Author: BNMC

BNMC Continues Work on Housing Initiative

by BNMCin Campus-wide, Community, Employees, Homepage7 Comments on BNMC Continues Work on Housing Initiative

One of the greatest assets of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus is the neighborhoods that surround it – Allentown, the Fruit Belt, and downtown Buffalo. As our institutions grow and continue to recruit the best and the brightest to work here, we are seeing in influx of individuals and families who want to live in the urban core of our retreat city. We are focusing more of our efforts to develop an employee housing resource center to make it easier for those looking for accessible, affordable housing options to move into the city. We will be sharing more on these efforts in the future. In the meantime, read about our CEO’s recent move into the city, and an ongoing search for housing by one of our employees.
Learn more about our housing efforts through our CEO’s recent blog post and one by Ekua Mends-Aidoo, our team member leading our housing initiative.

 

 

d!g Buffalo to Open on March 24th

by BNMCin Employees, Entrepreneurs, Homepage, Innovation Center, Networking7 Comments on d!g Buffalo to Open on March 24th

BidVYx7IMAINbwpThe wait is over! d!g buffalo is opening its doors (officially) on Monday, March 24th! The new co-working space, located in the Thomas R. Beecher, Jr. Innovation Center at 640 Ellicott Street, is designed for those in the early stages of developing a business or an idea. d!g, which stands for design innovation garage, will represent a range of creative, mechanical, and operational industries, driving the creation of new possibilities, new collaborations, and new partnerships. Part of our mission at the BNMC, Inc. is to support entrepreneurs and help grow businesses to create jobs. For us, d!g is more than a space, it’s a community of changemakers.
Our new digs were designed by faculty of the Department of Architecture and undergraduate and graduate students from the Situated Technologies Research Group: Prof. Omar Khan, Prof. Laura Garofalo, Michael Kirschner, John Geisler, Kathryn Hobert, Philip Gusmano, Joseph Swerdlin and Nicole Halstead. Omar Khan, Associate Professor and Chair of the department of architecture at the University at Buffalo, was one of the original visionaries for d!g. For Omar, it was somewhat personal as he had seen too many of his talented students lured away to other cities by a creative vibe and culture –he wanted a way to keep those students in Buffalo.

photo 3 (2)So why d!g? d!g will have mentors on hand during the day to help our innovators working on various projects. Plus, d!g will also have a Curator on staff to help facilitate networking among innovators and develop programming for the space. We’ll have networking and programming events to encourage conversations among our innovators and experts. d!g is an affordable option for entrepreneurs currently working at home, start-up companies looking to be a part of a larger community, families of patients looking for a place to work while visiting loved ones at the hospitals on the Medical Campus, a site for satellite offices – anyone looking for an environment to help foster productivity and success. We’d also like to add that d!g, which is located on a former loading dock in the renovated Trico Products Corp., building, complete with a glass garage door overlooking the Medical Campus, is a really, really cool space. Really.

d!g is free the week of March 24th to people who are joining as of April 1st. Have you been interested in trying out the co-working scene? Eager to tour d!g first hand? Stop down the week of the 24th anytime between 9am-5pm and check out our new digs.

Learn more about d!g.

#Construction on the BNMC

by BNMCin Campus-wide, Community, Construction, Employees, Homepage, Innovation Center5 Comments on #Construction on the BNMC

There’s no shortage of things hwp-contentening on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus today – from cranes hard at work on Conventus and Roswell Park to improved streetscapes and a new co-working space – everywhere you look something is hwp-contentening on the 6.5 million square feet of existing clinical, research, and support space. There is currently two million square feet under or soon-to-be under construction on the Campus, equaling an investment of more than $750 million in private and public funding. View the BNMC Map.
Here’s a look at past construction and what’s to come:

Past Construction from 2005-2013

Coming soon

  • Green Commons –  located at 927 -937 Washington Street, will involve the adaptive reuse of three historic buildings that will showcase sustainable best practices in land use, energy, and transportation.
  • Innovation Center Annex – private sector growth and a business accelerator, being developed by the BNMC, Inc., opening fall 2014
  • Conventus (medical office, research, and clinical care facility), anchor tenants include Kaleida Health’s Ambulatory Surgery Center & UBMD, as well as private-sector companies AMRI and Perkin Elmer , opening in Spring 2015.
  • Roswell Park Cancer Institute’s Clinical Sciences Center – construction for the new 11-story Clinical Sciences Center is underway & expected to open in 2016.
  • UB’s School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences– broke ground on October 15, 2013 & is set to open in Fall 2016
  • Women & Children’s Hospital of Buffalo – the new John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital expected completion in early 2017.

Visit our twitter and Facebook page for more updates!

Business Development is Buzzing on the BNMC

by BNMCin Biotechnology Companies, Campus-wide, Entrepreneurs, Homepage, Innovation Center, Investment Opportunities, Life Sciences Companies5 Comments on Business Development is Buzzing on the BNMC

Ideas are being tested, perfected, and implemented every day here on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. Innovators and entrepreneurs from all over the world are choosing to be in the heart of Buffalo, advancing products and technologies here at the Medical Campus. The BNMC continues to grow, creating an environment where a variety of life sciences, biotech, energy, and related support companies can interact with world class researchers and product developers.
We can help with all stages of company development, from “ideation” in our brand new co-work space called “d!g”, a collaborative space with mentors to help take your idea to the next level, to “incubation” in the Innovation Center, a mixed use space with nearly 60 companies that includes wet labs, offices, conference rooms, and light manufacturing bays. We also have plans to bring a new business accelerator online in the next few months. Our director of business development, Vic Nole can help you determine what space would be most wp-contentropriate for your company, and help you to connect to valuable business services and resources.

One of our goals at the BNMC is to help promote “purposeful collisions.” This includes encouraging researchers, physicians, administrators, nurses, business people, and community members to connect and interact through the projects designed to enhance our buildings, streetscapes, workforce, and social environment. Please join us at one of our many networking events to learn how you can “come grow with us.”

Upcoming events:

More than 200 People Come to Hear About 43North Business Competition in dig

by BNMCin Entrepreneurs, Event, Homepage, Innovation Center7 Comments on More than 200 People Come to Hear About 43North Business Competition in dig

photo 3 (2)This past Tuesday, more than 200 people came out to learn about 43North, a business competition targeted at attracting the attention of entrepreneurs eager to win some of the $5 million up for grabs with the winner receiving $1 million. The presentation was led by Andrew Pulkrabek executive director of 43North. The initiative is part of New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo’s historic pledge of $1 billion in state funding to ignite economic growth in the Buffalo, New York region. The event also included a sneak peak of dig, a co-working space in the Thomas R. Beecher, Jr. Innovation Center at 640 Ellicott Street.
Weren’t able to attend the event? The COE is hosting one on March 6th! Find other upcoming events.

State Continues Investment in BNMC Institutions

by BNMCin Campus-wide, Homepage, Member Institution(s)14 Comments on State Continues Investment in BNMC Institutions

Governor Cuomo announced in his State of the State address yesterday that the University at Buffalo (UB) will partner with the New York Genome Center in Manhattan to accelerate recent advances in genomic medicine directly into clinical care. Partners include UB’s Center for Computational Research and its Institute for Healthcare Informatics, as well as Roswell Park Cancer Institute’s Center for Personalized Medicine. This major initiative continues to support Governor Cuomo’s mission to grow a high-tech corridor across New York State and revitalize upstate New York’s economy by leveraging the strengths of each region along with the state’s critical assets.
According to UB, the governor’s investment will spur further development of companies on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus that support genomic medicine, such as companies that will focus on diagnostics and information technology essential to breakthroughs in personalized medicine.

“This investment is testament to the growing reputation and resources available through UB, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, and the other institutions and life sciences companies on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus (BNMC) and will significantly aid our ability to grow and attract biotech, health and life science companies to Western New York,” said Matthew K. Enstice, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Inc. “We wp-contentlaud the Governor for implementing his vision and his continued investment in UB, the BNMC, and Western New York.

Photo © 2013 University at Buffalo | Douglas Levere

Media coverage:

Cuomo envisions $100 million genome research facility

Medical Campus enhancements in Cuomo’s plans

 

Accomplished Life Sciences Entrepreneur Joins Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Inc. Team

by BNMCin Uncategorized7 Comments on Accomplished Life Sciences Entrepreneur Joins Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Inc. Team

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMonday, January 6, 2014

 For more information:
Kari Bonaro, kbonaro@bnmc-old.local,
716-218-7157

 

ACCOMPLISHED LIFE SCIENCES ENTREPRENEUR JOINS
BUFFALO NIAGARA MEDICAL CAMPUS, INC. TEAM

BUFFALO – Vic Nole has joined the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Inc., (BNMC Inc.) as Director of Business Development and Entrepreneurial Activity, helping to recruit companies and further develop the entrepreneurial ecosystem on the BNMC. He will also lead facilities management of BNMC Inc. properties, including the Innovation Center at 640 Ellicott Street and its nearly 50 tenant companies, 73 High Street, and 927-941 Washington Street, and other properties under development such as the BNMC co-working space, dig.

“It is a coup for the BNMC Inc. that Vic wants to be a part of the energy and excitement hwp-contentening on the Medical Campus,” said Patrick J. Whalen, Chief Operating Officer of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Inc. “One of our goals is to increase the number of private-sector jobs on the Medical Campus, and Vic is uniquely positioned to do this for us.”

“I am excited to join the team at BNMC Inc., and I am grateful for the opportunity to actively contribute to its mission of building our base of biomedical resources and companies here in Western New York,” said Nole.

Nole is a life sciences industry executive with more than 20 years of operations, business management, and entrepreneurial experience.  He honed his advanced leadership and general management skills as President of Invitrogen Corporation’s GIBCO cell culture products division, Vice President of Manufacturing Operations for Strategic Diagnostics, Inc., Vice President of Site Operations for Life Technologies Inc., and as General Manager and Chief Operating Officer for United Biochemicals.

An accomplished strategist, Nole has demonstrated his ability to assess markets and competitive dynamics by creating and implementing business plans that have significantly improved revenue growth, margin expansion, and competitive advantage.  An entrepreneur who has founded and assisted on the design and launch of several start-up companies, Nole is adept at bringing new products and technologies to market.

During his career Nole has managed research, analytical testing, and product development laboratories as well as various biotech manufacturing facilities.  Since 2004, he has managed his own private consulting practice focused on operational effectiveness and entrepreneurship.  Nole teaches the commercialization process, and offers private coaching and mentoring services to business managers at all levels.   He holds an MBA from Canisius College, a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University at Buffalo, and is certified in Executive Operations Management from Cornell University.

About the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus

The Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus is a 120-acre home to the region’s top clinical, research, and medical education institutions, including Kaleida Health, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, and the University at Buffalo, and nearly 60 private sector companies. More than 12,000 people come to work at the Medical Campus every day, an increase from 8,500 in 2008. An additional two million square feet of clinical, research and development space has been added in the past few years, with another two million square feet currently under construction, along with an additional 5,000 more employees and students.

 

The Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Inc. (BNMC Inc.) is the umbrella organization created in 2001 by the institutions located within the Medical Campus. Our not-for-profit organization fosters conversation and collaboration among our member institutions, their 12,000 employees, and the community; coordinates activities related to sustainable planning, development and enhancement of our 120-acre space; and works to create a distinct, innovative environment that provides opportunities for entrepreneurship and active and healthy living. The BNMC Inc. is led by a dynamic team of 15 people dedicated to creating innovative, sustainable environments. Learn more at bnmc-old.local.

 

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BNMC, Inc. Awarded $1 Million from NYSERDA to Develop Green Commons

by BNMCin Campus-wide, Community, Employees, Energy, Environment, Model Energy Home, News4 Comments on BNMC, Inc. Awarded $1 Million from NYSERDA to Develop Green Commons

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 18, 2013

For more information:

Kari Bonaro, BNMC, Inc.

716-218-7517 or kbonaro@bnmc-old.local

 

BNMC, Inc. Awarded $1 Million from NYSERDA to Develop Green Commons

 

(Buffalo, NY) The Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Inc. (BNMC), in partnership with National Grid, was recently awarded $1 million from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to develop the BNMC Green Commons. The Green Commons, located at 927 -937 Washington Street, will involve the adaptive reuse of three historic buildings located adjacent to the Allen/Medical Campus NFTA Metro Rail Station and the site of the soon to be constructed University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.  The buildings will showcase sustainable best practices in land use, energy, and transportation.

“The Green Commons is a manifestation of the programs and partnerships that BNMC has been developing over the past few years around alternative transportation and energy,” said Bill Smith, director of campus access for the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Inc. “Thanks to this generous award from NYSERDA, we will be able to create a unique, highly accessible, and sustainable complex of facilities that provide a number of important services for the campus and community.”

The design and construction of the Commons will follow low-impact development principles, including energy efficiencies, utilizing renewable energy sources, and featuring on-site storm water management.

A major component of the project involves the creation of an Integrated Mobility Hub (“the Hub”) where employees and residents can access and learn about an array of alternative transportation services in a centralized and highly accessible location.  The Hub will be home to a large indoor bike parking facility and community bike workshop operated by GObike Buffalo; Buffalo CarShare vehicles and Buffalo BikeShare bicycles; as well as an outreach and education center for the GO Buffalo transportation initiative.  The mission of GO Buffalo (a collaboration of GObike Buffalo, Buffalo CarShare, and BNMC) is to develop a model toolkit of effective policies, programs, systems and environments that promote the use of alternative transportation modes (including transit, bicycling, carpooling and walking) throughout the city and region.

Another large component of the BNMC Green Commons will be Smart Home Buffalo, an initiative of energizeBNMC, a Medical Campus-wide partnership with National Grid, to create a model energy home that demonstrates how to make energy improvements to existing buildings practical and tangible. Visitors will learn about energy creation and delivery, consumption, conservation and what is in store for the future of energy.

“We’ve worked very hard to develop an integrated and innovative energy strategy for the BNMC, and this grant will help all the partners move that strategy along,” said Dennis Elsenbeck, regional executive for National Grid.  “National Grid and the BNMC want to take what is learned and implemented on the campus and make it available more broadly.  The Green Commons will help the campus meet its long-term energy goals, and will also serve as an education tool and model for the larger community.”

The project will also involve additional commercial and gathering space that will serve both the Campus and surrounding communities.

Learn more about other sustainability initiatives taking place on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus at bnmc-old.local.

 

About the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus

The Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus (BNMC) is dedicated to the cultivation of a world-class medical campus for clinical care, research, education, and entrepreneurship on 120 acres in downtown Buffalo. It is home to the region’s top clinical, research, and medical education institutions, including: the University at Buffalo, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Olmsted Center for Sight, Kaleida Health, Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute, Buffalo Medical Group, Buffalo Hearing & Speech Center, Unyts, and the Center for Hospice and Palliative Care. There are more than 60 public and private companies on the BNMC. More than 12,000 people come to work at the Medical Campus every day, and BNMC institutions see over one million patients and visitors annually. bnmc-old.local

 

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BNMC, Inc. Awarded $1 Million from NYSERDA to Develop Green Commons

by BNMCin Campus-wide, Community, Employees, Energy, Environment, GO BNMC, Homepage, Model Energy Home, Sustainability, Transportation5 Comments on BNMC, Inc. Awarded $1 Million from NYSERDA to Develop Green Commons

The Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Inc. (BNMC) in partnership with National Grid, was recently awarded $1 million from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to develop the BNMC Green Commons. The Green Commons, located at 927 -937 Washington Street, will involve the adaptive reuse of three historic buildings located adjacent to the Allen/Medical Campus NFTA Metro Rail Station and the site of the soon to be constructed University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.  The buildings will showcase sustainable best practices in land use, energy, and transportation.
“The Green Commons is a manifestation of the programs and partnerships that BNMC has been developing over the past few years around alternative transportation and energy,” said Bill Smith, director of campus access for the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Inc. “Thanks to this generous award from NYSERDA, we will be able to create a unique, highly accessible, and sustainable complex of facilities that provide a number of important services for the campus and community.”

The design and construction of the Commons will follow low-impact development principles, including energy efficiencies, utilizing renewable energy sources, and featuring on-site storm water management.

A major component of the project involves the creation of an Integrated Mobility Hub (“the Hub”) where employees and residents can access and learn about an array of alternative transportation services in a centralized and highly accessible location.  The Hub will be home to a large indoor bike parking facility and community bike workshop operated by GObike Buffalo; Buffalo CarShare vehicles and Buffalo BikeShare bicycles; as well as an outreach and education center for the GO Buffalo transportation initiative.

Another large component of the BNMC Green Commons will be Smart Home Buffalo, an initiative of energizeBNMC, a Medical Campus-wide partnership with National Grid, to create a model energy home that demonstrates how to make energy improvements to existing buildings practical and tangible. Visitors will learn about energy creation and delivery, consumption, conservation and what is in store for the future of energy.

“We’ve worked very hard to develop an integrated and innovative energy strategy for the BNMC, and this grant will help all the partners move that strategy along,” said Dennis Elsenbeck, regional executive for National Grid.  “National Grid and the BNMC want to take what is learned and implemented on the campus and make it available more broadly.  The Green Commons will help the campus meet its long-term energy goals, and will also serve as an education tool and model for the larger community.”

The project will also involve additional commercial and gathering space that will serve both the Campus and surrounding communities.

In addition, the BNMC, Inc. recently wrwp-contented up a mutli-year project with NYSERDA to help promote the use of alternative transportation modes to employees on the Campus. Through cost-shared research agreements from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), and two separate grants from the Federal Transit Authority (FTA) Job Access-Reverse Commute (JARC) program over the past two years, the BNMC has been able  to advance alternative transportation efforts on the l Campus and surrounding neighborhoods. Read the final report.

 

$250 Million Biotech Project Opening in February on BNMC

by BNMCin Biotechnology Companies, Campus-wide, Homepage11 Comments on $250 Million Biotech Project Opening in February on BNMC

The $250 million drug development project first announced a year ago for the BNMC is scheduled to open i small-scale local operation by February 2014.
The plan to bring Albany Molecular Research Inc. (AMRI)  to the Campus,  part of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s “Buffalo Billion” economic development campaign, has evolved with a second company also now committed to locate here.

PerkinElmer, a Massachusetts company with 7,500 employees, located in over 150 countries and $2 billion in annual revenue, will partner with AMRI and together will become the first two companies to open local offices. The state is investing $50 million to build and equip a high-tech, drug-development facility for them on the Campus.

Cuomo publicized the plan of the AMRI project last December, and academic, business and government leaders spent the past year firming up those plans and deciding where ARMI and its partner should be located on the on the Campus.

The companies will move into temporary space at the Jacobs Neurological Institute, where a small contingent of researchers will work while permanent space for AMRI and PerkinElmer is built within a Conventus. The temporary space at the Jacobs Neurological Institute will employ roughly 40-60 worker and plan to move all workers into their permanent facility in Conventus in early 2015.

Alain E. Kaloyeros, senior vice president and CEO of SUNY Albany’s College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, stated the Campus the companies will have the most progressive drug delivery and detection lines buzzing with 250 high-tech researchers, innovators, for two top companies in the business.

The state is spending $10 million on construction on the two companies and $40 million to build out the space.

AMRI will conduct drug discovery and development for pharmaceutical clients, and PerkinElmer will supply the equipment needed for the process.

The goal of the drug development project is  to leverage state money and increase the presence of the clinical and research institutions on the BNMC to in turn create private-sector investment and jobs.

Click here for more information.

BNMC Member Institutions Awarded Grants

by BNMCin Homepage, Member Institution(s)5 Comments on BNMC Member Institutions Awarded Grants

This past week, the University at Buffalo, Hauptman-Woodward and Roswell Park Cancer Institute were awarded federal grants for research and development. The University at Buffalo and Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute received a $25-million Science and Technology Center grant from the National Science Foundation. Roswell Park Cancer Institute received new federal grants and other awards totaling nearly $7 million.
The University at Buffalo and Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute grant will help them to lead the design of a major research to transform the field of structural biology, including drug development, using X-ray lasers. The grant will also help to create the BioXFEL Research Center as a multi-institution collaboration with eight other institutions nationwide.  Eaton E. Lattman, PhD, professor in the UB Department of Structural Biology in the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and chief executive officer of the Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute (HWI), will serve as the director of the BioXFEL center, which will be headquartered in HWI and UB’s Department of Structural Biology.

Roswell Park Cancer Institute nearly $7 million in grant funding from federal agencies and other sources through several faculty members. The awards will help fund vital research that aims to develop new methods to prevent and treat cancer and to improve the patients’ quality of life. Dr. Kelvin Lee, chairman of the department of immunology, was awarded three grants worth a combined $3.9 million. Two of the grants are from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and will help fund Dr. Lee’s work in immunology.  Dr. Lee also received a five-year grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for $1.56 million to learn what specific molecular pathways are essential for multiple myeloma cancer cells to survive. Additionally, eight other Roswell scientists were also awarded grants funding.

 

Photo © 2013 University at Buffalo | Douglas Levere

BNMC Top Explorer – do you have what it takes to win the Neighborhood Explorer Challenge?

by BNMCin Employees, Homepage6 Comments on BNMC Top Explorer – do you have what it takes to win the Neighborhood Explorer Challenge?

Are you the top urban explorer in your workplace? Prove it and win! The BNMC Neighborhood Explorer Facebook contest starts Monday, November 4th and runs through Monday, December 3rd! The ‘BNMC Top Explorer Challenge!’ is for employees on the Medical Campus who use their Neighborhood Explorer card to get discounts and freebies at local businesses. The contest is simple: like our page, and submit your email for a chance to win a $50.00 gift card to your favorite Neighborhood Explorer spot. Enter to win as many times as you want for the whole month for more chances to win! We’ll select three winners at random on December 3rd and each can select which fabulous restaurant or shop they want their gift card to!
Have a favorite Neighborhood Explorer spot? Let us know by sharing your story on our Facebook page! Click here for a full list of the participating businesses. Be sure to visit our Facebook page daily as we will be featuring photos of three different businesses each morning!

Not familiar with our Neighborhood Explorer Program? This free program offers employees on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus discounts and incentives to businesses in the Allentown, Fruit Belt, and downtown neighborhoods. Employees that participate in the program officially become Explorers when they receive and use the free Explorer Card.  Are you an employee on the Campus and have yet to sign-up for your card? Sign-up now!

Have questions about the contest? E-mail Sarah at smcquade@bnmc-old.local. Good luck!

UB Breaks Ground for New Downtown Medical School

by BNMCin Homepage, News

© 2013 University at Buffalo | Douglas Levere
© 2013 University at Buffalo | Douglas Levere

The University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences held a ceremonial groundbreaking on Tuesday, October 15,2013 at Main and High streets on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.

During the groundbreaking ceremony on the BNMC representatives of the university; public officials, including Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo; and community members hailed the project as a milestone in UB’s history and in the city’s efforts to revitlaize itself as a destination for world-class health care.

The new downtown medical school is a vital component of the university’s UB 2020 plan – it’s a breakthrough plan in the university’s history and in the city’s efforts to reinvent itself as a destination for world-class health care.

The 540,000 sq. ft. complex will attract outstanding scientists, physician-scientists, clinicians and medical students – creating 100 new faculty positions and increasing the class size of its medical school from 140 to 180 students. The new school will also meet the growing needs for innovative, high quality, high-demand medical care in Western New York.

The new complex, designed by architects HOK (Helmuth, Obata & Kassabaum), will have a light-filled, seven-story glass atrium connected by the two L-shaped structures, and will include spaces for spaces for laboratories, education facilities and collaboration. The space will also include advanced simulation centers for general patient care, surgical and robotic surgery training, and state-of-the art laboratory space.

The medical school is expected to transform Western New York into a major destination for innovative medical care and research and be a major contributor to 3,000-plus new jobs on the Buffalo-Niagara Medical Campus. The $375 million facility is projected to open in Fall 2016.

University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Layout:

Floors 1-2: medical education, community corridor, public outreach programs (such as the UB Mini Medical School) and NFTA-Metro rail station

Floors 3-5: state-of-the-art research facilities

Floors 3-7: administrative offices, academic departments

Floor 6: Behling Simulation Center, Clinical Competency Center and dean’s suite

Floor 7: gross anatomy lab, surgical skills and robotic surgery

UB 3

For more info: http://medicine.buffalo.edu/new-medical-school/quick-facts.html

Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus To Open Coworking Space

by BNMCin Entrepreneurs, Homepage, Innovation Center, News

dig fb
For Immediate Release
September 24, 2013                

For more information:
Contact Kari Bonaro, kbonaro@bnmc-old.local, 716-218-7157, 202-904-7034 (mobile)

Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus To Open Coworking Space

dig Designed as Part of  BNMC’s Progression of Resources to Support Local Entrepreneurs 

(BUFFALO – September 24, 2013) The Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Inc. announced today that it is opening a new coworking space in the Thomas R. Beecher, Jr. Innovation Center at 640 Ellicott Street. Dubbed dig, it is yet another step in fostering entrepreneurship, creativity and collaboration. The space is designed for those in the early stages of developing a business or an idea.

dig stands for design innovation garage, a play on both the location – a former loading dock in the renovated Trico Products Corp., building, complete with a glass garage door overlooking the Medical Campus – and also on the move toward a more design-centric entrepreneurial culture.  This co-working community will represent a range of creative, technical, and operational industries, driving the creation of new possibilities, new collaborations, and new partnerships.

“dig complements the highly successful Innovation Center that provides office space and amenities for growing companies. Opening dig ties directly to the Governor’s vision of supporting entrepreneurial culture across the state,” said Matthew K. Enstice, president & chief executive officer of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Inc. “dig will offer critical pieces needed by those with a young idea or business – work space, support, mentoring, and collaboration to get their business off the ground, creating more jobs and spurring the economy in our region.”

“One of our goals at the BNMC is to build a community of changemakers. We believe that hwp-contentens through collaboration and innovation, and what better way to do that than creating a co-working space for people who work on the Medical Campus or those who want to be a part of what’s hwp-contentening here,” said Patrick J. Whalen, chief operating officer of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Inc. “dig will not only be a space to work from, but also a hub of information to help cultivate this community – hosting networking events, seminars, and community activities. “

Omar Khan, associate professor and chair of the University at Buffalo’s Department of Architecture, was integral in the conception and design of dig.

“I have been at a loss as to how to keep some of my best students around Buffalo after graduation,” said Khan. “Most are drawn to other cities that give them the creative vibe they cherish. To me, Buffalo is full of creative people but it lacks exciting workspaces where they can mingle and share ideas. dig provides such an alternative workspace that is visually exciting and socially dynamic. It is the type of design environment where young and old can collaborate on innovative solutions to globally pressing problems.”

The design team that created dig consists of faculty from the Department of Architecture and undergraduate and graduate students from the Situated Technologies Research Group: Prof. Omar Khan, Prof. Laura Garofalo, Michael Kirschner, John Geisler, Kathryn Hobert, Philip Gusmano, Joseph Swerdlin and Nicole Halstead.

dig will have “entrepreneurs-in-residence” on hand during the day to help members working on various projects, as well as a dig Curator on staff to help facilitate networking among members and develop programming for the space. dig members will be “announced” when they arrive on a large screen with details about what they are working on and/or their expertise to encourage networking. The space will be outfitted with large tables and chairs, lounge-type seating with couches and chairs, space for private calls and meetings, lockers and mailboxes, and a café.

There will be an wp-contentlication process to join the co-work space. Anyone is eligible to wp-contently, although membership preference will be given to those working toward social innovation. The introductory rates will range from a daily rate of $15 to all-access monthly rates of $100.

“We view this as an affordable option for entrepreneurs currently working at home, start-up companies looking to be a part of a larger community, families of patients looking for a place to work while visiting loved ones at the hospitals on the Medical Campus, a site for satellite offices – anyone looking for an environment to help foster productivity and success,” adds Whalen.

“We are excited to help in the development of dig, not only as the hip place to be for co-working, but also the place where collaboration and shared resources lead to greater creative problem-solving,” said Rob Wynne, executive creative director of Wynne Creative Group, and tenant in the Innovation Center. “Plus it resides in the city’s hot spot for innovation – the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. The area is ripe for this kind of workspace model.”

“We’re sharing cars and bikes, so it was only a matter of time before we shared space, and the Medical Campus is a perfect place to do it,” according to Creighton Randall, executive director of Buffalo CarShare.

dig members will receive complimentary memberships for CarShare and BikeShare in partnership with GO BNMC, the medical campus’ initiative to make it easier for employees to choose alternatives to driving alone.

The primary membership benefit is unlimited access to really innovative people. Members receive varying amenities depending on their level, ranging from high speed wifi and color copiers, to access to the Innovation Center’s fitness center, to conference room space and free coffee.

The Innovation Center is already home to 43 companies, ranging in size from one to 50 employees.

Learn more at digbuffalo.org and like us on facebook.

 

About the Thomas R. Beecher Innovation Center

The Thomas R. Beecher, Jr. Innovation Center, located at 640 Ellicott Street in downtown Buffalo, is a LEED-certified research and development space housing life sciences and biotech companies, as well as companies offering support services like IP attorneys, talent acquisition, sales, and marketing. This state-of-the art facility is designed to accommodate small to medium companies seeking office, wet lab and/or research space, on a month-to-month basis or via longer term leases, located in the heart of the thriving Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. There are currently 43 companies located in the building and all but three are still operated by their founder.

The Innovation Center has received funding through New York State’s Upstate Regional Blueprint Fund Grant, RestoreNY, National Grid, the John R. Oishei Foundation, NYSERDA, and the U.S. Small Business Administration through a grant secured by Congressman Brian Higgins.

The Innovation Center is owned and operated by the BNMC, Inc., a not-for-profit organization that fosters conversation and collaboration among its member institutions, their 12,000 employees, and the community; coordinates activities related to sustainable planning, development and enhancement of its 120-acre space; and works to create a distinct, innovative environment that provides opportunities for entrepreneurship and active and healthy living.

About the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus

The Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus (BNMC) is dedicated to the cultivation of a world-class medical campus for clinical care, research, education, and entrepreneurship on 120 acres in downtown Buffalo. It is home to the region’s top clinical, research, and medical education institutions, including: the University at Buffalo, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Olmsted Center for Sight, Kaleida Health, Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute, Buffalo Medical Group, Buffalo Hearing & Speech Center, Unyts, and the Center for Hospice and Palliative Care. There are more than 60 public and private companies on the BNMC. More than 12,000 people come to work at the Medical Campus every day, and BNMC institutions see over one million patients and visitors annually. The Campus has an annual economic impact of $1.5 billion on the region. The Medical Campus consists of more than 6 million square feet of research, clinical, and support space.  bnmc-old.local

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Public Art Added to the BNMC, Large-Scale Murals Painted by Local Artists

by BNMCin Art, Community, Parking, Renovations3 Comments on Public Art Added to the BNMC, Large-Scale Murals Painted by Local Artists

72810_10151816998138351_342472618_nThe BNMC has installed two two large-scale murals on the MiGo, a parking garage on the corner of Michigan & Goodrich. The  murals (50’ x 20’) were painted by local artists.
A collaboration of artists – William Y. Cooper, James J. Cooper, III (no relation), and Jennifer Fuentes – painted the mural titled “Nexus” on the Goodrich side of the garage. The title is a metaphor for the Buffalo Niagara region’s role in promoting cutting-edge science and medicine, globally.

The art on the High Street side of the garage is titled “Beautiful Health Fphacze,” painted by James J. Cooper, III.

We hope you will stop by and enjoy these wonderful pieces of public art in our community.
Click here to learn about the inspiration for the murals!

View more photos!

New York Times Features Buffalo & BNMC

by BNMCin Campus-wide, Community, Construction, Homepage, News6 Comments on New York Times Features Buffalo & BNMC

“New construction, ambitious plans and fresh optimism” is the pull quote that The New York Times reporter Keith Schneider used for emphasis in his article titled “Once Just a Punchline, Buffalo Fights Back” which compliments Buffalo on its economic growth. The article, published on July 30th, showcased some of Buffalo’s recent accomplishments, including those on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. The article offered a positive outlook on our city’s progress and its future. Schneider highlights the BNMC’s ability to be innovative, attract business, generate employment opportunities, and create a positive effect on neighboring communities.
“Brendan R. Mehaffy, the executive director of the Mayor’s Office of Strategic Planning, said the Buffalo Niagara Medical campus was encouraging the construction of new hotels, retail space and luxury residential development. Home prices in the neighborhoods closest to the campus have risen 15 percent in the last two years, according to the city’s latest real estate figures.”

“the Medical Campus now employs 12,000 people, with possibly thousands more once another phase of development is finished about four years from now.”

“The Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus embraced a strategy adopted by other postindustrial cities, embarking on projects in clumps rather than in large endeavors.”

The article captured the attention of locals & ex-pats around the globe. Follow up stories on the article were written by local news outlets WBFO, channel 2 and channel 7.

To read the articles mentioned in this post, please visit:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/31/realestate/commercial/once-a-punch-line-buffalo-fights-back.html?pagewanted=2&_r=2

http://www.wgrz.com/news/article/221690/37/NY-Times-Article-Creates-Buzz-About-Buffalos-Economic-Development

http://www.wkbw.com/news/local/Buffalo-Highlighted-in-New-York-Times-Article-217861991.html

http://news.wbfo.org/post/ny-times-article-highlights-buffalo-s-new-growth

Bigger Steps towards a Smaller Footprint

by BNMCin Biking, Construction, Environment, GO BNMC, Homepage

in story biorention pictureSummer on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus has been full of projects that are geared towards decreasing the campus’ ecological footprint. New incentives for alternate forms of transportation, particularly by bicycle, have been installed at the south end of the BNMC and along Ellicott Street. We are close to the completion of a secure bike storage unit and are currently beta testing Buffalo Bike Share. These amenities were designed to motivate our employees to contribute to our GO BNMC initiative by using a more environmentally friendly mode of commuting to work.
There are also new improvements coming for those arriving on our campus by car. The ongoing construction on Ellicott Street will soon replace the one-way street with a newly paved two-way traffic street and a sidewalk park, filled with gardens, trees, benches, bike racks, and electric vehicle charging stations. This construction will continue through the summer and conclude with the street going two-ways at the end of the year.

The bioswale at the south end of 589 Ellicott has been completed and is now a fully working bioretention facility that helps filter contaminants that would otherwise enter the Great Lakes System. It also lessens the pressures put on the Buffalo sewer system, while simultaneously growing a beautiful garden on our campus.

We are excited about the green improvements around our campus and look forward to updating their progress and announcing their completion soon!

in story bike storage pictureinstory path photo

UB Medical School Launches Community Magazine

by BNMCin Campus-wide, Community, Homepage, Member Institution(s), News

UB Medicine will chronicle transformations in WNY health care, including the school’s move downtown

The University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences has launched a new magazine to inform the community about the school’s pivotal role in medical education, research and advanced patient care in the region.

The inaugural issue of UB Medicine, published this week, provides an overview of the historic changes underway in the school and the ways in which UB and its health care partners are transforming Buffalo’s medical-science landscape.

It features articles about:

  • The new UB medical school to be built on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus
  • The new UB Clinical and Translational Research Center and how it has helped position Buffalo as a leader in biomedical research
  • The nine nationally prominent medical educators and scientists recently recruited to the medical school to chair departments; and
  • How the medical school, under the leadership of Dean Michael E. Cain, MD, vice president for health sciences, is working with health care partners in the community to create a more efficiently integrated health care system for Western New York.

To read a pdf version of the magazine, click here http://bit.ly/11W1iJL.

“These developments represent change on an order of magnitude few in our generation have known and provide a unique opportunity for our entire community to take part in an initiative that will benefit our region and its medical school long into the future,” says Cain.

“UB Medicine will keep our alumni and community wp-contentrised of this collaborative effort and serve as a way to chronicle and celebrate its many milestones.”

Ellen Goldbaum (UB); goldbaum@buffalo.edu; 716.645.4605

8,000 Riders Support the 2013 Ride for Roswell

by BNMCin Biking, Event, Homepage, Member Institution(s)

Ride for RoswellThe Ride for Roswell weekend began on June 21 at the University at Buffalo (UB) football stadium on North Campus with its 2nd annual Opening Ceremony. The weekend culminated with The Ride on June 22, raising more than $3.8 million, with 8,000 cyclists registered, 2,000 volunteers and more than 700 teams all supporting the 18th annual fundraiser to fight and eradicate cancer.
The funds raised will fund cutting-edge research and patient care programs, and a portion of the funds, $1 million, will be used to advance pediatric cancer care. In collaboration with Women and Children’s Hospital of Buffalo, Roswell Park is enhancing its specialized Pediatric Cancer Care Program to provide the very best care for families whose lives are touched by childhood cancer or blood disease.

In 2012, 7,491 riders from 475 teams helped to raise $3.8 million and more than 10,000 people came out to support the annual Roswell Park fundraiser to help advance life-saving cancer programs and research.

The Opening Ceremony kicked off with 200 Peloton riders entering the UB stadium after making the 12-mile journey through Buffalo, beginning at Carlton Street. Activities commenced for the riders, ride volunteers, survivors, VIP guests, and Extra Mile Club members (those who raised $1,000 or more) as they also were able to learn about the work being done at Roswell Park to understand, prevent and cure cancer. Clinicians, staff, and survivors from 12 Roswell Park departments were present.

Motivational speaker, Dave Dravecky, a former MLB professional who battled cancer, gave an inspirational talk to the crowd with his amazing story of hope and perseverance. Dravecky was forced to retire from his professional career as a baseball player, and ultimately, ended up losing his left pitching arm after finding out he had cancer. Grammy award-winning country singer, LeAnn Rimes  performed during the concert portion of the celebration.

On Saturday, various routes for The Ride opened, full of riders. Other routes ranging in distance started at 3 miles, going all the way up to 104 miles. Many cancer survivors and patients participated, ranging in ages and abilities, including virtual riders (a fundraiser who enjoys the same perks as riders but do not physically ride a bike).

“The Ride For Roswell supports the quest to find cures and save lives, and the money raised is so important to the funding of vital research and patient care programs that are critical to the thousands of people we treat every year,” said Donald L. Trump, MD, FACP, President and CEO of Roswell Park Cancer Institute. “But its meaning goes much deeper than that for our patients, survivors, families, employees and volunteers.  It’s a chance to honor a loved one, to take action, to make a difference, to bring hope and healing to so many people whose lives have been touched by this terrible disease. We are honored that so many people in our community and beyond have chosen to stand behind Roswell Park Cancer Institute and support the important and pioneering work we do right here in Buffalo.”

For more information about the Ride and the 2013 results, visit www.rideforroswell.org.

UB, Kaleida Win Green Construction Award

by BNMCin Construction, Homepage, Member Institution(s), News, Sustainability
UB Reporter Story: Published June 20, 2013

The new medical building in downtown Buffalo shared by UB and Kaleida Health received two honors at a local construction awards ceremony.

The 11th annual “Brick by Brick” awards, presented by Buffalo Business First, recognized Kaleida’s Gates Vascular Institute and UB’s Clinical and Translational Research Center, which occupy the same footprint at the burgeoning Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.

The $291-million building, a significant step in UB’s effort to relocate its medical school downtown, won the Golden Brick award, which is essentially the ceremony’s building of the year award.

Kaleida occupies the building’s lower floors, which are dedicated to the surgical and interventional management of cardiac, vascular and neurological conditions, as well as a 16-bed highly specialized intensive care unit and a 62-bed short-stay unit.

UB is using its portion of the building to expand its focus on translating basic medical research into new medical breakthroughs, innovative treatments and new economic opportunities.

The building also took the “Best Green Project” award.

The UB portion was designed to be certified gold under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. It has an array of sustainability features that minimize how much energy the building consumes and make use of natural light.

Additionally, the building is located near mass transit systems and is composed of materials from local sources.

UB last year received two “Brick by Brick” awards: one for Barbara and Jack Davis Hall, the new School of Engineering and Applied Sciences building, and the other for the William R. Greiner Residence Hall, a sophomore dormitory.

BNMC Fit

by BNMCin Campus-wide, Employees, Event, Healthy Communities, Member Institution(s), Sustainability, Transportation, Wellness

This year's BNMC Fit event will feature health enhancing activities, raffle prizes and giveaways.

Don't miss this fun event. All BNMC employees and neighboring community members are encouraged to attend.

The purpose of the BNMC Fit event is to motivate, inform, and empower employees by offering knowledge and support of eating healthy, active living, and making small steps towards success in building a healthy future. The event will feature displays and demonstrations related to fun and active exercise options as well as demonstrations related to bike and pedestrian safety and education and transportation demos.

The event is scheduled to between the hours of 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. with an intended audience of 1000 employees from our nine member institutions.

Lets Move BNMC 2011

New UB Educational Opportunity Center Location Opens

by BNMCin Campus-wide, Community, Member Institution(s), News

The new 68,000-square-foot, $26 million University at Buffalo (UB) Educational Opportunity Center (EOC) located at 555 Ellicott Street will officially open on Friday, June 14. The unveiling of the state-of-the-art facility will include a ribbon-cutting ceremony and tours of the state-of-the-art building beginning at 10 a.m.
Offering educational, life-changing educational services,  the EOC serves students lacking traditional educational resources through its training center located within the new building. Connected to UB Downtown Gateway building at 77 Goodell Street (the former M. Wile building) via a 5,000-square-foot connector, the EOC also provides academic and vocational programming for the various health fields expected to be in great demand in the community, especially on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.

In its 40th year “serving our community through Tuition-Free innovative academic and vocational training programs leading to gainful employment,” the EOC has a thriving group of alumni and current students, dedicated faculty and staff, and an ongoing commitment to help residents of the Buffalo community achieve their educational and career goals.

Programs include the: Registered Medical Assistant Program; Certified Dental Assisting Program; Medical Billing and Coding Program; Medical Clinical Lab Technician Program; Electronic Health Records Program; Certified Nurse Assistant Review Classes; and more. For more information about the programs offered, click here.



The opening of EOC is another milestone in UB’s expansion in downtown Buffalo. In September, UB opened its Clinical and Translational Research Center in the joint UB-Kaleida Health building at Goodrich and Ellicott Streets. The new School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences is expected to open on the Medical Campus in 2016.

First NYS Food Policy Council Formed to Improve Erie County Food System

by BNMCin Community, Healthy Communities, News
The Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities-Buffalo partnership, a national initiative of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation administered by the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Inc., is thrilled to be a part of forming the first food policy council in New York State. This has been a goal of the HKHC partners for several years and we are so hwp-contenty to see our work come to fruition, thanks to the hard work of many within the City of Buffalo and Erie County. Below is the press release issued by Sean Mulligan in Councilmember Rivera's office. 

To increase access to nutritious and healthy foods, the Erie County Board of Health has formed the Food Policy Council (FPC) of Buffalo and Erie County. Through a unanimous vote, the Board established the FPC in May 2013. The first of its kind in New York State, the FPC will act as an advisory resource for the implementation of innovative wp-contentroaches to establish better food systems for all municipalities throughout Erie County.
SummitAdvocating for the need of such a Council, food system partners garnered additional support from local policymakers and other stakeholders at the 2011 Buffalo Food Policy Summit. When national food policy experts attended the Summit to assess the state of and make recommendations on how to improve the area's food system, one of the recommendations was to create a food policy council. As a subcommittee of the Board, the FPC is a direct result of the work done by the food policy council steering committee put together by city of Buffalo officials in 2012.

The expertise of the FPC will advise decision makers on issues ranging from obesity and limited food access to economic development options. It will also help to establish local food procurement requirements and increasing opportunities to purchase food grown right here in Erie County.

There are many processes, stakeholders, regulations and resources that are involved with the production, processing, distribution, consumption, and disposal of food. Policies can address regulation, sustainability and physical environment challenges that many residents face, preventing them from having healthy food options. Policies also help to establish healthy communities.

Members of the FPC will be named later this summer. The FPC will most likely comprise of experts from the food system, including farmers, distributors, retailers, consumer advocates, and representatives from government departments that have the potential to impact the food system, which typically include the departments of health, economic development, and planning.

The FPC was created after much preparation and support by many contributors, including the Community Foundation of Greater Buffalo; W.D. Henry & Sons Farm; University of Buffalo’s School of Architecture and Planning; Good Earth, Inc; Healthy Kids- Healthy Communities Partnership, a program of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; Oles Family Farm; Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Inc.; Cornell Cooperative Extension of Erie County; Buffalo City Councilmembers Michael LoCurto and David Rivera; Be Healthy Institute; Dash’s Market; Erie County Department of Environment and Planning & Department of Health; and the Massachusetts Avenue Project.

The FPC looks to convene its first meeting later this summer. If interested in participating, please contact: Sean Mulligan, 716-851-5125, smulligan@city-buffalo.com

Space Growing Scarce at a Medical Campus Seeking its Niche – Buffalo News Story

by BNMCin Attractions, Campus-wide, Construction, Homepage, Innovation Center, News

Fast-growing center seeks its place in the crowded biomedical sector

As the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus works to overcome the region’s reputation as a high-tax, Rust Belt destination, it is already attracting enough tenants to be outgrowing its footprint, with two million square feet of space already added and another two million square feet planned by 2016. From left, electric cars charge in the parking lot across from the Innovation Center. Michelle Roti, a research technician, adds antibiotics to a growth media for cells at Tartis/Aging. Tivona Renoni, from GO Bike Buffalo, left, and Henry Raess work in the Innovation Center.

(Photos from The Buffalo News)

Published: 06/8/2013, 7:15 PM

As the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus works to overcome the region’s reputation as a high-tax, Rust Belt destination, it is already attracting enough tenants to be outgrowing its footprint, with two million square feet of space already added and another two million square feet planned by 2016. From left, electric cars charge in the parking lot across from the Innovation Center. Michelle Roti, a research technician, adds antibiotics to a growth media for cells at Tartis/Aging. Tivona Renoni, from GO Bike Buffalo, left, and Henry Raess work in the Innovation Center. Matthew Masin/Buffalo News

By Stephen T. Watson | News Staff Reporter | @buffaloscribe

The Texas Medical Center in Houston is the largest medical campus in the world, with 106,000 employees working in 290 buildings spread over an area 50 percent larger than Darien Lake theme park.

The powerhouse University of Pittsburgh pulled in $127 million in National Institutes of Health research grants this year, eight times the University at Buffalo’s total.

And the Miami Health District generates a $3 billion annual economic impact for Miami-Dade County in South Florida.

Skeptics wonder how the younger, and far smaller, Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus can carve out a similar niche in the nation’s crowded and highly competitive biomedical sector, while overcoming the region’s high-tax, Rust Belt reputation in order to recruit scientists, doctors and entrepreneurs.

But experts contend Buffalo is not too puny or too far behind the other centers, and the Buffalo Niagara campus will succeed if it leverages its advantages of strong community support, collaborative decision-making and proximity to Southern Ontario.

“I get some rolling eyes when I say, ‘Buffalo’s doing a terrific job’,” said Charlie Dilks, a consultant and former president of the Association of University Research Parks. “They say, ‘Buffalo’s a dead city.’ I say, ‘No, it’s not.’

“That’s from people who haven’t been there and haven’t seen what’s going on. Unfortunately, it takes a long time for reputations to change.”

Other cities have found that a robust medical campus generates an array of benefits, from boosting health care, improving medical education, attracting research funds and creating jobs by taking innovations from the laboratory to the marketplace. That’s why cities, health care providers and universities pool resources.

“That’s what an academic medical center does,” said Candace S. Johnson, deputy director of Roswell Park Cancer Institute, citing the revenue generated at Pitt, where she previously worked. “It would be fantastic if we had that.”

The 11-year-old Buffalo Niagara campus is growing quickly, with two million square feet of space – or about 10 Walmart Supercenters – added in the past two years and another two million square feet planned by 2016. Employment on site will grow from 12,000 to 17,000 by then.

But the land-locked, 120-acre campus is starting to feel a space squeeze, with an Innovation Center that houses young companies nearly filled. Campus officials are thinking vertically and planning construction of a new center on top of a parking ramp to make better use of space.

“We can’t build five-story buildings anymore. We have to maximize the site,” said Patrick J. Whalen, the campus’ chief operating officer.

Life-sciences jobs

Other cities may have much bigger medical campuses, but the biomedical field is a crowded one, and the industry is big enough – and specialized enough – that no single region or institution can dominate, according to Simon J. Tripp, senior director of the technology partnership practice for Battelle, a global research and development organization.

The nation has about 125 academic medical centers, including Buffalo, and all are trying to build a life-sciences economy from the research they perform, Tripp said.

“The pie is so incredibly large that even a small slice, particularly for a community the size of Buffalo, can be a pretty significant economic engine,” he said.

The successful medical campuses have strong leadership, are treated as a community priority and their member institutions play nice with each other, said Dilks, the industry consultant. “I don’t think you’re too late to the game at all,” he said of Buffalo.

The hard part, Tripp added, is creating a “comprehensive innovation ecosystem,” with sufficient venture capital and veteran leadership to build and support a network of startups.

The region needs to capitalize on its strengths as a border community with an educated workforce and low cost of living, experts said, while finding a niche in a field such as genomics or cancer research.

“You get to where you’re recognized as a center of excellence in something,” said Thomas A. Kucharski, president and CEO of Buffalo Niagara Enterprise. “I think all that is starting to take hold on the medical campus. Unfortunately, it takes a lot of time.”

Collaboration models

The medical campus organization – which represents UB, Roswell Park, Kaleida Health and other institutions – is a model of collaboration that followed less-successful efforts in the 1980s and ’90s.

“I think people were ready,” said Thomas R. Beecher Jr., an attorney who headed the medical corridor planning effort in the early 2000s.

Local organizers extensively studied the best practices at other centers and research parks.

“Tom Beecher said, ‘No sense reinventing the wheel. Let’s steal shamelessly from other places,’ ” Whalen recalled.

The Buffalo team learned, for example, the organization that runs the vast Texas Medical Campus makes enough money from the 27,500 parking spaces it owns to cover its overhead costs. Now the entity that runs the Buffalo campus is “pretty much self-sufficient” from parking and Innovation Center rent revenue, Whalen said.

Community benefits

It will take time for the benefits of the medical campus development to reach the surrounding neighborhoods.

Ruth Bryant, a retired assistant dean in UB’s School of Architecture and Planning, serves as the Fruit Belt’s representative on the medical campus board. She said residents are concerned about boosting home ownership in their neighborhood, ensuring they have access to the jobs created on the campus and keeping the cars and SUVs of campus employees from crowding their streets.

“How do you respect that neighborhood while still growing?” Bryant asked. “It’s the residents working with the campus to come up with the solutions.”

Officials acknowledge the campus won’t be considered a success until research is spun off into biotech companies.

“If you look at other models and other communities out there, it’s the private sector investment that drives everything,” said Enstice.

Innovation Center

Not every life-sciences company will succeed – as the demise of SmartPill Corp. showed – but the Innovation Center on the Buffalo campus is spurring this effort.

There are 63 companies in the center named for Beecher, including a fourth-floor incubator.

The center hosts Bagel Fridays, where tenants casually engage over a light breakfast, and three projects have grown out of the weekly gatherings.

“The building has great energy,” said Rob Wynne, the president and executive creative director of Wynne Creative Group, an advertising agency that moved its six employees to the Innovation Center in 2012.

Mobile HealthCare Connections was the first incubator tenant. The company works with doctors, nurses and pharmacists to provide real-time, in-home monitoring and management of patients, particularly those who are elderly and less able to get around.

“It’s the heartbeat of the medical community,” CEO Brian Egan said.

The Innovation Center opened in 2010, part of a recent flurry of construction activity, and 5,000 more workers are expected on campus by 2016, when Children’s Hospital and UB Medical School are opened.

City Comptroller Mark J.F. Schroeder has asked Whalen, the campus’ chief operating officer, to meet with representatives of credit ratings agencies to show them the development taking place on the medical campus.

One woman from Standard & Poor’s, looking at a map of the campus, told Whalen they seem to be running out of room.

Thinking vertically

The campus has to think vertically, Whalen said, as when UB’s Clinical and Translational Research Center and Kaleida’s Gates Vascular Institute were stacked in the same building. One option for the second Innovation Center fits this model.

The campus needs to build another center to house Albany Molecular Research Inc. and the other tenants of a drug and medical research facility.

The first plan, which would have required tearing down part of the former Trico complex, ran into objections from preservationists.

Now, campus officials are looking at a different wp-contentroach: Tearing down the aging, city-owned Ellicott Goodrich Garage, known as the EGG, and replacing those 900 spaces with a 1,600-vehicle ramp and several floors of research space on top of the $87 million structure.

AMRI, the anchor tenant, and its partners are receiving a $50 million state grant to support their move to the campus.

The hope is the next AMRI won’t require any financial carrot, because the prospect of locating on the medical campus will be attraction enough.

“It’s the culture change this is bringing to Buffalo. The campus makes that undeniable,” said Marnie LaVigne, UB’s associate vice president for economic development. “I have my own mother asking me, ‘Is this real?’ It’s real.”

email: swatson@buffnews.com