Researchers at UNMC and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln today will highlight to the University of Nebraska Board of Regents how they are meeting the challenge of 21st century science through collaborative projects.
The presentation will be led by Thomas Rosenquist, Ph.D., UNMC’s vice chancellor for research, and Prem Paul, Ph.D., vice chancellor for research at UNL. The Board of Regents will meet at 1:30 p.m. at Varner Hall, 3835 Holdrege St., Lincoln.
Also participating in the presentation for UNMC will be James Turpen, Ph.D, professor and interim chairman of genetics, cell biology and anatomy, and Dhruba Chakravarti, Ph.D., research assistant professor in UNMC’s Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases.
The joint presentation will focus on several collaborative projects including:
- The Biomedical Research Infrastruture Network (BRIN), a three-year $6 million federal grant that provides summer research internships for scholars from five Nebraska undergraduate institutions. Students from Chadron State College, Nebraska Wesleyan University, the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Wayne State University, and the University of Nebraska at Kearney study under the guidance and mentorship of faculty at UNMC, the UNL and Creighton University. The grant was awarded in 2001. Dr. Turpen is the principal investigator of the BRIN grant.
- The Nebraska Center for Redox Biology, which will result from a $10 million award from the National Institutes of Health. The center is a collaborative research enterprise of UNL and UNMC’s Eppley Cancer Center. The NIH Center of Biomedical Research Excellence grants are aimed at increasing research capacity at the recipient institutions. The Nebraska Center for Redox Biology will use the $10 million, awarded over five years, to support research projects and key technical facilities needed by the center’s researchers, and recruit new scientists and technicians. The center’s administrative offices will be housed at UNL but affiliated researchers will work on both campuses.
- The Nebraska Center for Virology, a $10.7 million competitive grant from the National Institutes of Health. The center, led by UNL’s Charles Wood, Ph.D., links virology researchers at UNL, UNMC and Creighton University. Center scientists conduct research on the ways viruses and other infectious agents cause disease, and use this knowledge to develop new methods to treat and prevent the spread of disease. Howard Gendelman, M.D., David Purtilo distinguished professor at UNMC, and James VanEtten, Ph.D., William Allington distinguished professor of virology at UNL, are co-directors of the center.