National Academy of Sciences Announces Selection of 72 New Members
Seventy-two new members and 18 foreign associates from 12 countries were recently elected to the National Academy of Sciences in acknowledgment of their distinguished and ongoing achievements in original research, bringing the total number of active members to 2,025. Foreign associates, totaling 387 following the latest elections, are nonvoting members of the Academy. Established in 1863, the National Academy of Sciences is a private institution composed of scientists and engineers committed to the advancement of science and its application for the welfare of society. A complete list of the newly elected members and their affiliations at the time of their election can be found online at <http://national-academies.org/>.
Stanford Comprehensive Cancer Center and Northern California Cancer Center Awarded NCI Cancer Center Designation
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has awarded the Stanford Comprehensive Cancer Center, in collaboration with the Northern California Cancer Center, the status of NCI-designated Cancer Center. Stanford's molecular imaging, cancer biology, and bone marrow transplant programs all received an outstanding rating from the NCI's review committee. The NCI designation is the latest in a string of recent developments for the Stanford Comprehensive Cancer Center, including an award of $20 million to form the Ludwig Center for Cancer Stem Cell Research and Medicine and $25 million to establish the Jill and John Freidenrich Center for Translational Research at Stanford University. These two new institutions will offer the cancer center expanded clinical trial capability and enhanced opportunity for collaboration in the search for novel cancer treatments. The NCI designation is expected to provide $1 million annually for the next 3 years; however, the final details have yet to be finalized. Stanford will also gain increased access to NCI cancer education and prevention initiatives, and Stanford faculty will have the opportunity to apply for cooperative grants, which fund collaborations between investigators at NCI-designated schools.
Case Western Reserve University Tuberculosis Research Unit Awarded 7-Year, $27 Million Grant
The Tuberculosis Research Unit (TBRU) at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine has been awarded a 7-year, $27 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) in support of tuberculosis research. Dr. W. Henry Boom, professor of medicine at the School of Medicine and University Hospitals Case Medical Center, will serve as principal investigator for the new contract, which is a renewal of the previous 7-year, $28 million grant awarded to the TBRU in 1999. The TBRU is a multidisciplinary, international research effort that combines genetics, immunology, and microbiology with epidemiologic studies and clinical trials in tuberculosis (TB)-endemic countries in Africa. The latest contract will bring together researchers in the departments of Medicine, Genetics, and Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Case Western Reserve University, who will work in collaboration with investigators at the Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation in Bethesda, Maryland; Colorado State University; the Oregon Health & Science University; the Public Health Research Institute in Newark, New Jersey; the Saint Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri; the University of Arkansas in Little Rock, Arkansas; and University of Washington, Institute for Systems Biology and Infectious Diseases Research Institute in Seattle, Washington. The international partners for the study include institutions in Uganda, Brazil, South Africa, and Philippines.
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Receive Matching Donations
The University of Texas Southwestern (UTSW) Medical Center and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center have received matching $50 million donations from the T. Boone Pickens Foundation, the charitable organization formed in 2006 by oil and gas industry leader T. Boone Pickens. The awards will establish special funds at each institution, which must be grown to $500 million over 25 years before money can be distributed at the institution's discretion. Mr. Pickens said that “it is [his] desire, through these gifts, to build major legacies, which will help ensure the excellence of UT Southwestern and M.D. Anderson in decades to come.” In honor of Mr. Picken's generous donation, a recently completed 800,000 square foot, 14-story medical research and education facility on the North Campus of UTSW will be named the T. Boone Pickens Biomedical Building. Similarly, M.D. Anderson will name its new academic building scheduled to open in spring 2008 the T. Boone Pickens Academic Tower. Mr. Pickens is chairman and founder of BP Capital, a private investment firm.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Establishes Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has announced plans to provide funding of $23 million per year for 7 years in support of six Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance. The goal of these new centers will be to provide the federal government with vital information to inform public health strategies for dealing with seasonal influenza and an influenza pandemic. The latest awards build on an already existing program led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, established by the NIAID following the 1997 Hong Kong outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in humans. The six institutions, along with the principal investigators, to receive NIAID Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance awards are St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis (principal investigator Dr. Robert Webster); the University of California, Los Angeles (principal investigator Dr. Scott Layne); the University of Minnesota (principal investigator Dr. Marguerite Pappaiaonou); Emory University (principal investigator Dr. Richard Compans); Mount Sinai School of Medicine (principal investigator Dr. Adolfo Garcia-Sastre); and the University of Rochester (principal investigator Dr. John Treanor). For more information about the Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance, see <http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/research/resources/ceirs/>.
Yale Child Study Center Awarded NIH Autism Center of Excellence Status
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently granted the Yale Child Study Center the status of Autism Center of Excellence (ACE), which will provide the Autism Program with $7.5 million of direct funding over 5 years. The program is led by Dr. Ami Klin, the Harris Associate Professor of Child Psychology & Psychiatry at the Child Study Center. His colleagues at the Yale ACE include Dr. Fred Volkmar, Dr. Robert Schultz, Warren Jones, Dr. Kasia Chawarska, Dr. Rhea Paul, Dr. Matthew State, and Dr. Elena Grigorenko. The ACE team has several projects planned, including three longitudinal projects focused on infants with autism aged 12 to 24 months; a project involving neuroimaging studies of a cohort of children evaluated at various stages in their development, first at 2 years of age and then at 4, 8, and 10 years; and a project focused on a family of genes and linked proteins found to be associated with forms of autism. Funding for the Yale ACE will come from the National Institutes of Mental Health, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.
National Institutes of Health to Fund Clinical and Translational Research at University of Kansas Medical Center
The University of Kansas (UK) Medical Center was recently awarded a 3-year, $7.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in support of clinical and translational research efforts. The grant is the second award that UK has received from the NIH in the last year in support of clinical and translational research. This funding will help provide UK researchers with more facilities and resources to conduct research beyond the standard laboratory investigations. Along with the announcement of the NIH grant, the UK Medical Center also unveiled plans for the creation of the Heartland Institute for Clinical and Translational Research and named Dr. Richard Barohn director and Dr. Lauren Aaronson deputy director.
University of California, San Diego Establishes Clinical Cardiovascular Stem Cell Research Program
The University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Medical Center recently launched a new program in clinical cardiovascular cell therapy, to be directed by Dr. Nabil Dib, associate clinical professor of medicine at the UCSD School of Medicine. Dr. Dib's research is centered on the potential applications of adult stem cells, derived from the patient's muscle, bone marrow, or blood, to devise treatments for heart disease. These investigators will conduct experiments to examine the potential effectiveness of adult stem cell transplant as treatments for congestive heart failure, as a means to minimize myocardial damage following heart attacks, and in stimulating the formation of new blood vessels to improve myocardial perfusion. Dr. Anthony DeMaria, director of the Sulpizio Family Cardiovascular Center at UCSD, said, “This will be a multidisciplinary program that will interface with the strong basic science effort at UCSD, and be an area of emphasis of [the] Cardiovascular Center.”
Five New Members Selected to Serve on the NIH Advisory Committee on Research on Women's Health
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently announced the appointment of five new members to the Advisory Committee on Research on Women's Health (ACRWH), which advises the director of the Office of Research on Women's Health on research avenues to be pursued by national research institutes in areas pertaining to women's health. The members of the committee number up to 18 and are appointed by the NIH director. The new members are Ronald Gibbs, MD, Scott J. Hultgren, PhD, Mary Beth O'Connell, PharmD, BCPS, Mary I. O'Connor, MD, and Sally Rosen, MD. Dr. Gibbs currently serves as chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Colorado. Dr. Gibbs's areas of expertise include obstetrics and gynecology, female genital infections, and high-risk pregnancies. Dr. Hultgren is the Helen L. Stoever Professor of Molecular Microbiology at the Washington University School of Medicine, where he also heads the Washington University Specialized Center of Research on Sex and Gender Factors Affecting Women's Health. Dr. O'Connell is an associate professor in the Pharmacy Practice Department at the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Her work has focused on drug therapy for the older population with an emphasis on prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. Dr. O'Connor currently serves as chair of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. Dr. O'Connor, an active researcher and educator, is also president of the Ruth Jackson Orthopedic Society and chair of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons' Women's Health Issues Advisory Board. Dr. Rosen is a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the Temple University School of Medicine and director of the Center for Women's Health Research, Leadership and Advocacy at Temple University. Additional information about women's health research and the ACRWH is available at <http://orwh.od.nih.gov/> and <http://orwh.od.nih.gov/about/advisory.html>, respectively.
National Institutes of Health Awards $7 Million to Fund General Clinical Research Center
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently awarded $6.95 million in support of the General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) at the Georgetown University Medical Center, a partnership with the MedStar Research Institute. The GCRC was established in 1999 through a grant from the NIH, and since that time, clinical research at Georgetown has expanded dramatically. Dr. Howard J. Federoff, executive vice president for health sciences at Georgetown University and chief executive of the Georgetown University Medical Center, said that “clinical research through GCRC protocols at Georgetown has grown by 300 percent since 1999.” The new funds are expected to further strengthen clinical and translational research at Georgetown University over the next 3 years. The latest award for the GCRC includes additional funds to support career development in clinical research. These Clinical Research Feasibility Funds are designed to support both new investigators conducting their first clinical research project and more established investigators who are seeking to move in a new direction in clinical research.
Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Awards $2 Million for AIDS Research
The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF) recently announced the winners of the second Operations Research on AIDS Care and Treatment in Africa (ORACTA) competition. The DDCF awarded 2-year grants totaling $200,000 each to 10 teams of researchers in the United States and Africa. These grants bring the total number of ORACTA grants to 30, totaling $6 million. For the 2007 competition, research teams were encouraged to focus their proposals in three areas: the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-tuberculosis co-epidemic, HIV treatment adherence, and the integration of scaled-up acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) care and treatment into public health care systems. A panel of experts selected the 10 winning teams from a pool of 57 proposals. For more information about the DDCF and for a complete listing of ORACTA award recipients, see <www.ddcf.org>.