Delaware will take another major step to expand human health research with a new five-year, $17.4-million grant from the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
A collaboration of six Delaware academic and clinical institutions, led by the Delaware Biotechnology Institute at the University of Delaware, will receive the funding to develop the state’s biomedical research capacity in the target areas of cancer, cardiovascular, and neuroscience research. The award begins May 1.
The partnership program, the Delaware IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE), involves Christiana Care Health System, Delaware State University, Delaware Technical & Community College, Nemours/A. I. duPont Hospital for Children, the University of Delaware, and Wesley College.
“The University of Delaware’s INBRE program has been, and continues to be, at the forefront in developing a cyberinfrastructure network to address bioinformatics needs and applications to advance biomedical sciences,” said Barbara M. Alving, M.D., director, National Center for Research Resources. “This award will help advance research to combat diseases including cancer, heart, and neurological disease--research that may lead to improved health within the state and far beyond its borders.
“Through the power of shared resources, INBRE awards expand research opportunities and create a pipeline of competitive investigators crucial for the 21st-century workforce,” Alving said.
The Delaware Biotechnology Institute, a major research center for the life sciences at the University of Delaware, drove the development of the successful proposal. The institute also managed the first INBRE program grant, awarded by NIH in 2002, which, among its accomplishments, catalyzed formation of the Delaware Center for Translational Cancer Research and the hiring of 50 new life sciences faculty across the state’s academic and medical institutions.
“Our new INBRE grant will help build a new generation of health researchers for the 21st-Century workforce, to improve the health of the citizens of Delaware and expand health-based economic development in the state,” said David Weir, founding director of the Delaware Biotechnology Institute who led the effort. Weir was appointed executive director of UD’s Office of Economic Innovation & Partnerships last year.
The new effort will encompass cancer, cardiovascular, and neuroscience research programs; four new research centers—in bioinformatics, clinical outcomes research, cardiovascular research, and neurosciences; four new Ph.D. programs — in neurosciences, biomolecular science and engineering, bioinformatics and computational systems biology, and cardiovascular research; and provide funding for 80 graduate students.
It follows on the heels of the announcement of the new Delaware Health Sciences Alliance, a coalition to provide leadership in health and health services, including Christiana Care Health System, Nemours, Thomas Jefferson University, and the University of Delaware. The alliance was announced during the “Stronger Health-Based Partnerships” conference at UD on March 24.
The cancer research program will focus on cancer cell mobility and the role of specific proteins in metastasis, DNA repair, computer-based tools for simulation and early diagnosis of cancer, and biomaterials for use in cancer treatments.
Dr. Nicholas Petrelli, Bank of America Endowed Medical Director of the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center at Christiana Care Health System and professor of surgery at Thomas Jefferson University, will serve as program director for the cancer program. Petrelli is a national leader in the treatment of gastrointestinal cancers and chairs the state’s Science & Technology Council’s Human Health Subcommittee.
Additionally, the Delaware Center for Translational Cancer Research will play a central role. A collaboration of UD, Christiana Care’s Helen F. Graham Cancer Center, and Nemours Center for Childhood Cancer Research, the center is directed by Mary C. Farach-Carson and Robert Sikes in the Department of Biological Sciences at UD, and Petrelli and Bruce Boman at the Graham Center.
The cardiovascular research program will focus on the effect of kidney function on cardiovascular events, extra-cellular matrix remodeling in heart failure, and biomaterials for cardiac tissue engineering. Ulhas Naik, professor of biological sciences at the University of Delaware, will serve as program director of the cardiovascular program and direct a new cardiovascular research center to be developed at UD. Partnering in the effort will be Christiana Care Health System’s Center for Cardiovascular Outcomes Research, led by Dr. William Weintraub, chief of cardiology. The neuroscience research program will address molecular mechanisms of learning and memory, spinal muscular atrophy, and cardiovascular autonomic nerve function in diabetes. A major goal will be to establish a new center for brain disease and translational neurosciences.
The neuroscience program will be directed by Melissa Harrington, associate professor of biology and director of biomedical research at Delaware State University. Harrington serves on the Delaware Science & Technology Council’s Human Health Subcommittee and has been a leader in establishing the Delaware Neuroscience Consortium.
“In addition to the three research programs, core administrative, bioinformatics, and research instrumentation programs will be enhanced to support them, and 150 undergraduate research stipends will be established, providing opportunities for future scientists from across the state,” said Karl Steiner, associate provost for interdisciplinary research initiatives and co-principal investigator on the INBRE grant.
“The award launches another phase in our growing statewide partnership to build a biomedical research capability,” Weir noted. “Our thanks go to everyone associated with the program. Without their skill, dedication, and hard work, this renewal would not have been possible.”
Media contact: Martin Mbugua, (302) 831-8749.
New Delaware INBRE Research Projects
The following 15 developmental research projects, selected through a competitive, peer-review process, will be supported in the first year of Delaware’s INBRE renewal program (include link back to main story), which is funded by a five-year, $17.4-million grant from the National Center for Research Resources at the National Institutes of Health. These projects are aimed at generating preliminary data to support the development of subsequent research proposals to the National Institutes of Health, as well as other potential funding agencies.
Cancer Research:
Autocrine Stimulation of Primary and Metastatic Brain Cancer Cells — Deni Galileo, University of Delaware
Interactive Computer-generated Diagnosis Tools for Ground-glass Opacity Lung Tumors — Chandra Kambhamettu, University of Delaware
Volumetric Breast Density Estimation using Breast Surface Reconstructed from Optical Digitizer Images — Fengshan Liu, Delaware State University
Direct Interaction of Eristostatin with Human Melanoma Cells — Mary Ann McLane, University of Delaware
Calcium- and Integrin-Binding Protein 1 (CIB1) in Cancer Cell Invasion — Krishna Sarker, University of Delaware
CXCR4 and P-glycoprotein in Neuroblastoma Metastasis — Cynthia van Golen, Delaware State University
DNA Damage Repair Tolerance and Human Cancer — Zihao Zhuang, University of Delaware
Cardiovascular Research:
Biomaterials for Cardiac Tissue Engineering — Robert Akins, Nemours
Endothelial Progenitor Cell Function in Chronic Kidney Disease — David Edwards, University of Delaware
Physiological Effects of Dietary Sodium in "Salt Resistant" Humans — William Farquhar, University of Delaware
Effect of Kidney Function on the Association Between Obesity and Cardiovascular Events — Claudine Jurkovitz, Christiana Care Health System
Neurosciences Research:
Molecular Mechanisms of Learning and Memory: Investigating the Role of DEL-4 — Harbinder Dhillon, Delaware State University
Systematic Analyses of SMN Complexes in Motor Neurons — Ilsa Gomez-Curet, Nemours
Effect of Renin Inhibition on Cardiovascular Autonomic Nerve Function in Diabetes — Raelene Maser, University of Delaware
Neuro-Cognitive Self Regulation Mechanisms and Their Relation to Childhood and Adult Obesity — Steven Most, University of Delaware
Quote from US Sen. Thomas Carper (D-Del.):
"The receipt of this $17 million grant serves as another important milestone in Delaware's growth as a center of excellence for healthcare and biomedical research. This effort is especially important as it combines the strengths of many institutions throughout our state as they work together to solve some our nation's most pressing health problems."