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NIH awards $16.7 million grant to UD, 4 Delaware institutions
The program, which will be managed by the Delaware Biotechnology Institute, represents a collaborative effort involving UD, Delaware State University, Delaware Technical and Community College, Wesley College and the Christiana Care Health System, according to David Weir, director of DBI, who announced the grant during a press conference Thursday morning. “This IDeA Program award provides an unprecedented opportunity for the University of Delaware to enhance its research infrastructure, and to create networks and partnerships throughout Delaware aimed at making scientific discoveries that will help improve our nation's health,” Sidney McNairy, director of the Division of Research Infrastructure, National Center for Research Resources, NIH, said. “I am particularly pleased that this network includes Delaware State University, one of our nation's Historically Black Colleges and Universities, as it is so important that we facilitate wider participation of minority students in the biomedical sciences.” NIH was represented at the event by Susan R. Kayar, program official for the Delaware INBRE program. “This grant is a recognition of Delaware as a leader in biotechnology and will provide a considerable boost to our efforts,” Delaware Gov. Ruth Ann Minner said. “I am very proud of the Delaware Biotechnology Institute and these institutions.” Minner said Delaware has a higher concentration of bioscience jobs than any other state in the nation, adding the grant “will further bolster the industry in Delaware.” She said the research supported by the funding will “help people and make their lives better.” “The University of Delaware is pleased to be a primary partner of the Delaware Biotechnology Institute and most appreciative that the National Institutes of Health has awarded this grant, which will enable many of our most talented faculty members to advance important research in the field of biomedicine,” UD President David P. Roselle said. “The INBRE program is also significant for the number of interdisciplinary and cross-institutional research collaborations that have been launched, and for the numbers of graduate and undergraduate students who will be supported.” Roselle said UD is especially proud of its role as the founding institution for DBI and grateful to its early financial supporters, as well as to the federal government, which is now the largest such investor. He said the NIH grant, along with other federal grants and the growth of research partnerships, is “clear evidence that the University of Delaware and other initial supporters invested wisely.” The focus of the INBRE program is mentored biomedical research, and the grant provides funding for 15 research projects, support for undergraduate and graduate students and funding for infrastructure improvements. Participants will be involved in projects ranging from how prostate cancer spreads to bone to the development of nanoscale biosensors to monitor nerve activity to the creation of more effective ways to deliver cancer-fighting drugs. The INBRE grant, awarded by NIH through its National Center for Research Resources, is part of a larger Delaware initiative to establish a life sciences research, education and business sector in the state. It is aligned with Minner’s New Economy Initiative, which includes a biotechnology and life sciences cluster involving the state’s high-technology businesses and research capabilities. The initiative has the strong backing of the state’s Congressional delegation, all of whom have supported federal research funding as important to Delaware’s future. U.S. Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. said, “This is a great opportunity for Delaware's medical and educational communities. By bringing together the top academic institutions throughout the state, this grant represents a huge step forward toward the goal of establishing Delaware as one of the fastest growing and most hospitable centers in the country for the burgeoning field of biomedical and biotechnology research. Delaware is now clearly at the forefront of 21st Century advances in science and technology.” “As governor, I had the opportunity to work closely with the Delaware Biotechnology Institute,” U.S. Sen. Thomas R. Carper said. “With this grant, DBI and its partners are able to embark on new research initiatives that will strengthen the state's biomedical research capacity. This grant enables our state's college and university faculty and staff to foster new research opportunities and to take advantage of the infrastructure currently at DBI.” A former Navy pilot, Carper said DBI has advanced to the point of “refusal speed,” where an airplane either stays grounded or takes flight, and said he has no doubt but that the new grant will help the institute fly. U.S. Rep. Michael N. Castle said, “Delaware has a long history of support for the biosciences. For more than a century, Delaware has been home to a culture of scientific and technological discovery, innovation and leadership. This grant will allow Delaware to continue to establish itself as a center of excellence in life-science-based discovery research and education.” The research being funded is first-rate, Castle said. “These are wonderful projects,” he said. “If any one of them works in even a small way, it will be well worth the $16.7 million.” The grant, plus a recently completed $8 million NIH Biomedical Research Infrastructure Network grant and a newly submitted $13.5 million proposal to the National Science Foundation, which includes $4.5 million in state matching funds, will provide a solid foundation for sustainable life sciences research, education and economic development initiatives in Delaware, according to Weir. Each research project will be carried out by a junior faculty member in collaboration with a senior faculty research mentor. The program also will fund undergraduate research interns and graduate students in biomedical research labs.
M. Cynthia Farach-Carson, professor of biological sciences, will work with Carlton Cooper, UD assistant professor of biological sciences, in research on the spread of prostate cancer to bone. Abraham Lenhoff, Gore Professor of Chemical Engineering, will work with Eric M. Furst, UD assistant professor of chemical engineering, to understand cellular responses in tissue engineering. Eric Kmiec, professor of biological sciences, will work with Dr. Koren Miller, surgical resident at the Christiana Care Health System’s Helen F. Graham Cancer Center, to investigate the role of specific gene codes in cancer. Tom Buchanan, professor of mechanical engineering and department chairperson, will work with Robert Rogers, UD assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, to develop nanoscale biosensors that can be implanted in patients to monitor and control nerve activity. Eric Kaler, Elizabeth Inez Kelley Professor of Chemical Engineering and dean of the College of Engineering, will work with Dr. Waleed Shalaby of the Christiana Care oncology department to create an absorbable gel-forming delivery system for the cancer drug Paclitaxel. Murray Johnston, professor of chemistry and biochemistry, will work with Peter DiMaria, associate professor of chemistry at Delaware State University, to study small nuclear ribonucleic acids (RNAs) in microsporidia, organisms that are responsible for a variety of disease conditions in immune-suppressed patients, including those with AIDS. Pamela Green, Crawford H. Greenwalt Endowed Chair in Plant Molecular Biology, will work with Vincent N. Fondong, assistant professor of biotechnology at Delaware State, to study the use of transgenic plants in vaccine manufacturing and delivery. Charles Riordan, professor of chemistry and biochemistry and department chairperson, will work with Tatyana Polenova, UD assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, to study the structure and mechanics of certain enzymes using NMR MAS spectroscopy. Daniel Carson, professor of biological sciences and department chairperson, will work with Erica Selva, UD assistant professor of biological sciences, to analyze a signaling molecule that can control cell development. Carson will serve as mentor on a second project with Lynn Everett, assistant professor of biology at Wesley College, to study genetic variability in a bacterium that is the causative agent of Lyme disease. George Molloy, associate professor of biological sciences, will work with Charlie Wilson, associate professor of biology at Delaware State, to study connections between cell signaling, cell growth and creatine kinase, which could have implications for cancer. Karl Steiner, DBI associate director and professor of electrical and computer engineering, will work with the Christiana Care radiology department to create a virtual window into the body using computed tomography (CT) data. Other projects will be led by Dennis Kevill, Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus in chemistry and biochemistry at Northern Illinois University, working with Malcolm D’Souza, associate professor of chemistry at Wesley, on solution kinetics; Jef Boeke, professor of molecular biology and genetics at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, working with Teresa Singleton, associate professor of biotechnology at Delaware State, on retroviruses; and the Wesley Biology Collaboration, involving Jonathan Kidd, professor of microbiology, and Kathleen Curran, instructor of biology, on issues involving Lyme and other tick-borne diseases. The $16.7 million INBRE grant is one of the largest awarded by NIH to institutions in Delaware, Weir said. Also speaking at the press conference were Robert J. Laskowski, president and chief executive officer of Christiana Care Health System; Allen L. Sessoms, president of Delaware State University; Larry Miller, director of the Stanton-Wilmington campus of Delaware Technical and Community College; and Scott D. Miller, president of Wesley College. Article by Neil Thomas To learn how to subscribe to UDaily, click here. |
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