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FAU RESEARCHERS WIN $4 MILLION GRANT TO STUDY, HIV, CANCER, HEART DISEASE
June 14, 2005
Nancy L. Othon - Sun Sentinel
Six Florida Atlantic University scientists now have $4 million to research HIV, heart disease and cancer in the next four years, thanks to a grant awarded by the National Institutes of Health, officials announced Monday.
It's the first NIH award at FAU geared toward training minority students, said Gregg Fields, chairman of the chemistry and biochemistry department at FAU's Charles E. Schmidt College of Science.
To qualify for the highly competitive grant from the NIH's Minority Biomedical Research Support program, the university must have either had a minimum of 50 percent minorities or been recognized for special efforts to work with minorities, particularly those with a financial need, Fields said. FAU qualified under the latter guideline.
The grant is significant not only because of the research that will be done, but also because it's likely to attract minority students in science, Fields said.
"Once your university has a program like this, it becomes attractive for minority students looking to go to institutions that are developing research so they can be a part of it," he said.
Minorities constitute 35 percent of FAU's enrollment and 26 percent of faculty and administrators, according to FAU.
The research is being conducted independently of Scripps Florida, but the biotech institution was referenced in FAU's grant application, Fields said. The work is related in a complementary, not competitive, sense, and Fields said he thinks there is a potential for students trained in FAU's program to eventually work for Scripps Florida.
Undergraduate and graduate students will be working with Fields and six faculty scientists on projects that will, for example, examine non-invasive ways to look at certain drugs and how they end up in the body, as well as the role of a particular protein in the heart and how it relates to a common type of heart disease.
Without the grant, the research would have continued, but not as speedily, said Larry F. Lemanski, vice president of research and graduate studies at FAU.
"We're really delighted. It's going to move our programs ahead pretty quickly," Lemanski said. "This has definitely accelerated our progress and given us a real jumpstart in the area. It really adds fuel to the fire, so to speak, to move to the top of our areas, particularly for some of the younger scientists."
The grant also allows other faculty scientists to apply for additional money for other research projects beyond the four-year window.
"It really means quite a bit to not just the department but any of the other departments in the College of Science," Fields said. "This is wonderful, this is something you can build on."
Each of the research projects was evaluated by a panel of scientists and scored extremely well with the NIH, he said. Work on the projects is starting immediately, Lemanski said.
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