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Senator Bruno, UAlbany President Hitchcock Launch Construction of $45-Million Gen*NY*Sis Center for Excellence in Cancer Genomics
Senator Bruno heads fund-raising effort as honorary chairman of "The Fund for Memory and Hope"

Contact: Karl Luntta (518) 437-4980

Mrs. Mary Polsinello Hanley, second from left, an Albany resident formerly of Rensselaer, presented a check to Dr. Paulette McCormick, left, President Hitchcock, and Senator Bruno for $65,000 during the groundbreaking ceremony.
Mrs. Mary Polsinello Hanley, second from left, an Albany resident formerly of Rensselaer, presented a check to Dr. Paulette McCormick, left, President Hitchcock, and Senator Bruno for $65,000 during the groundbreaking ceremony.

ALBANY, N.Y. (June 24, 2003) -- Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno joined University at Albany President Karen R. Hitchcock today at a groundbreaking ceremony for the Gen*NY*Sis Center for Excellence in Cancer Genomics at the University's East Campus in Rensselaer. The new cancer research initiative, announced last September by Senator Bruno with $22.5 million in start-up funding from the state's Gen*NY*Sis (Generating Employment Through New York Science) economic development program, will enlist industry and science partners in cutting-edge investigations into the causes and treatment of cancer. It will also create more than 100 new Capital Region jobs.

"Senator Bruno's extraordinary vision again has provided invaluable support for the University's critical role in advancing excellence in scientific research," President Hitchcock said. �This initiative reaffirms the University's commitment to close collaborations with partners in the private sector and government to enhance our high academic and research standards."

The Gen*NY*Sis Center for Excellence in Cancer Genomics
The Gen*NY*Sis Center for Excellence in Cancer Genomics

Under the directorship of UAlbany molecular biologist Paulette McCormick, the building's 113,000 square feet of laboratory and office space will house industry partners in areas related to cancer research, including genetic exploration and pre-clinical studies. A long-term goal of the program is designation as a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute. Current research partners include the Stratton Veterans Administration Medical Center in Albany, where McCormick is director of Cancer Genetics, and Taconic Biotechnology, which, in partnership with the University's Center for Functional Genomics (CFG), operates the National Institutes of Health-funded Mutant Mouse Regional Resource Center. The mouse center produces transgenic (genetically modified) laboratory mice used in biomedical research and is one of only four such centers in the United States.

"UAlbany's East Campus has been a remarkable economic success story," Senator Bruno said. "It is a center for biotech advancement, and a regional leader in sustained job growth. Through the Gen*NY*Sis program, we can capitalize on and promote the continued growth of life sciences research in the Capital Region at such world-class research institutions as the University at Albany. With these strategic collaborations and continued support from state and federal investments, we intend to create new businesses and jobs throughout New York, and keep them here."

"From attracting International Sematech and Tokyo Electron to the establishment of the new Gen*NY*Sis Center for Excellence in East Greenbush, the Capital Region is making tremendous strides in attracting the high tech jobs of the future to the area," Governor George E. Pataki said. "We will continue to make smart investments that further promote new high-tech business development and job growth in the Capital Region and across New York State, which will help grow and sustain our economy for generations to come."

State University of New York Chancellor Robert King said, "The Gen*NY*Sis Center for Excellence in Cancer Genomics is an example of the extent to which SUNY campuses are responding to the crucial needs of their region and state and, ultimately, to society, with world-class research. This initiative will contribute significantly to health research and the growing body of knowledge about this devastating disease."

Half of the initiative's projected cost of $45 million will come from Gen*NY*Sis program funds. The University, which in April launched "Bold. Vision," a historic $500 million fund-raising campaign, will raise additional funds through corporate and private donations. Senator Bruno serves as honorary chairman of "The Fund for Memory and Hope," a $25 million component of UAlbany's "Bold. Vision." campaign.

In recognition of support, the building's architectural design will feature a two-story "Wall of Memory and Hope." The wall will feature plaques or inscriptions from donors who wish to memorialize individuals whose lives have been touched by cancer. The first plaque will be in memory of James R. Hanley, whose 2002 death from brain cancer inspired his mother, Mary Polsinello Hanley, to donate the first gift to the Fund for Memory and Hope. Mrs. Hanley, an Albany resident formerly of Rensselaer, presented a check to Senator Bruno and President Hitchcock for $65,000 during the groundbreaking ceremony.

"Mrs. Hanley's generous gift is testament to her son's memory and courage," Senator Bruno said. "And it certainly inspires hope. Everyone is touched by cancer, and this initiative's research into the disease can increase the scientific knowledge base necessary for exploration into highly advanced treatments and therapies. Someday, through the good work of the Gen*NY*Sis Center for Excellence in Cancer Genomics and others like it, we can put cancer in the past."

The Gen*NY*Sis Center for Excellence in Cancer Genomics, designed by Einhorn Yaffee Prescott, is scheduled for completion in October 2004. The University's East Campus, a hub for biomedical research, hosts 14 companies, including 12 biotech or related companies, as well as the University's Center for Functional Genomics and School of Public Health. Some 375 UAlbany graduate students engage in research at the East Campus.

For information on donating to the Fund for Memory and Hope, please contact Penelope Benson-Wright, tel. (518) 437-4978 or [email protected], or visit www.albany.edu/campaign/giving.htm.


Established in 1844 and designated a center of the State University of New York in 1962, the University at Albany's broad mission of excellence in undergraduate and graduate education, research and public service engages 17,000 diverse students in eight degree-granting schools and colleges. The University is engaged in a $500 million fundraising campaign, the most ambitious in its history, with the goal of placing it among the nation's top 30 public research universities by the end of the decade. For more information about this nationally ranked University, visit www.albany.edu


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