The University of Georgia in Athens and Emory University in Atlanta are two powerhouse research institutions, both receiving millions of dollars in annual funding to support research projects. Not only are researchers at these 2 universities hard at work on their own projects, but researchers from both institutions are also hard at work on collaborative projects between the schools.
Many of the collaborations between these 2 institutions focus on studying infectious diseases. Currently, collaborative projects between UGA and Emory are receiving more than $45 million in active funding.
Jere W. Morehead, president of UGA, explained that "these collaborations reflect the complementary strengths of two of Georgia’s leading research universities and our shared commitment to conducting globally significant research. By working together, we are advancing the state’s economically important bioscience sector while laying the foundation for improvements in health and quality of life around the world."
Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta (Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
Collaborations between the 2 institutions include:
Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance (CEIRS) - The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) awarded the center a $3.6 million grant that has the potential to be renewed for up to 7 years with potential funding of $26.7 million.
- The center studies different environmental, ecological, and molecular factors that play a role in the creation of and spread of influenza viruses.
- Emory researchers will study how viruses like the flu spread and cause infection in humans, and how vaccines for the flu affect the immune system. Further research at Emory focuses on how the flu and flu vaccines affect pregnant women.
- UGA researchers will study the flu virus in animals, predominately swine, to identify flu strains that could potentially begin to infect humans. They are also studying the response of the immune system to the flu and vaccines.
Malaria Host-Pathogen Interaction Center (MaHPIC) - The NIAID awarded the Malaria Host-Pathogen Interaction Center a 5-year, $19.4 million grant.
- The Center is a collaboration between Emory, UGA and Georgia Tech University that studies how malaria interacts with humans and animals.
- Emory - Through cataloging the interaction between malaria pathogens and their hosts in humans and animals, researchers are creating new mathematical models to find patterns that can help predict the severity of malaria, and the course it takes when infecting the body.
- UGA - Researchers are studying the data gathered at Emory to identify new methods of treating malaria.
The University of Georgia in Athens. (Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
More Collaborative Research Projects:
HIV Research- National Institutes of Health awarded researchers a 5-year, $2.8 million grant to support their work in developing a vaccine for HIV.
- Researchers are working on developing a new vaccine that will cause the immune system to attack the HIV virus before it spreads through the body.
- Researchers are studying PIV5 (kennel cough), a virus that shows symptoms in dogs but not humans and has similar particles to the HIV virus. If released into the human body, the thought is that this virus would jump-start the immune system to fight it, and therefore would prevent both PIV5 and HIV from spreading to other cells in the body.
Tuberculosis Research - The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) awarded UGA and Emory researchers $1 million in funding to support their study of tuberculosis.
- UGA and Emory researchers have developed a test to diagnose and identify latent tuberculosis by studying the amount of proteins present when the tuberculosis bacteria are replicating, causing the disease to spread.
- A small study has been completed, and a larger study is underway to see whether this method is effective or not.
Happy researchers in Athens and Atlanta find new lab supplies at the annual BioResearch Product Faire™ Events.
Biotechnology Calendar, Inc. produces annual BioResearch Product Faire™ Events at both the University of Georgia, Athens and Emory University. These events give lab suppliers the opportunity to market products to Georgia researchers working on projects who have the funding necessary to get new supplies for their labs.
To learn more about participating in either (or both of) the upcoming Georgia shows, visit the links below:
March 4, 2015:
March 5, 2015:
Athens and Atlanta area researchers interested in attending an event in 2015 are invited to visit the links below to learn more and pre-register.