Arizona opinion: University research is building better lives and economic growth for Arizona

For decades, Arizona universities have been at the cutting edge of research breakthroughs. From agriculture to water conservation. From reaching up into space to see our future, to reaching back into anthropology to understand our past. These advancements have led to better lives and economic growth for our state.

Arizona now has the fastest growing bioscience sector in the country. We have increased funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by 39% in the last 5 years — the nation’s largest. Our universities have filed thousands of patents, launched hundreds of startups and brought transformative technologies to market. Here is a very small sampling:

The University of Arizona’s billion-dollar research enterprise includes developing new ways to detect and diagnose neurological conditions including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, stroke, chronic pain and depression, and treatments for cardiovascular disease such as heart failure and hypertension. The university is a leader in groundbreaking discoveries about the solar system’s origin, as well as cybersecurity and national defense applications. The soon-to-open Center for Advanced Molecular and Immunological Therapies on the Phoenix campus seeks to unravel complexities of the immunology of cancers and infectious diseases.

The U of A is leading a multi-university study to investigate the effectiveness of blood or plasma donations in reducing cancer-causing chemicals in firefighters. And the institution meets its land-grant mission with work on sustainable farming, protecting Arizona’s water resources and aiding tribal nations’ economic development.

ASU and NAU have equally impressive work. It’s all very good and exciting stuff. The result? The economic impact of our universities equals that of Arizona’s largest industries, driving real-world solutions, economic prosperity and improving lives.

To build on this success and emerge as a national leader in health solutions, we must leverage our strengths.

All of Arizona’s public universities hold top-tier status as R1-level research institutions. The U of A and ASU projected research activity surpassing $1 billion in fiscal year 2024. When numbers are confirmed by the National Science Foundation in the fall, the institutions will join a select group of just 33 universities across the nation to have achieved this billion-dollar milestone. We have built the Phoenix Biomedical core — our downtown 30-acre life sciences innovation district — which will soon host two medical schools. And Tucson has become a hub of startups with national successes like SinfoniaRx thanks to Tech Launch Arizona.

The building blocks are in place.

Now we must establish a clear focus: we are public institutions, and we have a duty to ensure that our research, innovation and technology development efforts deliver meaningful impact for our state. That is a priority of the Arizona Board of Regents.

We should consider new policies, such as tax incentives and innovative funding models, to attract venture capital. Monitoring metrics like patent filings and research ROI will help us track progress. And we need better strategic coordination between public and private sectors.

In 10 years, success should look like:

Doubling venture capital investment in Arizona’s life sciences ecosystem.

Doubling university-born startups per year.

Creating 10,000 new high-quality jobs in the life sciences sector.

Achieving Top 5 national ranking for bioscience research and development.

Our success should be something to celebrate. Something worth state pride. And worth support.

There is currently much in the news about the value of university research and the public sector’s role in sponsoring that research.

It was academic research that helped cure childhood polio, develop heart transplants, and establish better nutrition and biological sustainability. It was university researchers in Silicon Valley that led to the tech revolution and the fastest wage and economic growth in our nation’s history. We are now at the tipping point in bioscience.

Note that at the exact same time there is pressure on us to retreat — China announced an exciting new breakthrough in cancer. Great news for the world — but not great news for our competitive position.

We need university research now more than ever.