Grant Boosts Biomedical Study

Del.icio.us

Norm Baker (left), Aloha United Way’s vice president of community building, accepts a check for $46,500 from Kahala Nui president/CEO Pat Duarte. Photo courtesy Kahala Nui.

Kapiolani Community College and Chaminade University are among six Oahu schools sharing a $9.2 million, three-year federal grant for their biomedical research.

The fund supports involvement in the national IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence,which builds research bases and early career development of independent scientists.

KCC’s share will go to its biotechnology enrichment training program and the development of a monoclonal antibody research facility. The antibody is a single clone cell that’s been studied since 1975 and has become a cornerstone of immunology.

The grant also will fund training and educational opportunities for students interested in science careers, especially neuroscience and natural product research. Right now, there are 14 junior faculty researchers under grants. The new amount, from the National Institutes of Health, should help them grow independently as funded investigators.

“This is an exciting chance to create a unique synergy by bringing together talent from across multiple Hawaii institutions to address important and relevant biomedical research topics,“commented Gary Ostrander, UH Manoa vice chancellor for research and graduate education.

Other grantees are UH Manoa, HPU, UH Hilo and Hawaii Community College.