Heads of State: Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam visits with Dr. Zhangliang Chen, Vice Governor of the Gaungxi Province in China, at the Tennessee Executive Residence last April.
continued from page 19 “This could lead to significant jobs, perhaps the establishment of a pharmaceutical company in our state, and with a manufacturing plant where the drugs might be made,” McPhee says. “This is one of those significant opportunities to potentially see state dollars to grow
“Clearly, there is great synergy here,” McPhee says. industry later. We can own and leverage the final product. So perhaps this is an investment opportunity the state should pursue.”
Left to right: Dr. Tom Cheatham, Dr. Saeed Foroudastan, Dr. Ying Gao, Gov. Bill Haslam, President Sidney A. McPhee, Mr. Bill Doyle and Dr. Elliot Altman Dr. Elliot Altman, director of MTSU’s new Molecular Biosciences Ph.D. Program, conducts research in metabolic engineering and peptide therapeutics. Altman holds 10 patents and has many others currently pending. Dr. Ying “Iris” Gao joined MTSU’s faculty in 2011. With her expertise in Traditional Chinese Medicine, her relationships within Guangxi officials and her command of English, Gao helped launch the Tennessee Center for Botanical Medicine Research at MTSU. | 20 | MTSU Magazine • www.mtsumagazine.com
Jump-starting the pharmaceutical industry in Tennessee is certainly an important priority for state economic development officials— in large part because the state doesn’t have one to speak of. And it is not unprecedented for the state to fund projects like this at other universities across the state. “We have biotech supporting pharmaceuticals but we don’t have Big Pharma [in Tennessee],” McPhee says. “And Nashville is the perfect place for it.” Windley concurs, stating flatly, “Like Tennessee, most states would like to see at-the-bench discovery work and pharmaceutical development.” For the health of people and the Tennessee economy alike, the promise of TCM drug discovery at MTSU is one to watch. MTSU