Laird Center for Medical Research

Roundtable Video Transcript

Wisconsin biotech collaboration

Audience Member: I work with the biotech and medical device association, and now there are nearly 300 biotech companies in the state of Wisconsin alone, and the word "collaboration" we use frequently today. To what degree will the science that may be going on in the biotech companies in the state become a part of this collaboration model here at Marshfield? Is there an opportunity?

Justin Starren: I'll take that. I would say absolutely. One of the things that we have here is a living laboratory. The ability to test out different types of devices, different types of algorithms in a functional clinical setting and collect high resolution data on that, so we are absolutely looking forward to collaborations with other organizations, both throughout Wisconsin and throughout the country.

Humberto Vidaillet, M.D.: That's a wonderful question. Collaboration is so critically important. We can't do everything, and we certainly can't do everything well. There's also a great value in intellectual property and funds that may be generated to advance science. And I think we're very fortunate to live in a state where the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation exists...we're in very intense discussions with that group so that we can benefit from the resources that they can bring to bear on these things. I think that appropriate use of technology is critical, both to research and patient care and this is key because technology is not cheap.