May 19, 2010 | Biomedical research in Arkansas has received a $14.7 million boost over five years from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to continue expanding and improving biomedical research in the state.

The five-year grant is an extension of nine years of continuous funding already worth $26 million to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), along with the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) and six other partner state institutions. The previous funding began with a $9.3 million grant awarded in 2001 that was extended with a five-year $16.7 million grant awarded in 2005.

“Laboratory research is a vital link in finding new medical treatments that will ultimately improve the lives of Arkansans,” said Lawrence E. Cornett, Ph.D., executive associate dean for research in the UAMS College of Medicine and vice chancellor for research. “This grant is a critical component for the continued development of biomedical research programs that are now conducting cutting-edge research and in aiding the recruitment of highly skilled and research-focused faculty and students at these Arkansas partner institutions.”

The National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), a division of NIH, awarded the grant through its Institutional Development Award (IDeA) program to the Arkansas IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE).

This latest INBRE grant extension is to enhance biomedical research through support of individual research projects, state-of-the-art scientific instrumentation and new programs in biomedical education. UAMS will continue as the administrative core for the INBRE grant among the state’s member institutions. The funds will be shared among lead institutions UAMS, UAF and UALR, as well as six partner institutions that include Arkansas State University, Hendrix College, Lyon College, Ouachita Baptist University, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and the University of Central Arkansas.

With the initial grant, the funds allowed the lead and partner institutions in the state to recruit 12 new faculty members with a specific research focus or biomedical expertise; award 120 faculty fellowships to support research activities; award 125 summer student fellowships to work in research labs at UAMS, UAF or UALR; and provided equipment grants to improve research infrastructure at the participating institutions.

The grant provides funds to create a DNA Damage and Toxicology Core Facility within the UAMS Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology; the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute’s Proteomics Core Facility and the UAMS Digital and Confocal Microscopy Laboratory, which provides access to sophisticated microscopes for research purposes. Funds also support the Access Grid Studio, which enables scientists and researchers throughout the network to effectively communicate with each other.

In addition, the funds supported an interdisciplinary bioinformatics graduate education program, jointly operated by UAMS and UALR, which offers degrees in the field of science that uses information technology to analyze genomic and molecular data. Student research and recruitment programs also were established with the funds.

“A solid foundation for biotechnology research and education in Arkansas has been founded and improved upon with the support of this funding over the years,” said Helen Benes, Ph.D., associate director of the Arkansas INBRE since receiving the first award in 2001. “With the extension of this funding we are given the opportunity to continue improving and growing upon that foundation by increasing support for these facilities, research projects and education programs.”

UAMS is the only institution in the country to hold both the INBRE grant and the prestigious Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA), which is a nearly $20 million grant to translate basic science discoveries into speedier treatments and cures for patients that was awarded in July 2009. Cornett said the awarding of the CTSA, which was UAMS’ largest-ever research grant, was ushered in by the INBRE.

“The INBRE laid the research groundwork beginning back in 2001 for us to be able to join the prestigious network of CTSA Consortium members,” Cornett said. “The two programs will work closely together to advance biomedical research at UAMS and with our partner institutions throughout the state.”

UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Related Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a 540,000-square-foot hospital; a statewide network of regional centers; and six institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy, the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, the Psychiatric Research Institute and the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging. UAMS has 2,775 students and 748 medical residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 10,000 employees, including nearly 1,150 physicians who provide medical care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and UAMS’ Area Health Education Centers throughout the state. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com.