Gov. Josh Shapiro came to Pittsburgh Tuesday to promote his proposed $50 million investment in scientific and technological innovation statewide as a part of his 2025-26 budget.
The governor took the mic inside The Assembly — the University of Pittsburgh research hub in Bloomfield focused on biomedical research. He was joined by local government, university and business leaders including Rick Siger, secretary of Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato and Dr. Rory Cooper, University of Pittsburgh Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research for STEM-Health Sciences Collaborations.
Shapiro said his proposed investments aim to connect research universities with life science companies to find faster ways to commercialize discoveries within Pennsylvania.
“My budget will help supercharge the growth we need in life sciences here in Pennsylvania by giving our life sciences industry a competitive edge over those in neighboring states,” he said.
The part of the governor’s proposed budget that’s centered around innovation includes a one-time $30 million investment toward creating jobs in the life science industry and $20 million annually to foster large-scale innovation across the state.
Shapiro’s plan also includes $10 million in tax credits for businesses to create jobs in these fields, $12.5 million to the Workforce and Economic Development Network of Pennsylvania — or WEDnetPA — a program that gives employers money to train their workers. Shapiro has also carved out $2 million for a program to help create internships at companies throughout the state.
This comes at a challenging time for life science funding in Pittsburgh. The Trump administration has proposed multiple cuts to scientific research funding across the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation. The University of Pittsburgh is one of the most vulnerable institutions in the country to these cuts. The university ranked sixth in the nation for total NIH grants for 2024, receiving more than $661 million last year.
This $50 million is just a fraction of the governor’s $51.5 billion proposed budget for 2025-26. The governor has until the last week of June to pass the budget and crunch time in the state legislature begins June 1.
In the next month, the bulk of debate over key proposals will take place across multiple sessions in the capitol. Funding for transit, legalization of marijuana and taxing skills games are expected to be the most hotly-debated topics on the floor. The proposed investments in innovation and life sciences are not expected to be sticking points in the budget.
Shapiro said these proposed investments could spur additional private venture capital investment.
“We are going to capitalize on our higher ed talent that is here in great numbers,” he said. “This is how we compete. And this is how we win in today's economy. It's not lost on me at a time when the administration in Washington is cutting back on research and development, we are doubling down here in the state.”
