NIH Funding Increases UW's National Stature in Research

Sept. 15, 2006 -- The University of Wyoming has established nationally-competitive health-related research programs with more than $20 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health, according to a report presented today (Friday) to the UW Board of Trustees.

Bill Flynn, director of UW's Neuroscience Program, said UW has received three major grants through the NIH Institutional Development Award (IDeA) Program intended to broaden the geographic distribution of NIH funding for biomedical and behavioral research. This summer, UW received a $10.3 million, five-year grant for neuroscience research.

The awards allowed UW to establish a Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE), a multidisciplinary center that strengthens UW's biomedical research capacity by expanding the institution's research infrastructure.

"The formation of interdisciplinary research centers, including this COBRE, is an indication of the increasing research strength at UW," according to Bill Gern, UW vice president for research and economic development. "It demonstrates that the infrastructure we've acquired -- including the addition of faculty -- is having real impact in UW's competitiveness."

In UW's Academic Plan, neuroscience was identified as an "Area of Distinction" within Life Sciences. Flynn noted that faculty participating in the Neuroscience Program span four colleges -- Arts and Sciences, Health Sciences, Engineering and Agriculture.

The COBRE supports UW's Microscopy and Macromolecular Core facilities. The Macromolecular Core Facility allows UW scientists to use more than $1 million worth of highly-technical equipment, such as mass spectrometers, to analyze biological chemicals within the brain, and other biological tissues.

The Microscopy Facility, also valued at more than $1 million, is used extensively for biomedical research including projects in animal science, botany, chemistry, zoology, molecular biology, and physics, Flynn said.

The most recent grant, one of the largest in UW's history, will support neuroscience projects aimed at advancing understanding of plasticity of the nervous system. Flynn explained that plasticity is the ability of the nervous system to change in response to the environment, experiences, or trauma. The research has implications for understanding how, for example, sensory deprivation in children may lead to abnormal brain function as adults.

Other project investigators are Steven Barrett of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Donal Skinner, Qian-Quan Sun and Jeff Woodbury, all with the Department of Zoology and Physiology. The grant also will support faculty recruitment, neuroscience graduate students and post-doctoral fellows, and seminars.

Posted on Friday, September 15, 2006