Public research funds received by the Indiana University School of Medicine and its partner hospitals boosted the Hoosier economy by about $370 million in 2009, according to a study released by the Association of American Medical Colleges.
Altogether, the federal and state-funded research to the association’s member medical schools and teaching hospitals had a combined economic impact of $45 billion and accounted for nearly 300,000 full-time jobs in the 46 states (and the District of Columbia) where the association’s member schools are located.
The report, prepared with the consulting firm Tripp Umbach, estimated that the direct economic impact of federal and state-funded research funding to the IU School of Medicine was $142.5 million, representing institutional spending, employee spending, and spending by visitors related to research activity. The indirect effect of that spending on the state economy added another $228 million in economic activity, the report estimates. The report estimates that 2,470 jobs in Indiana were supported by that research-driven economic activity.
“This report emphasizes again how important we believe biomedical research is to the people of Indiana and beyond: It will bring us tomorrow’s medicine, it helps us educate tomorrow’s doctors, and it is a powerful boost to the Indiana economy,” said David S. Wilkes, executive associate dean for research affairs at the IU School of Medicine.
The IU School of Medicine received nearly $138 million in federal and state funding for research programs in fiscal year 2009, primarily to investigators in Indianapolis but also to scientists at the school’s eight regional campuses across the state.
The association report noted that the economic impact figures – for which it’s estimated that for every dollar invested in research at medical school and teaching hospitals, $2.60 of economic activity occurs – do not include the economic benefits of declines in mortality rates for such diseases as cancer, heart disease, HIV/AIDS and others. Nor do the figures incorporate the economic activity of businesses that commercialize the discoveries of academic research.
According to the Indiana University Research and Technology Corp., for example, 21 businesses have been created over the past 10 years based on discoveries from IU School of Medicine research.
“Medical research being conducted in Indiana and specifically at Indiana University offers hope to patients and is helping to improve the health of all. This research also has important economic benefits. This new study shows that medical research is having and will continue to have an enormous economic impact on Indiana’s and our country’s fiscal stability and global competitiveness,” said Ann Bonham, Ph.D., chief scientific officer of the Association of American Medical Colleges.
Source: Indiana University School of Medicine
