Kansas Bioscience Centers of Innovation

The hub of the KBA's research capacity investment strategy is the Kansas Bioscience Center of Innovation program (Centers of Innovation). Through this program, Kansas can address its dual needs to build world-class bioscience research centers in its research institutions and to assist existing and emerging bioscience industries in capturing new knowledge and research findings for their product and production functions.

The Centers of Innovation focus on research and development in core technology areas that establish national and international research excellence and lead to high commercial payoff in new products and processes. KBA funds will leverage significant private and federal funds and enable Kansas to have several large-scale national and international centers within 10 years.

This "scaling up" of Kansas' R&D to a world-class level with connectivity to Kansas industry can jump start the state's knowledge economy. The R&D agenda of these centers will focus on areas of interest to Kansas companies and potential entrepreneurs. They are designed not only for excellent research, but also for productive commercialization. Centers will operate as consortia of industry, higher education, and other private research organizations driven by strong industry involvement.

The Center for Animal Health Innovation is linking technology developers with industry, thereby helping to bring new products to market faster and more efficiently. The geographical concentration companies of the region’s Animal Health Corridor, and Kansas State University’s leadership role in animal health and animal disease research made the school’s new Olathe campus the right location for the new center. The center will bring nine area animal health companies, plus regional universities and government agencies together to accelerate job creation, research, development and commercialization of the next generation of animal health and nutrition products.

The Kansas Alliance for Bioenergy and Biorefining (KABB) is uniting key industry players such as Archer Daniels Midland with the world-class research and development efforts at the University of Kansas and Kansas State University. The center of innovation will use commercial biorefining to develop alternative fuels and chemicals; commercialize efficient biomass resources for cost-effective quality power; and improve carbon capture. As with other KBA centers of innovation, the focus of this center is commercial viability, which requires the confluence of economic viability with technical feasibility and marketplace acceptance.

Heartland Plant Innovations (HPI) is developing advanced technologies for gene discovery, trait validation and crop improvement in order to deliver new products and production platforms. The global research team associated with the center will focus on emerging commercial opportunities for wheat and sorghum, crops in which Kansas has world-renowned leadership and expertise. The center is a public and private collaboration of Kansas Wheat, Kansas State University, the University of Kansas, and many private investors.

The Center of Innovation for Biomaterials in Orthopaedic Research (CiBOR) is creating medical instruments, medical devices, and composite implants that will improve the practice of orthopedic medicine. The center will focus on commercial viability, conducting research requested by industry to meet market needs and capitalizing on the concentration of composites expertise found in Wichita due to the state’s longstanding aviation industry leadership. Together with the KBA, CiBOR is jointly sponsored by Via Christi, one of the largest health systems in the Midwestern U.S., and Wichita State University, home of the National Institute of Aviation Research.

For more information about the Kansas Bioscience Centers of Innovation, please contact the KBA.