By Emily Ford
eford@salisburypost.com
KANNAPOLIS ó The David H. Murdock Research Institute has started showcasing the array of equipment and expertise available in the Core Laboratory at the N.C. Research Campus.
And with more than 20 full-time employees in place, the fledgling institute has started trying to drum up some business.
The institute, which owns and operates the Core Lab in Kannapolis, hosted a workshop Tuesday that attracted nearly 50 students and scientists who use microscopes in their research.
“It was one of the best imaging workshops I’ve been to,” said Dr. Tim Oliver, director of imaging for the cell biology department at Duke University.
These on-site educational events are one way the institute will spread the word about the $1.5 billion life sciences complex in downtown Kannapolis. Some participants will come back and pay to use the world-class equipment in the Core Lab.
Celebrity occupants like the strongest superconducting magnet in the world and the $5 million microscopy lab will bring curious scientists, and potential customers, to the Core Lab.
But eventually, the institute must make a name for itself with science, not instruments, new president Dr. Michael Luther said.
“What sells this place is the science that comes out of it,” Luther said. “Buildings and equipment are attractions, but what we do with it makes the biggest difference.”
Research Campus founder David Murdock, the billionaire owner of Dole Food Co., created the institute with a $150 million gift. But the organization must become self-sustaining, Luther said.
“It’s a misnomer that Mr. Murdock will be the sole funder of this entity,” Luther said.
Leaders at the institute are exploring ways to generate revenue.
“We’re a start-up company, and he has provided a significant angel investment,” Luther said. “Our job is to go out there and create a business and raise the next round of money.”
The institute has a strong economic development aspect, said Dr. Randy Allen, director of business development.
“We are pro-business,” Allen said.
Allen wants to take on projects inside the Core Lab that could generate intellectual property and spinoff companies, he said.
“We want to be the best in the world in our sweet spot, the intersection of nutrition, agriculture and medicine,” Allen said. “That’s what makes this campus unique.”
While users will pay a fee to rent machines in the Core Lab, the institute is more interested in collaborating with academia and industry, Allen said.
“Our big thing is the integration of platforms,” he said.
The institute also will pursue grants with some of the eight universities at the Research Campus and look for joint ventures with biotech and health companies, Luther said.
“It would be shared revenues,” he said.
Dr. Scott Olenych organized Tuesday’s imaging workshop, which featured Dr. Michael Davidson, the creator of the world’s best-known microscopy resource, Molecular Expressions.
“We’re still trying to put ourselves on the map,” said Olenych, a consultant for Zeiss who works at the Research Campus.
Everyone who attended the workshop has access to microscopes and equipment at another campus or institute. But Olenych hopes they will do some of their experiments in Kannapolis.
“We have the latest and greatest,” he said. “They might be able to see something they couldn’t see on their own scope.”
The $5 million microscopy lab is fully functional and includes five major pieces of equipment and about 15 other microscopes, making it one of the largest and most flexible labs in the region, Olenych said.
Other scientific areas in the Core Lab, including proteomics and nuclear magnetic resonance, will host similar workshops, Luther said.
“Workshops are there to provide training and education, which is part of our mission,” he said.