Science Market Update

New Life Science Funding: Two Grants Total $26M at Washington University

Written by Jennifer Nieuwkerk | Fri, Oct 04, 2013

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis recently received a great deal of life science research funding for leukemia research. The National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), gave the university two grants totaling $26 million. The money will be given to leukemia researchers and physicians at Siteman Cancer Center at the Washington University School of Medicine, according to St. Louis American Local News.

“The awards recognize the tremendous scientific depth and breadth of our scientists and clinicians as well as their creativity and commitment to improving treatments for leukemia,” said Daniel Link, MD, principal investigator of one of the grants and Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Distinguished Professor of Medicine. “Thanks to advances in genomics and molecular biology, we’re on the cusp of a new way of thinking about leukemia and its treatment. There’s a lot to be excited about.”

Washington University researchers say that they plan to use the life science funding to identify the genetic changes underlying the development and progression of acute myeloid leukemia, which is the most prevalent form of adult acute leukemia. By conducting this research, scientists may be paving the way to more personalized leukemia treatments based on the leukemia cells’ genetic and molecular signatures.

 

Washington University in St. Louis

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

 

The total grant money, $26 million, is indeed a great deal of life science research funding. One of the awards is a $14.3 million Program Project Grant in leukemia that will be spread out over five years. Funded at first at the School of Medicine in 2003, the grant is being renewed a second time.

The other award granted to Washington University is a prestigious leukemia Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE). The award is valued at $11.3 million and will also be given out over a five-year period. Researchers plan to bring their work to clinical trials.

In 2012, the NSF awarded the university $14.4 million in life science research funding. In addition to receiving NSF funding, Washington University was also awarded $36.6 million in research funding by the NIH in 2013. For more NSF and NIH life science funding statistics, please read our article Washington University in St. Louis: $51M in Research Funding. The article includes the top NSF-funded life science projects and top NIH-funded departments.

If you are a lab supplier interested in getting the word out on your products to researchers with a great deal of available life science research funding at Washington University, Biotechnology Calendar, Inc. invites you to attend our annual St. Louis Product Faire Event held on March 20th, 2014. Last year, the St. Louis BioResearch Product Faire Event attracted 300 attendees. Of those attending, 114 were purchasing agents, professors, and post docs, and 42 were lab managers. The attendees came from 32 different research buildings and 44 departments campus-wide.

Biotechnology Calendar, Inc. is a full-service science research marketing and events-planning company that organizes life science marketing events at top research universities across the country.  If you’d like to look into attending a trade show closer to home, we encourage you to check out our 2013 calendar of events. For more information on our St. Louis Bioresearch Product Faire Event, or to view more funding statistics for Washington University, click on the button below.