**This piece originally appears in the Orlando Sentinel
A catalyst is an agent that spurs a reaction. Much like air conditioning and the automobile were catalysts for Florida’s post-war growth, the state’s investment in life-science research institutes was and remains a catalyst for the growth of life sciences in Florida.
Florida was forever changed by Gov. Jeb Bush‘s visionary and bold decision in 2003 to invest one-time post-9-11 federal stimulus funds in recruiting the Scripps Research Institute to Palm Beach County and the subsequent establishment of the state’s Innovation Investment Fund in 2006 that attracted five additional research institutes. More…