With the successes in Phase I and with the increasing emphasis on and funding opportunities for international research collaborations in Texas funding of US$1.0MM over 4 years was secured from the Farish Fund Foundation of Houston to support Phase II of the Collaborative.  The President of the Farish Foundation, Ambassador Farish, was the USA Ambassador to the United Kingdom from 2001 to 2005. This funding together with contributions from the participating institutions in Texas and in the UK and additional sources provides the resources for the Collaborative. The projected budget over four years is approximately US$5 million.

 

  

The Collaborative supports thematic workshops, bringing researchers from diverse backgrounds to focus on specific problems; research planning meetings for the preparation of research proposals; faculty/student visits/exchanges, including student internships; and provide resources to seed fund research.

Phase II of the Collaborative consists of the institutions in Texas previously mentioned in Phase I, together with the Methodist Hospital Research Institute, and the institutions in the UK most engaged in Phase I, which include Imperial College London, University of Cambridge and University College London. The Welsh Partner is Swansea University. 

Dr. Malcolm Gillis, former president of Rice University who played the leading role in the establishment of the Collaborative in 2002, serves as the Executive Director.  The Collaborative is led by the founding Director, Denis Headon, working with an advisory group composed of one representative from each of the participating institutions.  The UK institution representatives include Professor Mary Ritter, Pro Rector for Postgraduate and International Affairs, Imperial College London; Professor Mike Spyer, Vice-Provost (Enterprise), University College London; Professor Ian Leslie, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research), University of Cambridge; and Professor Richard Oreffo, Professor in Musculoskeletal Science, University of Southampton.

The Collaborative requires total funding of approximately US$1.5MM per year supporting thematic workshops, research planning meetings, personnel exchanges (including student training through internships) and visits by individual researchers to Texas and to the UK. The budget for the UK shows a requirement for ₤ 600K over four years, in addition to the contributions of ₤20K by each of the UK institutions.

The additional funds will support the sustainability of a network of leading research and entrepreneurial universities in the UK and the USA. Additional funds on both sides of the Atlantic, over and above the basic budget, will provide for seed funding of collaborative projects generating a history of collaboration and preliminary data thereby enhancing the potential for successful outcomes from future research proposals and, also, fund ‘proof of concept studies'.  Calls for proposals and funding opportunities for international collaborations are increasing - there are very significant opportunities ahead, building on the substantial achievements of Phase I.

A recent indicator of the commitment in Texas to interdisciplinary collaborations is that Rice University has commenced construction of a Collaborative Research Center, of more the 500,000 sq. feet, strategically located between the Rice campus and the Texas Medical Center, the world's largest medical center. In addition the State of Texas has committed to the provision of US$3 billion for cancer research over the coming decade.