NHLBI Awards Recovery Act Grant to University of Michigan at Ann Arbor

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a grant to University of Michigan at Ann Arbor for its CTRIP: Molecular phenotypes of rapidly progressive idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis project. The principal investigator of this project is Dr. Fernando J. Martinez. This $4,219,951 award is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act.)

The Recovery Act provides an unprecedented level of funding for biomedical research institutions across the country. A total of $10.4 billion in Recovery Act funds is going to the NIH to help stimulate the U.S. economy through the support and advancement of scientific research. The NHLBI is investing its $763 million allocation of economic stimulus funds into rigorously peer-reviewed research on the prevention and treatment of heart, lung, and blood diseases.

Heart, lung, and blood diseases account for three of the four leading causes of death in the United States. Discovering new ways to prevent, detect, and treat these diseases – while maintaining the United States’ global leadership in biomedical research – requires investments in innovative projects and in scientists.

“This award to University of Michigan at Ann Arbor will present an extraordinary chance to advance biomedical research while creating jobs in local communities and opportunities for talented young and new investigators,” said NHLBI Director Elizabeth G. Nabel, M.D. “We look forward to the outcome of this research, which will contribute to a better understanding of how we can improve the health of the American public.”

This new award is one of the NHLBI’s Grand Opportunity (GO) Grants. GO Grants support projects that address large, specific biomedical and biobehavioral research endeavors that will benefit from significant two-year funds without the expectation of continued NIH funding beyond two years. Research supported by the GO grants program is expected to provide a high short-term return and offer a high likelihood of enabling growth and investment in biomedical research and development, public health, and health care delivery.

The Recovery Act specific GO grants program was designed to support research projects that accelerate critical breakthroughs, early and applied research on cutting-edge technologies, and new approaches to improve the synergy and interactions among multi and interdisciplinary research teams. The initiative seeks novel approaches in areas that address specific knowledge gaps, scientific opportunities, new technologies, data generation, or research methods that would benefit from an influx of funds to quickly advance the area in significant ways.

More than 40 percent of the NHLBI’s Recovery Act funding is dedicated to NIH-wide Recovery Act initiatives, which includes the GO grant program. More information about this project can be found at the NHLBI’s Recovery Act Web site.

NHLBI Communications Office
301-496-4236
nhlbi_news@nhlbi.nih.gov

Part of the National Institutes of Health, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) plans, conducts, and supports research related to the causes, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of heart, blood vessel, lung, and blood diseases; and sleep disorders. The Institute also administers national health education campaigns on women and heart disease, healthy weight for children, and other topics. NHLBI press releases and other materials are available online at www.nhlbi.nih.gov.

The National Institutes of Health — The Nation's Medical Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

Last Updated Oct 29,, 2009