UMass Medical School plays a major role in the Worcester economy, according to a June 25 column by Peter Cohan in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette.
Cohan interviewed James B. Leary, JD, vice chancellor for community and government relations, and reviewed a 2015 Donahue Institute study on the impact the university has on the economy. In fiscal year 2015, UMMS generated $1.6 billion in economic activity, including local operating expenditures from UMMS, $49 million in construction, and the spending of faculty, staff and students. Medical research, patents, licenses and federal funding of research plays a significant role.
“UMMS now ranks 29th among medical schools nationally in National Institutes of Health funding (out of nearly 150 schools) and is third in New England behind only Yale and Harvard,” Leary said. “UMMS currently has approximately $260 million in sponsored research—including $206 million from federal grants, of which $153 million is from the NIH. To put the impact of that in context, a 2015 national study on NIH funding indicated that in Massachusetts, every dollar of NIH funding yielded a nearly $2.30 in multiplier impact. So, while I can’t state the impact by project with specificity, we know the multiplier impact of research is very significant and certainly helps drive the local economy.”
Read the full column: Wall & Main: UMass Medical School’s $1.6 billion economic contribution
