Indiana U Gets $53 Million
For Genomic Research
Indiana University
President Adam W. Herbert announced that the Lilly Endowment
Inc. is giving IU Bloomington $53 million to broaden and
intensify its life sciences research, retain its distinguished
scientists, attract new world class scientists and contribute
to the state’s economic development by
transferring technology to new and existing life science businesses.
The grant is the largest IUB has ever received.
These funds will be
focused on metabolomics and cytomics, emerging fields that
are bringing an explosion of genetic information to bear
on scientists’ understanding of metabolism and
the inner workings of cells. The new Indiana Metabolomics and
Cytomics (METACyt) Initiative will build on the foundation
of genomic and proteomic research already taking place at IUB
and complements the 2001 Indiana Genomics Initiative at IU,
also funded by the Lilly Endowment. As life scientists get
closer to putting human genome information to use, metabolomics
and cytomics research promises to answer key questions about
cancer and other diseases, leading to faster diagnoses and
more effective treatments.
“IU is now poised to establish international intellectual
leadership in these new areas of life sciences research,” Herbert
said. “We at IU are deeply grateful to the Lilly Endowment
for recognizing the quality of our life sciences research program
and investing in its bold expansion.” Lilly Endowment
Vice President for Education Sara B. Cobb said, “This
forward-looking initiative will significantly advance Lilly
Endowment’s efforts to build the intellectual capital
in our state, which we believe is so vital to the future prosperity
of Indiana.”
One of the Indiana
METACyt Initiative’s goals is to
ensure that life sciences discoveries result in a full range
of scientific, educational and related economic benefits for
the state of Indiana. To that end, the Indiana METACyt Initiative
will encourage IUB life scientists to stay in Bloomington while
simultaneously attracting top research talent from around the
world. The initiative also will spur innovation and intellectual
property development, and drive an increase in research income
from federal agencies such as the National Science Foundation
and the National Institutes of Health.
The Indiana METACyt
Initiative also will support technology transfer derived
from basic research and encourage the founding of new businesses
based on initiative discoveries. Working with the IU Research & Technology Corporation, IUB life
scientists will be able to bring useful laboratory discoveries
to the Indiana private sector. The grant will support one of
President Herbert’s strategic objectives: to double IU’s
external research funding by the end of the decade. In FY 2004,
IU set an internal record with $413 million in external funding.
Scientific investigation by members of the Indiana METACyt
Initiative will be focused on five areas: microbial systems,
cell signaling and differentiation, molecular neurosciences,
molecular evolutionary and developmental biology, and analytical
technology development. Research in these areas often will
be multidisciplinary, bringing together biologists, chemists,
physicists, medical researchers and specialists in computer
science and informatics.
The Indiana METACyt
Initiative also includes Integrating Science and Technology
Centers that will employ scientists and technicians who will
support and collaborate with investigators by performing
biochemical, functional genomics and computational cytomics
analyses, as well as chemical imaging and assaying. The Lilly
Endowment grant also will provide money for greenhouses, nuclear
magnetic resonance equipment, facilities for the study of gene
expression in mice and an expansion of IU’s advanced
information technology infrastructure.#
