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Gov. Carcieri and Professors Zahir Shaikh and Bongsup Cho discuss biomedical research at the opening of the BRIN lab last year. |
College of Pharmacy awarded $16.5 million grant for biomedical research
An arm of the National Institutes of Health has awarded URI a $16.5 million, five-year grant to continue the University’s work as a catalyst for biomedical research in the state. It is one of the largest one-time grants in the University’s history.
The grant awarded to the College of Pharmacy from NIH’s National Center for Research Resources, is the second major grant from that agency awarded to URI since 2001. URI completed the third year of its $8 million Biomedical Research Infrastructure Network (BRIN) grant, which resulted in collaborations with Brown University, Rhode Island College, Providence College, Salve Regina University, Roger Williams University, and Bryant University.
The BRIN grant marked the first time in Rhode Island history that researchers from URI and the other colleges in the state collaborated in such a comprehensive manner. Pharmacy Professor Zahir Shaikh, the principal investigator on the new grant, said it was this successful collaboration that led to the positive review of the latest proposal.
The new grant cements those relationships and focuses researchers’ attention on URI’s strength in molecular toxicology. This discipline examines the adverse effects of natural and synthetic chemicals, as well as radiation, on man and his environment.
“Environmental contamination is an important issue in every state, including ours,” Shaikh said. “Many chronic diseases, such as cancer, may have their origins in the environment.”
“Dr. Shaikh and his colleagues at URI and the other Rhode Island colleges have now been responsible for bringing close to $25 million in less than three years to Rhode Island for the study of some of our most important and vexing health problems,” said Pharmacy Dean Donald E. Letendre. “These two grants illustrate the kind of broad impact the College of Pharmacy has on health care and biomedical research in Rhode Island and beyond.”
The new project is called the Rhode Island Network for Molecular Toxicology. As a result of the grant, the University has approved a center for toxicology studies, which will have at its disposal the $2 million core research instrumentation laboratory established with funds from the previous grant. This facility is open to all biomedical researchers in the state, and the participating institutions will contribute funds for the operation and maintenance of the facility - yet another example of the collaboration between the institutions towards a common goal.
In addition, half of the grant total will fund three projects at each of the smaller four-year colleges—RIC, PC, Roger Williams and Salve Regina. “Their faculty are going to be well-funded,” Shaikh added. “The expectation is that this funding will allow greater undergraduate student training opportunities in biomedical research and also help the faculty members become more competitive in obtaining their own research grants.”
One project at Brown will be funded through the grant and four will be funded at URI. In addition, senior URI and Brown faculty will serve as mentors for junior faculty.
“A total of 17 junior faculty members will be supported by the new grant,” Shaikh said. “It includes new faculty positions at the six participating schools. In terms of our research capacity, it may bring up to nine new researchers to the state during its first year,” Shaikh said.
By Dave Lavallee
