Maria K Mitchell, PhD, is founder and leader of the Life Sciences Division of Empire State Development (ESD), the economic development agency for New York State. The Life Sciences Division was created to conceptualize and implement Governor Andrew Cuomo’s groundbreaking $620 million initiative to fuel growth of a world-class commercial life sciences sector in New York State. The Initiative seeks to capitalize on the state’s unparalleled academic life science assets, which are critical to building a successful commercial life science ecosystem.
To achieve the Life Science Initiative’s mission of attracting, growing and retaining startups in New York, Maria developed a strategy that takes a multipronged approach to life science cluster development: making investments that leverage existing life science intellectual property from New York academic institutions, enhancing and training talent, supporting entrepreneurs, building infrastructure, and providing tax incentives to assist startup companies.
In addition to leading the Life Science Initiative, Maria managed the initial work required to determine the best approach to rebuilding the New York State Department of Health Wadsworth Center and leveraging its unique capabilities to attract and support innovative commercial partnerships and private investment. The result is a $750 million commitment by New York State to rebuild the Wadsworth Center as a commercial magnet for New York State.
Prior to joining ESD, Maria served as Founding President and CEO of AMDeC, a partnership of 20 of New York’s pre-eminent medical schools, academic health centers, and research institutions, created to re-establish New York’s leadership in biomedical research and biotechnology and encourage research collaboration. During her 15-year tenure at AMDeC, she spearheaded a broad range of initiatives that supported collaborative research efforts among these institutions.
