Biomedical Research Center Gets $10.5 Million

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 5, 2009) – A multidisciplinary biomedical research center at the University of Kentucky has received $10.5 million in renewed funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The Center for Biomedical Research Excellence in the Molecular Basis of Human Disease is supported by the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), a part of the NIH that supports thematic, multidisciplinary Centers of Biological Research Excellence (COBREs)  across the country through its Institutional Development Award (IDeA) program.

In its first five years, the center provided support for research projects led by 22 junior faculty members in nine different departments, mentored by senior faculty researchers. The focus has been on neurodegenerative diseases, cancer and diabetes. The center can support five pilot projects concurrently. 

"Apart from the important new knowledge generated from these research projects, the COBRE supports the further development of biomedical scientists who are critical to our nation’s health care," said Dr. Jay Perman, dean of the UK College of Medicine and vice president for clinical affairs.

In addition, the COBRE provides four support cores, in microscopy; in synthesizing organic compounds to be used in research; in protein characterization and structural determination; in production of recombinant viruses for research projects; and providing proteomic support.

"This is a tremendous asset for our researchers," said Dr. Louis B. Hersh, professor of molecular and cellular biochemistry in the UK College of Medicine. "It provides them with resources that wouldn't otherwise be available to them."

UK is home to three other COBRE-supported centers: the Center for the Biologic Basis of Oral/Systemic Diseases, the COBRE in Women's Health, and the COBRE in Obesity and Cardiovascular Disease.