$5.5 Million Awarded to MN Institutions for Heart Disease and Cancer Research

The Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics provides annual funding to researchers at the University of Minnesota, the Mayo Clinic, and the state of Minnesota dedicated to bioscience research. Since its founding in 2003, the Minnesota Partnership has worked to strengthen Minnesota's bioresearch fields and help elevate the state as a respected research center. (Image courtesy of Bsstu via Wikimedia Commons). 

Recently, the Partnership awarded 7 research teams from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities and the Mayo Clinic grants totaling nearly $5.5 million for research relating to heart disease and cancer. 

These 7 grants were awarded to researchers working on collaborative projects between the Rochester Mayo Clinic and University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.

Tucker LeBien, Ph.D., co-director of the partnership from the University of Minnesota explained that “I’m pleased that we are entering our second decade of scientific progress with so many strong projects that could potentially change how medicine is practiced.” 

The projects receiving portions of this $5.5 million grant are: 

• Research into pharmacogenomics and treatments for prostate cancer.
• New drugs to treat multiple myeloma.
• Research into ways to create a new kind of heart valve.
• Finding safer alternative solutions for treating Aortic Valve Calcification.
• Researching new techniques to treat damaged heart tissue without harming surrounding cells. 
• Research into using a virus to treat glioblastomas. 
• Developing new treatments for glaucoma.

Co-director of the Partnership program and a member of the Mayo Clinic, Eric Wieben, Ph.D. explained that “these are seed grants, aimed at providing innovative researchers the means to get a scientific project off the ground and on the way toward a possible new treatment.” 

(Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

The University of Minnesota and Mayo Clinic in Rochester each receive millions of dollars annual to support bioresearch projects at the institutions.

In the 2014 fiscal year, University of Minnesota received $251.9 million in life science funding from the NIH to support previous and help establish research projects. Some currently funded projects at UMN include: 

• The University of Minnesota was recently awarded a $28 million grant over 5 years to lead a new national research center focused on developing the next generation of microelectronics. The center will foster advances in nanotechnology, materials science, physics, chemistry, circuit design, and many other fields.
• The UMN Center for Sustainable Polymers received a 5-year, $20 million NSF grant to pioneer the next generation of plastics.
• The U.S. Department of Energy awarded the University of Minnesota $12 million to lead an Energy Frontier Research Center aimed at accelerating scientific breakthroughs in energy research.

The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN received more than $200 million in life science funding from the NIH in 2014. Currently funded projects in Rochester include: 

• The Mayo Clinic recently received $585 million in government funding for the new Destination Medical Center which will house, among other facilities, a massive radiation treatment center.
• Mayo Clinic researchers are participating in a $12.7 million NIH funded study intended to advance research in new applications for existing therapeutic compounds.
• Mayo Clinic was awarded $9.8 in order to develop a population genetics analysis program.

Interested in meeting face-to-face with hundreds of researchers from these 2 leading research institutions? 

Biotechnology Calendar, Inc. holds an annual BioResearch Product Faire™ Event in both Minneapolis and Rochester, MN that provide lab supply companies with the opportunity to meet with researchers from these well-funded institutions looking for new tools and technologies that will help further their work. 

The 15th Annual BioResearch Product Faire™ Event at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis is coming up on May 20, 2015. To learn more about participating in this event, and to get more funding information, visit the link below: 

The 10th Annual Annual BioResearch Product Faire™ Event in Rochester, MN is coming up on May 21, 2015. To learn more about participating in this event, and to get more funding information, visit the link below: