Minnesota–Mayo partnership: committee hears history, governance and a request for detailed accounting of state funds

University of Minnesota and Mayo Clinic officials told the House Higher Education Finance and Policy Committee that the Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics — a joint program that began in 2004 — has supported research, commercialization and workforce development through competitive awards and multi‑institution governance.

The partnership’s origin and funding: Peter Crawford, vice dean for research at the University of Minnesota Medical School, said the program began with a 2003–2004 state gift of $2 million that was matched by the university and Mayo Clinic. He told the committee that since fiscal year 2015 the program has been funded at nearly $8 million per year as a legislated biennial appropriation; $500,000 of that annual amount is earmarked for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia research. Crawford said the partnership has distributed roughly $167 million to 279 research and infrastructure projects since inception (the…