Gov. Jim Doyle has announced recently plans for a $375-million institute for stem cell and other biomedical research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.

Doyle, speaking at a news conference in a UW-Madison laboratory, also outlined a strategy for keeping Wisconsin's research competitive. The plan includes changing state laws to make it easier for faculty to be entrepreneurs and committing $1.5 million a year of state money to Alzheimer's research.

The moves are necessary, Doyle said, because thousands of potential jobs are at stake, which is why he wants to have an "aggressive and comprehensive strategy."

The governor said Wisconsin has invested more than $1 billion over the last 15 years in high-tech facilities.

The new UW facility, called the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, will include specialists in biochemistry, nanotechnology, computer engineering and bioinformatics, a growing field that involves using software and databases to evaluate medical information.

Doyle's announcement came just a little more than two weeks after California voters approved a measure that will provide $3 billion over 10 years for stem cell research. Stem cells - master cells that can form any tissue or organ in the body and may hold promise to treat spinal cord injuries, diabetes, Alzheimer's and other illnesses - were first isolated in 1998 by UW-Madison scientist James Thomson.