High-Tech Research Network Receives $2 Million More in Federal Funds

Release Date: Oct. 2, 2002

The Arkansas Biomedical Research Network has received another $2 million from the National Institutes of Health to expand its services to colleges and universities in the state.

The new funding will enable the network of research facilities to provide more research support to science professors and college students around Arkansas, as well as funding to recruit research-oriented science faculty to undergraduate institutions.

The network is a collaborative program built around the three leading research campuses in the state: the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), University of Arkansas, Fayetteville (UAF), and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR). The network was established in the fall of 2001 with funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Center for Research Resources (NCRR).

”This additional funding will allow us to expand research capacity for undergraduate institutions,” Lawrence Cornett, Ph.D., director of the network, said. “We will support additional mentored research projects for undergraduate faculty and students during the summer. We’ll continue to support those projects during the academic year and provide funds for key equipment to enable undergraduate faculty to conduct research at their home institutions.”

The network matches faculty and student fellows who use sophisticated laboratory equipment and receive advice from senior scientists at UAMS, UALR, and UAF. The new funds will pay for four additional summer faculty fellowships (for a total of 12), four additional summer student fellowships (for a total of 14), eight new academic-year fellowships for faculty, and two additional graduate stipends at UALR. The network also will be able to purchase additional equipment and supplies for genomics, proteomics, and microscopy laboratories.

Genomics is a discipline that identifies genes, their interactions, and their effects on biological processes. Genomics promises to accelerate the development of new approaches to treating human diseases.

Proteomics is a discipline involving the characterization of proteins, their structure, and function. Through identification of proteins and understanding their biological function, proteomics proposes to determine their role in human health and disease.

Digital microscopy allows researchers to locate macromolecules within cells and tissues, thereby better assessing their function in normal and diseased states.

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For more information:
Leslie W. Taylor
501-686-8998
Wireless phone: 501-951-7260
taylorlesliew@uams.edu

Elizabeth F. Shores
501-686-8394
ShoresElizabethF@uams.edu

03/30/07