UMBI is a unique institution whose impact and influence is wholly out of proportion to its comparatively small size. It the State of Maryland's only biotechnology institution, a critical link in a hub of biotech and life science activity centered in our state and the surrounding region. While UMBI does not grant degrees, the university does host a large number of K-12, undergraduate, and graduate students each year through a variety of educational outreach and research programs. UMBI's specialized research focuses on such cutting edge high-impact areas as human disease (including 70 percent of the causes of death), marine microbiology, structural biology, insect transformation, plant transformation, extremophiles, systems biology, nanobiotechnology, and ways to protect the environment we all share. A contribution to UMBI therefore reaches far further than the walls of a laboratory or classroom. These donations affect the lives of many and provide advanced solutions to today's largest international scientific problems.