Complex Biomedical Research Funded

Originally Published MDDI September 2002

R&D DIGEST

For several decades, a significant amount of research has been focused on generating data on the characteristics and functions of individual biological molecules. Now, scientists are investigating the often-complex interactions of those molecules. A principal part of this effort involves modeling and predicting the behavior of complex biological systems, which involves the work of quantitative scientists—including mathematicians, physicists, computer scientists, and engineers—as well as biologists.

To encourage such efforts, the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) established the Centers of Excellence in Complex Biomedical Systems Research. The institute expects to award a total of $25.5 million over the course of five years to the centers.

The grants to the university-based centers will support the development of multi-investigator teams that can address biomedical complexity through research, training, workshops, symposia, and other forms of outreach.

According to the NIGMS, two new center awards, totaling $4.5 million for the first year of funding, were made to the University of Washington, Friday Harbor Laboratories (Friday Harbor, WA), and Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland). The institute will also provide planning grants that will lay the groundwork for future centers of excellence at Boston University; the University of California, Irvine; and the University of New Mexico (Albuquerque).

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