The Texas A&M Institute of Biosciences and Technology (IBT), a component of Texas A&M Health, and

The Texas A&M University System The Texas A&M University System is a state university system in Texas and is one of the state's six independent university systems. The Texas A&M University System is one of the largest systems of higher education in the United States, with a bu ...

, is located in the world's largest medical center, the

Texas Medical Center The Texas Medical Center (TMC) is a medical district and neighborhood in south-central Houston, Texas, United States, immediately south of the Museum District and west of Texas State Highway 288. Over 60 medical institutions, largely concentrat ...

, in Houston, Texas. The institute provides a bridge between Texas A&M University System scientists and other institutions' researchers working in the Texas Medical Center and the biomedical and biotechnology research community in Houston. It emphasizes collaboration between member scientists and others working in all the fields of the biosciences and biotechnology. IBT encourages its scientists to transfer discoveries made in their laboratories to the clinic and marketplace.

History

The IBT was first established as part of the

Texas A&M University System The Texas A&M University System is a state university system in Texas and is one of the state's six independent university systems. The Texas A&M University System is one of the largest systems of higher education in the United States, with a bu ...

with the broad goal to expand

biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used ...

in the system. Plans for an institutional campus in Houston came to fruition in 1986 under Mr. David Eller (Chairman of the

Board of Regents) and Dr. Richard Wainerdi (Chairman and CEO of the

). 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

to the

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

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 The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...

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 The Shamrock was a hotel constructed between 1946 and 1949 by wildcatter Glenn McCarthy southwest of downtown Houston, Texas next to the Texas Medical Center. It was the largest hotel built in the United States during the 1940s. The grand openi ...

. 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 Wesley Wendell West (1906-1984) was the second son of James Marion West, Sr., James Marion West and younger brother of James Marion West, Jr. Like his brother and father before him, he was a noted Texas rancher, oilman, and philanthropist. He foun ...

) 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 to 2001. Under the Bazer administration by agreement between the

President Ray Bowen and

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) is a public academic health science center in Houston, Texas, United States. It was created in 1972 by The University of Texas System Board of Regents. It is located in the T ...

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

and

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 Texas A&M Health, also known as Texas A&M University Health, and Texas A&M University Health Science Center, is the medical education component of Texas A&M University, and offers health professions research, education and patient care in dentistr ...

. Dr. Richard Finnell served as director 2001-2005 under whose leadership the

Texas Institute for Genomic Medicine The Texas A&M Institute for Genomic Medicine (TIGM) is a research institute of Texas A&M AgriLife Research. It was founded in 2005 under a $50 million award from the Texas Enterprise Fund to accelerate the pace of medical discoveries and foster t ...

(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. Dr. David Carlson, the Texas A&M Health Science Center Vice President of Research and Graduate Studies served as the interim IBT Director 2009–2011. In 2011 Dr. Cheryl Lyn Walker was appointed as the current Director of IBT.

Organizational structure

Under its college level status within Texas A&M Health, the IBT consists of thematic Centers (departments) led by a Center Director and tenured and tenure-track faculty, research track faculty and associate and adjunct faculty. The approximately $10 million operating budget of the IBT consists of about 30% state funds, 50% federal grants and 20% private sources. Current Centers include

Cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

and Stem Cell Biology (formerly Cancer Biology and

Nutrition Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients, which can be metabolized to create energy and chemical structures. Failure to obtain sufficient ...

), Epigenetics and Disease Prevention, Environmental and Genetic Medicine, Infectious and Inflammatory Diseases (formerly

Extracellular matrix In biology, the extracellular matrix (ECM), also called intercellular matrix, is a three-dimensional network consisting of extracellular macromolecules and minerals, such as collagen, enzymes, glycoproteins and hydroxyapatite that provide s ...

Biology) and Translational Cancer Research. The IBT Graduate Program consists of students from the

Texas A&M Health Science Center Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences The Texas A&M University School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences is the veterinary school of Texas A&M University, a public research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1916 and is one of only 31 colleges or school ...

, other Texas A&M System programs,

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and other programs in

institutions in which faculty have joint graduate faculty appointments. Students do research in IBT laboratories while taking formal classroom instruction at other Texas Medical Center institutions. In addition to the IBT, the Texas A&M Health Science Center Alkek Building hosts the Houston division of the

,Texas Institute for Genomic Medicine
/ref> representatives of the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, School of Rural Public Health and Baylor College of Dentistry. Two floors of the building are dedicated to a partnership with the Department of Medicine of The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

References

External links

Institute of Biosciences and Technology WebsiteTexas A&M Health Science Center WebsiteTexas Institute for Genomic Medicine Website
{{authority control Biotechnology organizations Texas A&M University Medical and health organizations based in Texas Educational institutions established in 1986 1986 establishments in Texas Research institutes in Texas