NIH Grants Awarded for Native American Diabetes, Molecular Regeneration, Skeletal Health

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced today that it will be awarding $33 million in grants through the NIH's National Center for Research Resources (NCRR). The grants are part of the Institutional Developmental Awards (IdeA), a program to support research in areas that target specific conditions and/or populations.

The IdeA program hopes to make up for limited funding in some areas of multidisciplinary research, and focuses on states that receive less attention from federal funding for health research. So far, IdeA grants have been given to institutions in 23 states and Puerto Rico.

The IdeA program specifies five goals. The first goal is to enhance research by funding the purchase of equipment and hiring staff. Other goals include supporting researchers at all levels, including those still in medical school or fellowships, as well as building on opportunities for undergraduate students to participate in research. On the community level, IdeA money will help support outreach and education of local and state workforces.

NIH Director, Elias A. Zerhouni, said in the NIH press release, "By bridging the research funding gap in IDeA states, we are building innovative research teams, strengthening partnerships with the community, and leveraging the power of shared resources - ultimately improving the nation's health. It is through this multidisciplinary approach that we can reduce health disparities and improve our disease prevention efforts in states that have limited resources."

The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City will receive $11 million to fund diabetes research, and in particular diabetes in Native American populations, in which the disease is increasing.

The Rhode Island Hospital in Providence will also get $11 million and that money will be earmarked for its research in skeletal health and repair. The University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kansas is also awarded $11 million for research in molecular regeneration.

Other states that have received IdeA grants are located mostly in the nation's interior states, such as Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, along with other states with smaller populations, and thus smaller portions of federal funding. IdeA also builds up an Internet-based support system for all IdeA recipients called IdeANet.

NCRR Director Barbara Alving added in the press release, " By funding 'intellectual development' and enhancing research infrastructure in these IDeA states, we are producing a pipeline of homegrown researchers who will become future leaders in competing for these federal dollars."

The IdeA grants focus on a principal researcher. Three to five individual projects will be conducted under the supervision of a junior researcher working with the principal researcher. The IdeA program also supports developing researchers with skills to conduct further work in seeking federal funding.

The NIH is the main federal agency for medical research and disease investigation, and the NCRR is the Agency's main tool for outreach to researchers and scientists.

Source: National Institutes for Health, National Center for Research Resources