VCURES Collaborates to obtain National Institutes of Health National Research Service Award (NRSA)

VCURES has partnered with the Department of Biochemistry in the successful submission and awarding of an Institutional NRSA Post Doctoral Training Grant to train research fellows in the area of “Signaling in Tissue Injury and Repair.” The objective of this training program is to provide an intensive 2-year laboratory experience for young physicians and basic scientists to help them develop as independent investigators in preparation for a career in academics. Ideal candidates would include Emergency Physicians, Surgeons, Anesthesiologists, Intensivists and basic scientists interested in acute illness and injury research. This is a highly competitive and sought-after program and there are a very limited number of universities that have such training programs.

The program will be directed by Robert F. Diegelmann, Ph.D. who is the director of the VCURES laboratory for acute tissue injury and repair. The grant is co-directed by Sarah Spiegel, Ph.D. who is Chair of the Department of Biochemistry. Several Senior VCURES Fellows including Drs. Kevin Ward, Rakish Kukreja and Rao Ivatury will serve on the Steering committee along with Drs. Thomas Miller and Suzanne Barbour to select outstanding fellows for training. An impressive list of well-established and well-funded faculty has been developed to serve as mentors for the trainees. Ten Senior Fellows from VCURES are approved mentors for this NRSA. VCURES was cited by the NIH review as a major strength of the proposal. Dr. Diegelmann sates “This was truly a collaborative effort and reflects the enormous commitment of those involved in training the next generation of scientists who will no doubt improve the care of patients. The multidisciplinary nature of this effort will ensure its success. ”

The 5-year grant for over 1 million dollars was awarded by the National Institutes of General Medical Sciences at the NIH and will begin on July 1, 2005.

For more information contact Dr. Robert F. Diegelmann at rdiegelm@hsc.vcu.edu