UNMC’s grant application to the National Institutes of Health on behalf of a four-state consortium was not among the eight who received funding, according to an announcement Thursday (Sept. 4) by U.S. Health and Human Services.
HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced grants totaling approximately $350 million spread over five years to establish eight Regional Centers of Excellence for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases Research (RCE). The awards were made by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a part of HHS’ National Institutes of Health. NIAID will administer the RCE program.
Although the announcement was disappointing for Nebraska and the other states in the consortium – Iowa, Kansas and Missouri — UNMC leaders emphasized that this was only one of the many opportunities that the institution is pursuing in the area of biodefense.
Dr. Maurer: “Ours is a broader goal”
“This grant was focused on research, and clearly the institutions receiving these grants are among the top research powerhouses in the country,” said UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D. “They are involved in working on the research aspects of the problem. Ours is a broader goal. We want to be a backup for the (CDC) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention laboratory during times of crisis and surge. We also want to do research, but that is only part of our focus,” he said.
Dr. Maurer said this is an example of the level of competition the institution and the state face as it makes its bid in the biodefense arena.
“In terms of research institutions, we are certainly making major strides and gaining ground. We’re not there yet, but we’re building towards being a research powerhouse,” Dr. Maurer said.
UNMC optimistic about other proposals
Tom Rosenquist, Ph.D., UNMC vice chancellor for research, said he’s optimistic about other proposals still on the table and other opportunities that are out there. He said he looks forward to the feedback they will receive on the proposal.
“When I saw the list, I was not surprised,” he said. “These institutions are the most powerful in the level of NIH grants they receive.” He noted that UNMC’s NIH research funding is also growing rapidly. “We will use feedback to improve on our next research proposal,” he said.
UNMC has role in international research arena
According to Dr. Rosenquist, UNMC continues to be a large and important part in the international research arena. “Our people are key researchers. And what we are doing gives us world presence. Our research enterprise draws people from all over the world. The research here has by itself a huge economic impact – almost $60 million comes here each year. We doubled our funding for research in the last five years. We’re moving forward. Our research growth has moved us into a whole new category in terms of funding – we’re in with the big institutions now. Being in this category opens up a whole new area of grant opportunity.”
Institutions awarded regional biodefense grants
The eight institutions receiving an RCE grant and the principal investigator at each are:
- Duke University, Barton Haynes, M.D.
- Harvard Medical School, Dennis Kasper, M.D.
- New York State Department of Health, Ian Lipkin, M.D.
- University of Chicago, Olaf Schneewind, Ph.D.
- University of Maryland, Baltimore, Myron Levine, M.D.
- University of Texas Medical Branch (Galveston), David Walker, M.D.
- University of Washington, Samuel Miller, M.D.
- Washington University in St. Louis, Samuel Stanley, M.D.
Each center comprises a lead institution and affiliated institutions located primarily in the same geographical region.
Two receive planning grants
Two institutions received Planning Grants for Regional Centers of Excellence for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases (P-RCEs). The P-RCEs will support training, planning, research development and resource acquisition that could lead to the future establishment of a regional center. The lead institutions are the University of Iowa and the University of Minnesota.
The UNMC-led consortium was not eligible to submit a planning grant, since their goal was to compete for full funding on the first round, however UNMC sent a letter of support for the University of Iowa to use in their planning grant submission.