With targeted recruiting efforts under way, Kentucky is attempting to build a life-sciences hub.
The Commonwealth of Kentucky — as the state is officially called — is historically famous for bluegrass, bourbon and thoroughbred horses. But during the past decade it has invested in biotechnology, bolstering the infant industry with state funding. The 'Bucks for Brains' programme matches public dollars ($350 million in the ten years to 2007) with private donations to encourage academic research. It has succeeded in attracting top researchers from around the world, who have helped jump-start the life-science economy by attracting federal grants and spinning off their intellectual property into start-up companies. More than 75% of new biotech companies have spun out of the state's two major research universities: the universities of Kentucky and of Louisville.
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Kentucky by the numbers. Nature 465, 122 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nj7294-122a
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nj7294-122a