NIH Awards Nearly $30 Million for Research Facilitites Improvement Projects
Subject:
NIH AWARDS NEARLY $30 MILLION FOR RESEARCH FACILITIES IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, October 25, 2005
CONTACT:
Joyce McDonald or Ann Puderbaugh, 301-435-0888, [email protected]
NIH
AWARDS NEARLY $30 MILLION FOR RESEARCH FACILITIES IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS
The
"These
investments in research facilities are vital to our nation's ability to conduct
state-of-the-art biomedical and behavioral research,"
The
FY 2005 RFIP awards will fund the design, construction, and fixed equipment
costs for new research facilities such as The Northern Plains Center for
Behavioral Research at the University of North Dakota; the Center for Human
Genetics and Complex Traits at the University of Pennsylvania; and the Breast
and Women's Cancer Laboratory at the University of California, Irvine. The
program will support new resources for research animals at the
"It
is crucial to our research progress that we bring our facilities into
compliance with current building codes so that our investigators can conduct
their research in a predictable, controllable physical environment," said
Maria Lima, Ph.D., principal investigator of the project at
A
recent National Science Foundation study documents the need for infrastructure
improvements at biomedical research facilities, reporting that institutions
have deferred about $9 billion in repair, renovation, and construction projects
due to lack of funds. More than half of the institutions that conduct
biological or medical research have inadequate research space to meet their
current research requirements, according to the study.
"Our
renovation project will not only increase our lab space by 55 percent, its open
design will encourage and facilitate innovative multidisciplinary approaches as
we expand research collaborations with other departments, programs, and centers
on our campus," said Paul Ramsey, M.D., principal investigator of the
project at the University of Washington.
Under
the RFIP, grants are provided to public and nonprofit institutions to expand,
remodel, renovate, or alter existing research facilities or construct new ones.
These facilities must support basic and/or clinical biomedical and behavioral
research, and research training.
"The
creation of the Northern Plains Center for Behavioral Research will allow us to
house behavioral research and to provide training for desperately needed staff
so they can give critical assistance to our community's most vulnerable
populations -- American Indians, rural elderly poor, Latino migrant farm workers,
women and children -- who suffer disproportionate rates of physical and mental
disorders," said Glenda Lindseth, Ph.D., principal investigator of the
project at the University of North Dakota. "Our situation is particularly
urgent as the Northern Plains American Indian population is one of the most
health-care deprived and fastest growing ethnic groups in this state."
RFIP
funding can be used for alterations and renovations, additions to existing
buildings, and completion of "shell" space, but do not support
construction or land acquisition.
FY
2005 Research Facilities Improvement Program Grants:
--
$1,279,478
To establish 2,173 square feet of space to
add neuroimaging capabilities to the Intensive Care Unit
--
$4,000,000
To repair crucial research laboratory
infrastructure, including upgrading fire sprinkler and alarm systems, and
improving the plumbing and electrical systems
--
$3,991,951
To completely renovate 11,680 square feet of
the Cooley Microbiological Laboratories
--
$4,000,000
To erect a 10,534-square-foot facility to
house nonhuman primates assigned to a variety of research studies
--
$3,865,944
To complete the new 9,741-square-foot
Centralized Animal Facility for animal holding, support, and veterinary
services
--
$2,085,000
To build an 11,574-square-foot Breast and
Women's Cancer Laboratory devoted to basic and translational research
--
$3,913,697
To construct the
--
$1,344,587
To create the Center for Human Genetics and
Complex Traits, that will include 8,257 square feet of research space
--
$4,000,000
To renovate more than 20,000 square feet of
multidisciplinary research space at the
--
$1,000,000
To supplement the construction of a new
facility to house advanced research imaging studies of human subjects and animals
More
information about the Research Improvement Facilities Improvement Program,
including application guidelines, is available at http://www.ncrr.nih.gov/resinfra/ri_rfip.asp.
The
The
National Institutes of Health (NIH) -- "The Nation's Medical Research
Agency" -- includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.
S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary Federal agency
for conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical
research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common
and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov.
##
This
NIH News Release is available online at:
http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/oct2005/ncrr-25.htm.
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Last Edited: 10/25/05 04:09 PM by Evette Mezger