Troy, N.Y. - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute will receive $750,000 in federal funding to support the development of a new Center for Quantitative and Computational Bioscience, which will be part of the Institute's Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies. Federal support for the new Center was included in the Energy and Water Appropriations bill signed into law Dec.1, 2003.

"The expansion of Rensselaer's scientific and technical capabilities in these areas can be a catalyst for the growth of the biotechnology industry in the region. The basic research underway at Rensselaer can attract new companies to the area, which can be supported by our incubator center and technology park," said Larry Snavley, vice president for government and community relations. "This new Center has the potential to spur economic growth in the region, and we are grateful to the members of New York's Congressional delegation who supported this important project."

"The field of quantitative and computational bioscience is fundamental to the growth of emerging applications of bioinformatics, the understanding of the genetic code used to predict disease processes and therapies, of systems biology, the understanding of metabolic processes and genetic transcription to describe medical treatments and discover new drugs, and the integration of medical data to provide a more comprehensive view of medical testing and diagnosis," said Rensselaer's Vice President for Research Arthur C. Sanderson, "These developments will form an integral part of our research in biotechnology and also will complement Rensselaer's important Center for Bioengineering and Medicine supported under the New York State Gen*NY*sis program."

Rensselaer's Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies is scheduled to open in September 2004.

Contact: Theresa Bourgeois
Phone: (518) 276-2840
E-mail: bourgt@rpi.edu