PORTLAND – The University of Maine, continuing to cement its role as the state’s primary research institution and as a launch pad for economic development, received the go-ahead Monday to create a graduate school of biomedical sciences.

Enthusiastically approved by the University of Maine System board of trustees, the school at the flagship campus would use existing faculty and expertise as well as partnerships with private-sector research institutes to educate more scientists in the biomedical field.

Money from a bond package approved by Maine voters will be used to renovate the University of Maine’s Camden Hall to serve as home to the graduate school.

The new program will offer a doctoral degree in biomedical sciences with concentrations in molecular and cellular biology; neuroscience; biomedical engineering; and functional genomics.

Collaborating with the University of Maine in creating the school are: The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine Medical Center Research Institute in Scarborough, Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory, University of Southern Maine, and University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine. All of the partners will offer classes and participate in the admissions process. Eastern Maine Healthcare’s Maine Institute for Human Genetics and Health also has expressed an interest in joining the partnership.

Beginning in September, the program will prepare students for jobs in cutting edge technology and provide a training ground for companies involved with pharmaceuticals, medical products and toxicology.

“This will be an asset to the state in our recruitment of biotechnical and biomedical companies which want to relocate or expand,” said UM President Robert Kennedy. “The biggest impediment to companies considering moving into the state is a trained work force.”

In his State of the State address last year, Gov. John Baldacci hailed the importance of the graduate school to the economic development of Maine.

The graduate school will cost $160,000 a year to run, UM Provost John Mahon said during the UMS trustees’ meeting, which was held Monday at the University of Southern Maine. Each partner will contribute $10,000 while funds from the racino scholarship fund will provide tuition and stipends for graduate students. Students are expected to number about 15 the first year, but could total 60 when the program is fully ramped up in the next few years. Additional funds could be required as the program expands.

“We should be able to justify to you and our partners the value of the investment,” Mahon told trustees.

“It’s not just another academic program,” said Kennedy, noting that the new graduate school opens up the possibility that, for the first time, UM could apply for grants from the National Institutes of Health, which concentrates solely on disease-related research. In addition, it capitalizes on the Orono campus’ bioengineering expertise and also could lead to improvements in health care, the president said, pointing to the state’s high rates of diabetes, obesity, heart disease and cancer.

UMS Chancellor Joseph Westphal told trustees that the new graduate school “builds capacity in the important areas that help us better serve the state.”

Trustees agreed that the school would be a boon to the state and to students. “I can’t think of a more important way to invest our money in the University of Maine System,” said trustee Meg Weston.

Trustees also approved a mechanical engineering degree at the University of Southern Maine.

The bachelor’s degree program would be “aimed at working adults and place-bound students” and would use distance learning technology for several core engineering courses provided from Orono, said USM President Richard L. Pattenaude.