The central objective of the present paper is to examine how university bioscientists select their research agendas, with special attention to biotechnology firms' influence on those agendas. Among other issues, we will assess UIRs' potential effects on the private appropriability of the characteristics of bioengineered crop and animal varieties, and on the basicness and breadth of a scientist's research. Factors that potentially would affect scientists' research agenda include the university's size, reputation, resources, culture, and total government funding; the scientist's academic position and communication network; and the market power, cultures, and specialties of the biotech firms with which the university has research relationships. An electronic survey of academic life scientists, concentrating on their research objectives, funding sources, collaborators, contracts, and budgets, will form much of the data for testing these models.