Building the Bioscience Base in Florida

In July 2008, the Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved the allocation of $86.9 million to build and operate the Max Planck Florida Institute. The total amount of the investment by the county and its partners in the deal, which includes Florida Atlantic University (FAU), is $94 million. This amount matches the agreement signed in March, 2008 by the Florida Governor's Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development to allocate $94 million from the state's Innovation Incentive Fund to bring the research institute to Florida.

The Business Development Board of Palm Beach County (BDB) played a major role in bringing the Max Planck Society to this country – and to Palm Beach County. BDB President and CEO, Kelly Smallridge, anticipates that the research organization will support the creation of more than 1,800 jobs, both directly and indirectly, over the next two decades, and generate more than $2 billion in economic activity. The Max Planck Florida Institute adds a strong international component to Palm Beach County's life sciences cluster and to the general economic base. Locating it near Scripps Florida establishes an important, sustainable foundation for an expanded, knowledge-based economy here that will create high-salaried jobs and pay unparalleled educational and social dividends to the community.

Research at the Max Planck Florida Institute will focus on bioimaging, using the most advanced techniques to visualize microscopic molecular processes. Bioimaging provides a critical opportunity to translate discoveries of basic research into clinical and patient-oriented applications, which can ultimately be used to help improve medical diagnostics and the quality of care. The Florida-based institute plans to collaborate closely with Scripps by translating basic research discoveries from the molecular level to patient-oriented applications in order to ultimately help improve and save lives.

The Max Planck Florida Institute has also established relationships with FAU and other universities around the state, in addition to the Palm Beach County K–12 School District, in order to enhance and advance bioscience programs at all levels of education. Enriching science education is an important component of the Max Planck Society philosophy around the world. As the Florida institute grows its presence in Palm Beach County, it will introduce initiatives leading to internship programs; mentoring; the development of a speakers' bureau, a school lab for local student field trips, and BIO-MAX educational materials.

Max Planck Florida Institute currently resides in temporary space at FAU's MacArthur campus and anticipates completion of their permanent facility in 2011.