Area Health Institutions Seek Translational Medicine Center

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The Jackson County Legislature recently voted to place a 20-year, half-cent sales tax measure on the November 5 ballot.

The tax would raise an estimated $40 million a year to attract world-class researchers, and to provide them with the equipment, facilities and support staff necessary to develop discoveries, treatments and cures.

The proposed Jackson County institute for translational medicine would be a collaboration among the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics, Saint Luke’s Health System and the Kansas City Life Sciences Institute.

Aimed at boosting economic development and funding research, supporters call it a game-changer for the region – a way to bolster the area’s claim as a hub of life science research.

In a recent segment of KCUR-FM’s Up to Date, Host Steve Kraske welcomed Dr. Lawrence Dreyfus, vice chancellor for research and economic development at UMKC; and David Westbrook, senior vice president of strategy and innovation at Children’s Mercy Hospital; to talk about translational medicine.

KCUR is a service of the University of Missouri-Kansas City.