The University of Michigan has long led at the forefront of innovation, discovery and medical advances.
An ambitious new biomedical and bio-innovation institute will ensure it remains there.
Announced by President Domenico Grasso last month at his State of the University address, the institute, referred to internally as “Unit X,” will combine U-M’s top-ranked health, engineering and other schools and colleges with a new supercomputing platform to accelerate biomedical discovery and attract entrepreneurial talent.
Grasso likened the new institute to Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works, established by U-M graduate Kelly Johnson to develop innovative aircraft near the end of World War II, defining rapid innovation in the process.
“Our new institute will carry that same revolutionary spirit forward, advancing health sciences, bio AI, and innovation for the public good,” he said.
Efforts to launch the institute, which Grasso said would be initially funded with $250 million over five years, will be co-led by:
- Arul Chinnaiyan, S P Hicks Endowed Professor of Pathology, professor of urology in the Medical School, and investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
- Joerg Lahann, the Wolfgang Pauli Collegiate Professor of Chemical Engineering, and professor of materials science and engineering, of biomedical engineering, of macromolecular science and engineering, in the College of Engineering.
Lahann said Unit X will provide three key elements: provide resources for the larger biomedical community, develop a new paradigm for venture creation and translation, and attract world-class researchers to increase the pool of entrepreneurial faculty.
“Unit X will be a translational biomedical research institute that completely changes how we transform the many inventions coming out of Michigan and translate them into ventures and medical products,” said Lahann, who directs the Biointerfaces Institute. “Unit X is going to be a new model that’s going to change the paradigm of how we develop those ventures.”
Lahann said the opportunity to create scientific resources and platforms to accelerate research in areas such as bioartificial intelligence, generative biology and automated biological labs is critical to compete on the global stage with peer institutions.
“Unit X represents a bold new chapter for Michigan — a place where cutting-edge biology, computation and engineering will converge to accelerate discoveries into real-world impact,” said Chinnaiyan, who directs the Michigan Center for Translational Pathology.
“By deeply integrating AI into precision medicine and translational research, we will be able to generate new therapies, diagnostics and data-driven platforms at a pace that rivals the most innovative institutes globally. Unit X will not only catalyze breakthrough science but also fuel a new generation of Michigan-born startups poised to shape the future of health care.”
Lahann and Chinnaiyan are beginning the process of building the framework around which Unit X will rise and plan to solicit input from the U-M community as progress is made.
