A&M System co-founds the Texas Institute for Genomic Medicine

Governor Rick Perry announces the creation of the Texas Institute for Genomic Medicine

The state’s Texas Enterprise Fund has awarded $50 million for the creation of the Texas Institute for Genomic Medicine, a non-profit organization founded by two members of The Texas A&M University System—The Texas A&M University System Health Science Center Institute of Biosciences and Technology (IBT) in Houston’s Texas Medical Center and Texas A&M University in College Station—and Lexicon Genetics Incorporated in The Woodlands. The Institute is designed to pioneer the development of life-changing medical innovation, accelerate the pace of medical discoveries and foster the development of the biotechnology industry in Texas.

Lexicon will create a comprehensive knockout mouse embryonic stem cell library for the Institute containing 350,000 cell lines. One copy of the library will be housed in remodeled facilities at IBT in Houston and another copy will be located at a new research and commercialization facility to be built at Texas A&M in College Station. When complete, the new library is expected to be the world’s largest collection of mouse embryonic stem cells that have been engineered for the study of gene function, allowing researchers to identify and study those genes that offer the most promise for future drug development. 

“I am proud that Texas is committing $50 million from the Enterprise Fund to help establish the Texas Institute for Genomic Medicine, a groundbreaking genetics research center that will bring 5,000 new jobs to Texas, attract millions of new dollars for medical research and lead to the development of life-saving medical treatments and therapies,” said Gov. Rick Perry.

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Breaking things is TTI’s business

From 1943 to 1961, a primary objective at the Bryan Army Air Field was to avoid crashes. Activated in 1943 as an instructors’ school, the 2,000-acre facility, located 12 miles west of Texas A&M University, was the only instrument-training school of its kind.

When the Air Force separated from the Army in 1947, the Bryan Army Air Field became Bryan Air Force Base, a title it held until it was deactivated in 1961. It was deeded to what is now Texas A&M University in 1962 and became known as A&M’s Riverside Campus.

Two years later, work at the facility still centered on crashes, but now transportation engineers were causing safety-related crashes for research. With sponsorship from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), breakaway signposts were the first safety innovation developed at the Texas Transportation Institute’s newly named Proving Grounds Research Facility. According to Gene Buth, head of TTI’s Safety and Structural Systems Division, the breakaway post slips from its base when struck by a vehicle, allowing the vehicle to safely pass underneath. These specialized safety devices were tested in 1964, and a scant eight months later were used on roadsides to save lives.

“Working with sponsors such as the (then) Texas Highway Department and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), in the 1960s and 1970s, safety innovations such as the breakaway signs, breakaway light poles and crash cushions were first developed and tested at the TTI Riverside Facility,” said Dennis Christiansen, TTI’s deputy director. “These are now routinely deployed in roadways all over the world.”

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