The new building on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus is nearing completion. The scientific agenda has been solidified, corporate partners identified and a formal organizational and governance structure adopted. Barely four years after Gov. George Pataki announced an ambitious proposal to create jobs and jump-start the New York State economy through the creation of high-technology "centers of excellence," UB's New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences is well on its way toward fulfilling its dual mission of improving health care while facilitating economic development in Upstate New York.