Bill McKeon: Investing in Education Key to Advancing Houston’s Life Sciences Ecosystem

As industry leaders work to advance Houston’s life sciences ecosystem, investing in education will be critical to its success, according to Bill McKeon, President and CEO of the Texas Medical Center.

McKeon discussed how Houston has positioned itself as the “Third Coast” for life sciences and how leaders are working to strengthen the region’s ecosystem during the latest installment of the Partnership’s Why Houston webinar series.

“It took Boston 20 years to establish what they have today,” McKeon said as he discussed the progress on the construction of TMC3. The transformational research hub will serve as a life sciences cluster for leading researchers and industry experts.

McKeon said TMC3 project leaders have spent time in Boston to learn about its life sciences hub and learn from their initial mistakes. One of the takeaways was to invest in retail and green space from inception, McKeon said.

“We’re putting hundreds and millions of dollars into those parks, into our retail where anyone in economics would say, ‘Don’t do that. You’re not going to see the return. You’re going to lose it.’ It’s about investing in the community just like city has made such great investments in our parks through our great philanthropy,” McKeon said. Click to read more at www.houston.org.