Two faculty members in the University of Notre Dame’s Department of Biological Sciences are among 17 scientists from across the state to receive $160,000 in pilot grants from the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CTSI). The awards, which were selected for their high potential to attract larger grant awards from external sources, aim to advance promising basic research projects through access to advanced technologies and resources across Indiana University, Purdue and Notre Dame.
In Biological Sciences, Assistant Professor Miguel A. Morales will receive $9,674 to access the Genomics and Bioinformatics Core at Notre Dame in support of his project, "Mechanisms of miltefosine resistance in Leishmania." The research will look at unravelling resistance to a specific drug in patients with Leishmaniasis, a parasitic disease most commonly found in tropical regions.
Associate Professor Kevin T. Vaughan will receive $9,590 to access the Purdue Transgenic Mouse Core in support of his project, "A new transgenic mouse model for dissecting lysosomal storage diseases." The research will study defective cholesterol processing in patients with Niemann-Pick Type C disease, which affects the liver and spleen and causes death in all cases beyond early childhood.
Established in 2008 with a $60 million award from the National Institutes of Health, the Indiana CTSI collaboration facilitates the translation of scientific discoveries in the lab into new patient treatments in Indiana and beyond. Support also comes from the state, the three member universities, and public and private partners.
Applications are open for the next round of these grants (Spring 2014). Faculty can apply at http://www.indianactsi.org/news/cpspr2014.
Originally published by at biology.nd.edu on March 31, 2014.