HEALTH, TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONS BOOSTING LOCAL ECONOMY

"The multiplier effect": That was the often-repeated buzz phrase at Tuesday's panel discussion sponsored by Cox Business and Inside Business, a local business journal, at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott. The event brought together experts representing the area's prime technology and medical research organizations and members of the business community.

The phrase references the economic impact that research and development dollars have on the local economy. "Every grant dollar for medical research generates two or three times that in economic activity," said William "Bill" Wasilenko, associate dean for research at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, noting that the school is currently working with 60 grants, each worth between half a million and 1.5 million dollars.

The effect is felt in multiple ways, including job generation, spinning off technology and biomedical start-ups, boosting education offerings and through the purchase of supplies and services.

Representatives of LifeNet Health in Virginia Beach, Hampton University Proton Therapy Institute in Hampton, and the Virginia Modeling Analysis and Simulation Center, VMASC, in Suffolk, also touted their economic importance for the region. The ensuing discussion centered on where the interests of research and business intersect - the need for an educated workforce and capital investment.

"There's a demand for skilled individuals," said John Sokolowski, executive director of VMASC, noting that there are 142 local jobs currently advertised for those with a modeling and simulation background. Further, Old Dominion University is the only college in the country to offer both undergraduate and graduate work in the field, which has diversified from its origins in military applications to medical, transportation and human behavior.

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