity research,
which is research into diseases that occur more frequently than
average in certain ethnic, economic, cultural and even
geographical groups.
MR. BARNES closed by saying that as director, it is his job to
recruit faculty who are excellent teachers and the most
competitive researchers and to provide them an environment is
keeping them at UAF once they succeed. These faculty are
operating in a national market; they can often go anywhere and
get competitive offers. His job will be made much easier by this
new life sciences building.
8:16:56 AM
BERT BOYER, Acting Director, Center for Alaska Native Health
Research, Fairbanks, Alaska, said they are researching health
disparities in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta with over 1500 Yupik
Eskimos. They are looking at obesity and the co-morbidities of
obesity, which include diabetes, stroke, and cancer. One note of
interest is that the obesity prevalence among Yupiks is about
equal to the U.S. average, but the diabetes prevalence is less
than half. They are trying to find out what the genetic,
dietary, or environmental factors are that contribute to this
protection from type-two diabetes. They are also beginning
studies in stroke, which has three times the prevalence of the
U.S., and finally, colo-rectal cancer, which is twice the
prevalence in the U.S. They look at various factors, from
physical activity, to genetics, to diet. However, they are
space-limited; they have opportunities for growth, hiring new
faculty, bringing in new researcher associates and post-docs,
but have nowhere to put them. The benefit of this new facility
is that it will create opportunities for other faculty to move
into the new building and open up much-needed space in the
Arctic Health Research building where they are located.
8:18:51 AM
CORD BRUNDAGE, PHD Candidate, University of Alaska Fairbanks,
Fairbanks, Alaska, said many graduate students are drawn to UAF
for the phenomenal wilderness life science research
opportunities. He was drawn to UAF for the biomedical life
sciences program; he studies the consequences of nicotine and
alcohol exposure on the developing brain. He added that exposure
to either nicotine or alcohol during pregnancy has been linked
to sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS. His research is part
of a collaboration including two University of Alaska Fairbanks
laboratories focused on the cause of SIDS and the high
prevalence of SIDS in Alaska. Research in UAF's lab is highly
sought after by students interested in careers in either
biomedical research or medicine. During the four years he has
been a graduate student at UAF, he said he had mentored eight
undergraduate students and four high school research projects.
Most of those students have wanted to be doctors, pharmacists,
dentists, or in a veterinary medical career, as he is. The
limited number of vet schools has made veterinary medicine one
of the most competitive professional programs to get into. He
was accepted last December and will complete his PHD and start
school at one of the top veterinary programs in the world, and
attributes his success to the education and experience he has
gained at UAF. Unfortunately, the facilities and space
conditions at UAF make conducting research very difficult at
times; their SIDS research is spread over multiple floors and
three different buildings. Biology faculty, facilities and
equipment lack any central location. The UAF biology department
has the largest graduate program and number of graduate students
in the state, and it is frustrating that their personnel and
resources are so decentralized. Amazing discoveries are being
made every day; innovations in research are developing at an
incredible rate. In order to remain competitive in this rapidly
changing technological world, they need to provide facilities
for tomorrow's students today.
MR. BRUNDAGE said he is grateful for the skill and training he
received at UAF; it has made his dreams possible. In order to
continue making Alaska students competitive for professional
careers and allow them to achieve their dreams, he strongly
advocates for the funding of the University of Alaska life
sciences and laboratory facility.
8:21:31 AM
SENATOR OLSON congratulated Mr. Brundage on his acceptance into
veterinary school and asked what school he will be attending.
MR. BRUNDAGE answered Colorado State.
SENATOR OLSON asked where he is from originally.
MR. BRUNDAGE said he grew up in Boulder, Colorado.
SENATOR OLSON asked where he intends to practice when he
finishes school.
MR. BRUNDAGE replied that he will return to Fairbanks.
8:22:02 AM
WAYNE STEVENS, President/CEO, Alaska State Chamber of Commerce,
Anchorage, Alaska, said the Chamber endorses the University of
Alaska, Board of Regents' FY11 capital funding request for the
life sciences classroom and lab facility. This will be the only
new construction project on the Board of Regents' request. The
Alaska State Chamber of Commerce recognizes the importance of
research, as well as the economic impact and educational
opportunities this life sciences project will bring to all
Alaskans, and urges the Alaska Legislature to fully support
funding of this vital facility.
8:23:43 AM
CO-CHAIR MEYER joined the meeting.
CO-CHAIR THOMAS closed the hearing on SB 56 but did not close
public testimony.
SB 56-APPROP: LIFE SCIENCES FACILITY AT UAF
9:03:08 AM
CO-CHAIR MEYER moved to report SB 56, labeled 26-LS0237\R, out
of committee with individual recommendations and attached fiscal
note(s). There being no objection, the motion carried and SSSB
56 was moved from committee.
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