NEW YORK, June 27 -- Three of New York's leading research institutions announced the creation of a $160 million collaborative program in basic biological research sparked by a private donor who will contribute half the total investment.

The collaboration among Cornell University, its Weill Medical College, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and The Rockefeller University will include the joint recruitment of a dozen new faculty members, reflecting the level of investment demanded by the technological demands of science today.

The joint venture was announced at a news conference this morning at Rockefeller by Arnold J. Levine, president of Rockefeller; Harold Varmus, president of Memorial Sloan-Kettering; and Hunter Rawlings, president of Cornell University. Also speaking was Lisa Staiano-Coico, senior associate dean for research at Weill Cornell, representing Antonio M. Gotto, dean of the medical college, who was out of the country.

"This new and unique institutional collaboration of these outstanding research centers will allow us to take on the most exciting intellectual challenges of the 21st century: how to utilize the full knowledge of the human genome and how to apply new technologies in structural biology and nanotechnology to advance human health," Rawlings said. "Each of our institutions brings unique talents and resources to our partnership, so we are a good fit. For example, the Cornell Theory Center in Ithaca, which houses our supercomputer, will play a significant role in this venture."

Rawlings said the new venture was made possible by a lead gift from a private donor.

The joint faculty recruitments will occur over the next five to 10 years. These joint appointees will have full faculty privileges at each of the partner institutions, reflecting a new level of cooperation necessitated by the demands of science today. Visiting investigator programs and enhanced telecommunications links will facilitate collaborations among investigators based in Ithaca and Manhattan. In addition, plans are being developed for a shared graduate program.

The partner institutions will create core facilities for fundamental technologies such as high-performance computing, physical analysis of molecular structure, light and electron microscopy, DNA sequencing and other tools for genetic analysis and the broad range of chemical techniques that are applied to biology.

Among the unique aspects of the partnership will be its group governance by the leaders of each institution. Laboratory space also will be shared, and each of the institutions is now examining the feasibility of developing new laboratories.

"This is a remarkable time in the history of biology and in the history of our institutions. The technological requirements for fully utilizing our new understanding of the human genome extend beyond the discipline of biology and the boundaries of any single institution," Varmus said, "and we recognize that New York's strength in the scientific arena depends on our ability to work together."

The three areas targeted for development are:

• Chemical biology: A new generation of drugs will be precisely targeted to block or reverse disease processes at the molecular level. Development of these new therapies will depend on collaborations among chemists, cell biologists and biophysicists who study protein structure. These integrated teams will play an essential role in realizing the potential of the Human Genome Project, particularly in the analysis and categorization of the proteins coded by the full set of human genes.

   

• Computational biology: High-throughput methods, such as those employed by the Human Genome Project, are producing massive quantities of data that remain in a disorganized state. Collaboration among computer scientists, mathematicians, physicists, engineers and biologists is needed to identify functional connections among genes and to work toward eventual applications in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of human disease.

   

• Cancer biology: Under the cooperative venture, cell and developmental biologists will invent and apply new technologies to understand how healthy cells grow and differentiate, and how the disruption of normal processes can lead to tumor formation. The participating institutions will expand their programs in cell and developmental biology, with an emphasis on developing and applying techniques for chemical intervention in cellular processes and real-time imaging of living cells.

   

"The convergence of disciplines we are seeing today has its own momentum, but we can help it along with strategic planning," said Levine, Rockefeller's president. "We must provide researchers with the financial and technical resources they need to achieve the breakthroughs that will lead to new applications for the patient."

More than 20 faculty members from each of the institutions played a role in developing the program. Some initial steps already have been taken, including a multi-institutional scientific seminar on chemical biology hosted by Rockefeller. A second seminar on computational biology will be held July 22 at Cornell's Ithaca campus. Joint recruitment is also under way for specialists in bioinformatics.

The partner institutions have undertaken previous successful collaborations. In 1991, for example, they came together to create a tri-institutional M.D.-Ph.D. program funded through the National Institutes of Health that is one of the most highly rated training programs in the country.