Monday, August 18, 2008
Bob Hanzlik, professor of medicinal chemistry, received a $10 million grant from the National Institutes of Health this week.
The NIH grant is a renewal of a previous grant awarded to Hanzlik five years ago. The Institutes awarded the funding to the University of Kansas to continue development of its Center of Biomedical Research Excellence, located on West Campus.
Hanzlik said the center, which researchers refer to as the COBRE, focuses on two main initiatives. The primary focus is to recruit, support and mentor new junior faculty investigators. Most of the junior faculty members are assistant professors from each of the universities that COBRE works with, which also include Kansas State, Wichita State and the KU School of Medicine.
The second focus of the center is to select a scientific theme to dedicate research to. For the COBRE, that theme is protein structure and function. With this research, the center hopes to discover or improve medications available to the public.
Hanzlik, who serves as the program director and principle investigator, said the renewal of the grant is a good sign.
“I think it is recognition of the quality of the faculty at this center.” Hanzlik said. “The NIH has recognized the potential of these people and of the center.”
The grant covers costs and development within the center during the next five years.
Roberto De Guzman, assistant professor in molecular biosciences, said the grant gave COBRE the opportunity to hire experts in the protein research field that would improve the center’s efficiency. He also said news about the renewal helped improve his outlook on research for the next few years.
“I was delighted of course and very pleased that our efforts were not futile,” De Guzman said. “It also gave me the confidence that things will be tough, but doable.”
De Guzman said the center conducted cutting edge research and complex work in the protein structure and function field. He said some of the money would go to hiring specialists for research machinery in COBRE.
Kevin Boatright, director of research communications, said the amount of money awarded by the grant placed it among the 15 largest grants ever given to the University. He said the influx of early annual funding was an indicator of the quality of research taking place at the University.
Hazlik said with constant inflation, it was only natural to see the amount for the grant go up.
“There was a time when this would have been the largest grant ever,” Hanzlik said. “They are just like track records though, inevitably they go down.”
De Guzman said the renewal of the grant would not change his level of motivation when it came to his work. Even with the guaranteed funding, he said he did not feel any more at ease.
“I certainly don’t feel more relaxed now than before,” De Guzman said. “But my relaxation doesn’t come from grants; it comes from the Robinson pool or the bike path at Clinton Lake.”
— — Edited by Jennifer Torline
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