University of Delaware Receives $11 Million NIH Re
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The National Institutes of Health extended the COBRE grant valued at over $11 million for the University of Delaware biomedical research team. This will allow the team to proceed to phase 2 of their research.
The Center of Biomedical Research Excellence grant is centered on finding therapeutic leads and chemical probes. The research team is led by Professor Joseph Fox, a professor in the Department of Engineering and Materials Science as well as the Department of Biochemistry and Chemistry. The team of researchers who were awarded the grant are focused on discovering new molecules that can be utilized in studying and treating diseases such as Legionnaires disease, tuberculosis, Crohn’s disease, renal cancer and breast cancer.
University of Delaware President Dennis Assanis stated that interdisciplinary partnerships were a feature of the university’s research and that the grant renewal served as recognition for the successful achievements of the group of biomedical researchers and Fox, their leader. He added that the work the team did would further new therapy development for treating various ailments that have affected many individuals. He finished by congratulating the team and adding that he looked forward to the strides the team made. This team of researchers is based at the Science, Technology and Advanced Research Campus in the University of Delaware.
University vice president for innovation, scholarship and research Charles G. Riordan said that various aspects of the University’s program unite the community of vital researchers who work to discover of new therapies as well as drug development.
As the team proceeds to phase 2, more researchers have joined the group, including Karl Schmitz and Ramona Neunuebel from the University’s biological sciences department, Juan Perilla and Jeff Mugridge from the biochemistry and chemistry departments ,and Catherine Fromen from the biomolecular and chemical engineering department.
Phase 1 of the grant had given rise to many advances, leading to the development of techniques that are currently being used in drug discovery by research groups and pharmaceutical firms across the globe.
Fox, lead in the COBRE grant, mentioned that the grant renewal would help to further broaden the capabilities of the center, including by developing a proteomics core that would enable synthetic chemistry. In addition, the grant would support two vital facilities: the Synthesis and Discovery Core Facility and the Analytical Chemistry Core Facility. The two facilities support various instruments that include microscopy, small-molecule synthesis, catalyst discovery as well as mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance.
Many biopharmaceutical companies are also conducting their own research to find solutions to the health challenges people face. An example is AzurRx BioPharma Inc. (NASDAQ: AZRX), which specializes in developing remedies to diseases that afflict the gastrointestinal tract.
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