UNMC to Double Research Funding by 2004
The University of Nebraska Medical Center is on target to increase its
annual research funding to $68 million by the beginning of fiscal year
2004-2005. The increase, outlined in UNMC’s Research Strategic Plan, would
yield a broad range of direct and indirect economic benefits.
As of July 1, UNMC had achieved extramural funding of nearly $41 million
for the current year, including $25 million in federal grants. This total
amount represents an increase of 31 percent over last year, and exceeds
the 2000 target level of $38.5 million, said Thomas Rosenquist, Ph.D.,
director of research development at UNMC.
UNMC also passed a significant milestone this month, exceeding $25 million
in federal grants from such sources as the National Institutes of Health,
National Science Foundation, Department of Defense and Veterans Administration.
Dr. Rosenquist and UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D., set a goal
last year of doubling UNMCs research funding in five years, and of tripling
it in 10 years. At our present rate of growth, we can triple our 1999
level of funding, adjusted for inflation, in only eight years, Dr. Rosenquist
said.
Research is an integral part of the academic medical center, Dr. Maurer
said. Research fuels everything, including education,” he said. “Medicine
is moving forward at such a tremendous pace that it’s critical our students
work with researchers who are on the cutting edge of discovery.
According to the Center for Public Affairs Research at the University
of Nebraska at Omaha, UNMC’s externally funded research activity is predicted
to have a total direct economic impact of about $260 million for the State
of Nebraska over a five-year period — or $591 million based on the economic
multiplier effect, Dr. Rosenquist said.
“Biomedical research is likely to become even more of an economic driver
in the future,” Dr. Rosenquist told the NU Board of Regents July 15. “There
is more money to invest, and the results are more likely to be positive
based on the revolution in biomedical technology. By boosting our research
mission, UNMC will make even greater contributions to the state.”
Beyond the direct economic benefits, biomedical research also will yield
such indirect benefits as increases in life expectancy and decreases in
the cost of medical care. UNMC’s research in cancer, cardiovascular diseases,
neurodegenerative diseases and arthritis provide a unique contribution
to the worldwide research effort, Dr. Rosenquist said.
“A modest 10 percent improvement in reducing the prevalence of these
diseases is a reasonable outcome of ongoing UNMC research. That, alone,
would yield an annual benefit of over $250 million to Nebraska,” he said.
Overall, UNMC plans to increase its research to the targeted levels
by:
–Improving retention of current faculty members who have extramural
research grants;
–Recruiting new faculty members who have extramural research grants;
–Increasing the size of each UNMC extramural research grant.
“UNMC clearly is on target to achieve the strategic goal of doubling
extramural research support,” Dr. Rosenquist said. “We’ve got a long way
to go, but we’ve already seen a huge increase — 31 percent in one year.”
Of UNMCs $40.6 million in research funding for 1999-2000, the College
of Medicine accounted for $26.2 million, an increase of more than 35 percent
above 1999, and above the colleges target level of $25.2 million.
Recent breakthroughs achieved by UNMC researchers include:
CANCER RESEARCH
–A new understanding of the genetic basis of lymphoma. The work, by
John Chan, M.D., was reported in the journal Nature, one of two leading
science journals in the world.
–A grant from the National Institutes of Health to train new scientists
in breast cancer research, headed by Kenneth Cowan, M.D., Ph.D., and James
Shull, Ph.D. The grant recognizes the world-class work being done at UNMC
in breast cancer research.
ORGAN TRANSPLANTATION RESEARCH
–A UNMC research team led by Ira Fox, M.D., developed the first successful
method for growing liver cells outside the body, and then injecting these
cells into a vein. These cells may then function as normal liver cells,
and eliminate the need for liver transplantation surgery. The work has
been reported in the journal Science, the world’s other leading science
journal; and in the New England Journal of Medicine, the top journal of
clinical medicine. Based on his work, Dr. Fox has been nominated for The
King Faisal International Award in surgery research.
ALCOHOLIC LIVER DISEASE RESEARCH
–A research team from UNMC and the Omaha Veterans Affairs Medical
Center has shown the basic mechanism of alcohol damage to the liver. The
pioneering research, led by Dean Tuma, Ph.D., and Lynell Klassen, M.D.,
is expected to lead to significantly improved prevention and treatment
of alcoholic liver disease. Based on the excellence of his research, Dr.
Klassen has been named a recipient of the prestigious MERIT award from
the National Institutes of Health. He is among a small group of highly
selected U.S. scientists to receive this year’s award, and is only the
second Nebraska investigator ever to receive the MERIT award.