Transcript
Running time 2:32. Narration by an AI-generated voice; original music.
[0:00] The 1998 tobacco settlement
Narrator: In November 1998, 46 states signed a settlement with the nation’s largest tobacco companies. Arkansas had to decide what to do with its share. Health care leaders across the state made the case for research that could help reduce or prevent smoking-related illnesses.
[0:20] Arkansas voters approve; ABI is founded
Narrator: In November 2000, 64 percent of Arkansas voters approved the Tobacco Settlement Proceeds Act. In 2001, the General Assembly established the Arkansas Biosciences Institute, a research consortium of five partner institutions.
[0:45] The founding goal (2002)
Narrator: When its board first met, in January 2002, the founding director set the goal: take the dollar from the state, and turn it into three or four dollars.
[0:58] 24 years of ABI support
Narrator: Each year, about $11 million in ABI support pays for pilot projects, shared research cores, equipment, and recruitment, which help investigators compete for national grants.
[1:13] Totals: $264M in ABI support, $1.12B leveraged
Narrator: Over 24 years, ABI support totaled $264 million. Partner institutions reported $1.12 billion in leveraged extramural research funding. That is $4.23 for every ABI dollar.
[1:33] 337 investigators across Arkansas
Narrator: Behind those totals are people: 337 investigators in the last five years, from cancer research at UAMS and children’s health at Arkansas Children’s, to bioengineering in Fayetteville, plant science in Jonesboro, and farms across the state.
[1:50] Fiscal year 2025 results
Narrator: In fiscal 2025 alone, partner institutions reported 453 students trained, 304 publications, and 35 clinical trials.
[2:02] NIH research funding in Arkansas
Narrator: Since 2000, ABI’s partner institutions have received nine of every ten NIH research dollars awarded in Arkansas.
[2:13] The full impact report
Narrator: The full record, year by year and project by project, is in the Arkansas Biosciences Institute Impact Report. Advancing biosciences research across Arkansas, since 2002.
