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Editorial: New grants spur health research at Riverpoint

Tue., March 13, 2012

The drive to put Spokane on the national stage as a biosciences and health sciences research center received another boost Monday, with the announcement of nearly $1.8 million in grants by the Health Sciences and Services Authority.

Headlining the awards are two prominent researchers in pharmacology.

HSSA is kicking in $500,000 to help lure Penn State University professor Dr. Philip Lazarus to serve as chair of pharmaceutical services for Washington State University. Lazarus is an accomplished academic who would move his ongoing research activities to Spokane’s Riverpoint Campus.

Another $200,000 is going toward the recruitment of Dr. Mike Gibson, chair of the department of biological sciences at Michigan Technological University, to lead a new section of clinical pharmacology at WSU. Gibson is pursuing several promising avenues for long-term research.

Those two faculty recruitments would bring at least 135 jobs in support of $15 million in annual research activity to Spokane in the next five to seven years, according to Dr. Gary M. Pollack, the dean of WSU’s College of Pharmacy. The college is in the process of shifting its operations from Pullman to the Spokane campus, a move that should be complete by summer 2014.

In addition, HSSA is assisting WSU’s efforts to establish core laboratories for microscopy and mass spectrometry.

Outside of WSU, Iasis Molecular Sciences of Spokane was awarded $483,038 for research into technology that would curb infections acquired at health care facilities.

These academic and commercial awards help further the regional goal of boosting the local economy and improving public health. The Riverpoint Campus is the nexus for creating enough activity to draw federal and private foundation dollars. The bid for a four-year medical school is another key component.

HSSA itself is a product of this incremental march toward building a significant health care cluster. The Legislature authorized its formation in 2007. Now it’s allowed to funnel a tiny portion of county tax dollars into its research and health-care-access efforts. Project Access has received two grants, for example.

Spokane County’s health care emphasis is a perfect fit since about 20 percent of jobs are already health-related, owing to the region’s longtime status as a service provider for smaller communities across Washington, Idaho, Montana and Oregon. As blue collar industries have waned, the health of the region’s economy has undoubtedly become tethered to health care.

This transformation has been deliberate, thoughtful and coordinated. And as the pieces come together, we can see that the choice was a smart one.