The Kansas Bioscience Authority and other state and Kansas University officials clearly are serious about their effort to obtain National Cancer Institute status for the KU Cancer Center.

As further proof of their commitment, the KBA’s investment committee recommended Monday that the authority approve an additional $9 million mostly to pay the salaries of five top researchers for the KU center’s leadership team. Taking two of those jobs will be the former head of the cancer center at the Medical College of Georgia and a researcher from the University of Oklahoma. The other three players will be named later after they formally accept their posts.

For several years, state and university officials have taken a two-pronged approach to solidifying Kansas’ position as a leader in the biosciences field. One part of that effort was to attract the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility to Manhattan. With that goal accomplished, they have turned their attention to the second goal: obtaining the National Cancer Center designation for KU.

The combination of the two would firmly establish Kansas as a center of activity for both human and animal research. That reputation gives Kansas a leg up on the competition when it comes to attracting more bioscience researchers and industries to the state.

Success breeds success. KU needs to attract top researchers who already have demonstrated success in their fields. The reputations and research dollars those experts bring with them go a long way toward building the case that KU will conduct high quality research and, hopefully, produce high quality results in the fight against cancer.

Hiring top people is a good investment for KBA and the state, and there’s every reason for the full KBA board to approve the recommended funding when it meets next week.

Kansas certainly isn’t the only state with lofty aspirations to be a leader in bioscience research and industry. The states that succeed in this area will be the ones who set goals, stay focused on those goals and are willing to commit resources to achieve them. The additional KBA financial contribution reaffirms the state’s focus and commitment to being a player in the bioscience field.