URI Economic Impact Report - Autumn 2020

URI’S PLASTICS INITIATIVE: FROM LAND TO SEA From food wrappings and product packaging, to disposable bottles, straws, grocery bags, and PPEs, our lives are overtaken by a tide of plastics. Eight million metric tons of plastic are dumped in oceans annually, affecting at least 700 marine and wildlife species. URI is championing a land-to-sea plastics research initiative that aligns URI’s resources and research strengths from sciences to humanities to inform society, guide public policy, and reduce plastic pollutants. Its position as a land and sea grant institution—complemented by Rhode Island’s 400 miles of coastline and coastal economies—makes URI a major contributor to tackling this endeavor. Research in the sciences and social sciences together can inform decisions culturally, economically, technologically, and politically. “Much of the world is dependent on plastics,” said Kathleen Shannon, URI’s assistant to the vice president for research for strategic initiatives. “Because policy has been pro-plastic, it has moved rapidly as a global commodity. Our teams study micro/ nanoplastics on land, in water, and in the human body to understand, inform, and engage stakeholders to support data-driven decisions and investments.” URI’s research team—alongside non profit, corporate, and government partners— strives to inform policymakers and the public. While we understand plastic pollution is present in all studied ecosystems, we know little of long-term health, societal, and environmental impacts. URI seeks to fill this gap, focusing on micro- and nanoplastics. “Knowledge brings power, which can cultivate behavior change,” said Shannon. “Rhode Island is a great site to take new knowledge and translate it into meaningful actions to impact our populations. We are looking at this issue from sink to sea. And, our data points can go from local to global quickly, because of our small, collaborative ocean state.”

The RI-INBRE program has brought more than $81 million to the state.

URI RESEARCH IMPACTING BIOMEDICAL JOBS IN RHODE ISLAND

Research dollars contribute to the economy through the support of a scientific research workforce and through the purchase of goods and services. One of the biggest sources of such funding in recent years at URI has been a large biomedical capacity-building grant from NIH. During the past 20 years, the RI-INBRE program has brought more than $81 million to the state. The program is a statewide network designed to build the biomedical research capacity of Rhode Island institutions by supporting and developing talented individuals committed to research careers in Rhode Island. RI-INBRE provides access to instrumentation and bioinformatics core facilities for conducting cutting-edge research. The research themes of the program include oncology, environmental health sciences, and neuroscience. The state boasts a high concentration of jobs in the pharmaceuticals industry and in the medical device industry, according to a study by a biotechnology trade organization (Biotechnology Innovation Organization, 2018). Additionally, in 2017, Rhode Island ranked fourth in the nation per-capita for NIH funding, at $161 per person. In 2014-2017, the state ranked ninth in NIH funding growth, with a 29.4 percent increase, according to the report.

URI RESEARCH IMPACTING THE ENVIRONMENT, ECONOMY, AND HEALTH IN RHODE ISLAND

ECONOMIC IMPACT REPORT 2020 9

8 The University of Rhode Island