Research funding at UNMC climbs to record $115 million

Research at the University of Nebraska Medical Center continues to climb as researchers brought in more than $115 million during the 2009-10 fiscal year, a nearly 15 percent increase from last year’s total of $100 million.

 

“Even in these difficult economic times, our researchers are able to attract significant funding from national agencies. Our research is innovative and repeatedly demonstrates value to the people of Nebraska and the world,” said UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D.

 

Tom Rosenquist, Ph.D., vice chancellor for research, said that the continuing growth of the UNMC research enterprise demonstrates the success of the Research Strategic Plan that has been in operation for over 10 years.

 

“A major aspect of the plan has been to encourage and support the development of larger-scale grant proposals. Last year UNMC researchers received 11 grants that paid more than $1 million each, for an average of $2.8 million. These ‘mega” grants represent almost 25 percent of the total research funding – 10 years ago it represented about three percent of the total,” he said.

 

 

“We analyzed the average sized grant among the 104 members of the Association of Academic Health Centers (AAHC), using data from fiscal year 2008, and UNMC was in the top 25 percent of the members,” he said. “We were bracketed with national research institutions ranging from highly respectable to superstar.”

 

In the category, NIH research dollars per full-time faculty member, UNMC’s College of Medicine ranked 29th out of 87 AAHC institutions in for which reliable faculty data were available. The College of Pharmacy ranked fourth nationally among 110 pharmacy schools. For total NIH research dollars, in 2008 UNMC with $56.5 million ranked 48th out of 104 AAHC institutions.

 

In 2009 and 2010, a significant boost in NIH funding came  from  the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), Dr. Rosenquist said. Since the act was passed, scientists at UNMC have received nearly $22 million in ARRA funds.

 

“Even when the ARRA money is subtracted, the total research dollars for 2009 and 2010 still beat the total for the previous two-year interval by about 20 percent,” Dr. Rosenquist said.

 

For UNMC to reach the next goal of $200 million, there will be a new emphasis on clinical and translational research, Dr. Rosenquist said.

 

 

·         $10.9 million Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (CoBRE) grant for the Nebraska Center for Cellular Signaling to Keith Johnson, Ph.D., renewed in 2008 for five years – just transferred from the late Peggy Wheelock, Ph.D. The grant focuses on the study of cell signaling in oral cancer and involves multidisciplinary collaboration between researchers.

·         $10.4 million CoBRE grant to Shelley Smith, Ph.D., was renewed in October 2009 for five years. The grant’s major research focus is regenerative medicine in relation to neurodevelopment of auditory and visual systems. Her team recently discovered a link between a particular gene and dyslexia.

·         $5.3 million, five-year SPORE grant in pancreatic cancer from the National Cancer Institute was awarded to Tony Hollingsworth, Ph.D., at the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center in September 2008. UNMC was one of only two programs funded that year in pancreatic cancer research.

·         $6.2 million from the United States Department of Defense toBen Boedeker, M.D., Ph.D., in March 2009, to develophis system for battlefield tracheal intubation. This is in addition to the $1.6 million awarded to him in November 2007 by the Department of Defense.

·         $2.7 million to Dmitry Oleynikov, M.D., in April from the Commerce-Justice-Science appropriation that funds NASA to design, simulate and test mini-surgical robots during long-duration space missions, submarine deployments and remote military and research outposts.

A list of yearly UNMC research award totals since 1998.
Year – Total (in millions)

1999 – 30.9

2000 – 40.05

2001 – 41.3

2002 – 50.7

2003 – 56.2

2004 – 68.2

2005 – 72.5

2006 – 80.6

2007 – 82.2

2008 – 100.47