USC Gets Grant for Biomedical Research

By Christian Camozzi on January 23, 2009 11:25 AM

The National Center for Research Resources, a component of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded USC a major grant totaling nearly $22.5 million over five years. The grant will support the Biomedical Informatics Research Network Coordinating Center at the university.

Under the leadership of professor Carl Kesselman of the Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering and the Information Sciences Institute, both of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, the Biomedical Research Network brings together renowned researchers who develop bioinformatics tools for the broader scientific community.

USC is the lead partner on the project, which includes collaborations with UCLA, the University of California, Irvine, the University of Chicago and Massachusetts General Hospital. With this grant, USC becomes a key leader in the emerging field of bioinformatics - the computerized analysis of biological data.

The Biomedical Network will help ensure that important innovations reach society. As it stands, medical researchers develop therapies that never connect with people because of the overwhelming quantity of data that geneticists and others produce. The network will create a nationwide computer network that facilitates collaborative biomedical research.

“Without a sophisticated bioinformatics capability - which only top engineers can provide - we cannot hope to translate the basic science into drugs and treatments that will improve the quality of life,” Kesselman said. “The Biomedical Network can accelerate the rate of discoveries for many areas of biomedical research.”

Yannis C. Yortsos, dean of the USC Viterbi School, said, “The new contract is an outstanding example of how the Viterbi School, and ISI in particular, are building from strengths to become a leader at the intersection of engineering and medicine.”

C. L. Max Nikias, provost and executive vice president, said, “This grant is enormously significant - not only for what it says about USC and its research, but for what it will do for our society. It also underscores the tremendous value of our Office of Research Advancement in Washington, D.C. Without this office, USC would not have competed for this grant, and this multi-university collaboration would never have been assembled.”

Nikias praised the leadership of Randolph Hall, vice provost for research advancement, and Steven Moldin, executive director of research advancement. “They worked closely with professor Kesselman and did an exceptional job pushing the proposal forward,” he said. “They understood (the proposal’s) importance and made this grant happen.”

Michael T. Marron director of the National Center’s division of biomedical technology, said, “Every day, the Biomedical Informatics Research Network helps connect scientists with their colleagues nationwide to share data and refine analytic tools that can be used for multi-site data integration. Our partners are essential to advancing technologies, including new software-based solutions, which are crucial to discoveries that have broad applicability to biomedical research.”

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