{"id":5975,"date":"2012-05-14T13:14:02","date_gmt":"2012-05-14T17:14:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/?p=5975"},"modified":"2012-05-15T12:17:43","modified_gmt":"2012-05-15T16:17:43","slug":"one-scientists-vision-for-trudeau-institutes-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/2012\/05\/14\/one-scientists-vision-for-trudeau-institutes-future\/","title":{"rendered":"One scientist’s vision for Trudeau Institute’s future"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Dr. Stephen Smiley (Source: Trudeau Institute)<\/p><\/div>\n

Last week, NCPR and the Adirondack Daily Enterprise reported on the internal debate over the future of Trudeau Institute, the\u00a0 immunology laboratory in Saranac Lake.<\/p>\n

Among the comments to the In Box was the following essay, written by Dr. Stephen Smiley, who joined Trudeau’s faculty in 2000 and has served as the Institute’s director of corporate relations.<\/p>\n

I’m reposting Dr. Smiley’s perspectives, because I think they warrant wider attention.<\/p>\n

I have been a scientist at the Trudeau Institute for 12 years. I love the Institute and I love the community it resides within. The following words reflect my personal opinion, not the official positions of Trudeau management.<\/em><\/p>\n

To my knowledge, the Trudeau Institute has never sustained itself on NIH grants alone. One can argue about whether it might be more successful obtaining NIH grants if it was located elsewhere but that does not change the fact that NIH grants alone are unlikely to suffice. Institutes like ours do not exist on NIH funds alone.<\/em><\/p>\n

Our other funds historically came from the Institute’s endowment. When Bob North was director, he built that endowment to nearly $40M. At that level, one can expect ~$2M per year (presuming a 5% return) in extra income. Those extra funds are essential for covering the cost of operating expenses that NIH grants do not cover. With the Board’s approval, the Institute’s subsequent directors used more than $2M per year of the endowment year after year. They built programs and built buildings that improved the science and helped to make Trudeau the world-renowned institution it is today. In the process, they also eroded the endowment and created substantial new expenses, such as loan\/bond repayments.<\/em><\/p>\n

The original plan was to rebuild the endowment and pay off loans\/bonds with philanthropy, but that never occurred. Then, in recent years, the Institute experienced increased competition for NIH funding, an ailing economy, the loss of its director and several (funded) investigators partly as a result of the relocation debate, and a continued failure to raise the necessary amounts of philanthropic funding. These circumstances all contributed to the current crisis.<\/em><\/p>\n

What is needed is a plan to pay off our debt and rebuild the endowment \u2013 quickly. Then, the scientists can return to their work, return to bringing in grant funds to cover most expenses, and know that the $2M revenue from the endowment is there to cover the shortfall. I believe the “translational problem” can be addressed by partnering with nearby institutes with clinical facilities (e.g. Univ of Vermont, SUNY Upstate) who value our stellar reputation and scientific strength in basic infectious disease research. In fact, Trudeau will announce new grant awards over the next few weeks that demonstrate our ability to perform translational studies by partnering with others. However, I think it highly unlikely that partnering will suffice to overcome our revenue shortfall \u2013 most businesses are struggling in the current economy and I don’t think any partner will commit to providing Trudeau with the extra $2M per year in operating funds that we need.<\/em><\/p>\n

So I urge the community to help us rebuild the endowment. I am a scientist. I don’t know how to raise an endowment. Our Board doesn’t seem to know how to either. If there are people in the community who care and truly have the capacity to help, then I urge you to get involved now. How? I’m not sure. We may need a grass roots effort to figure out how. Or maybe there are a few key “champions” in our community who can come to the rescue philanthropically, or take the lead on a vigorous fundraising campaign.<\/em><\/p>\n

Why should you care? First of all, Trudeau Institute has brought $138M in revenue to Saranac Lake over the past 10 years. Those funds come mostly from NIH grants. A very large percentage of the dollars we obtain from NIH are spent paying the wages and benefits of the 100+ people employed by Trudeau who live and work in this community. On average, we infuse the local economy with more than $6M per year. Our employees spend much of that money locally \u2013 they eat in the local restaurants, shop at the local stores, pay local taxes, contribute philanthropically to local efforts, etc.<\/em><\/p>\n

Second, the community should be proud of this jewel of an institute and use it as a means to sustain and build our regional economy. As our mayor is trying to do, we should use it as an example of the kind of future this region can look forward to. This is a wonderful place to live, work, and raise a family. In a modern economy, rural locations like Saranac Lake should have less trouble competing, not more. We have a good infrastructure \u2013 we can communicate with anyone instantly by internet and we can get supplies delivered overnight. It is far easier to work here now than in the days when Frank Trudeau originally set the Institute here. I applaud Mayor Rabideau’s efforts and I believe wholeheartedly that, with a strong sustaining endowment, Trudeau can stabilize and help to anchor the growth of a high tech economy in this region.<\/em><\/p>\n

But I think Trudeau’s future is currently dependent on the good will of this community. Trudeau needs substantial philanthropic assistance now. It needs to rebuild its endowment very quickly. I hope my contribution to this blog will help to turn the conversation away from a rehash of who is to blame for what. Certainly with hindsight we can identify past mistakes by well intentioned individuals, including myself. But what we need now is a discussion of how a community that cares about Trudeau Institute can help to ensure it survival for another 127 years.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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