Dec. 7, 1998
Contacts:
Charlotte Crystal
(804) 924-6858
Fariss Samarrai
(804) 924-3778
U.Va.'s Biomedical Engineering Department Wins National Grants
WHITAKER FOUNDATION AWARDS $10.5 MILLION TO JOINT PROGRAM
The University of Virginia's Department of Biomedical Engineering has received two grants totalling $10.5 million from the Whitaker Foundation -- the largest gift the University has ever received from a national foundation dedicated to science and technology. The funding will help support the department's research and development of advanced treatments for heart and blood vessel disease, which afflicts more than 58 million Americans and remains the leading cause of death in this country.
The Whitaker Foundation support consists of a $3 million Development Award to strengthen the biomedical engineering program along with a special grant of $7.5 million, which will go toward construction of a new biomedical engineering and medical sciences building.
By developing new techniques for diagnosing, preventing and treating cardiovascular disease, U.Va.'s biomedical engineering department, which is jointly administered by the School of Engineering and Applied Science and the School of Medicine, hopes to make a major impact on one of the nation's leading killers.
"This kind of major success demonstrates what can happen when two schools with a joint vision form a partnership and collaborate for the advancement of science and technology at the University," said Engineering School Dean Richard W. Miksad. "These wonderful awards will have a major impact on education and research in biomedical engineering here and will certainly move the jointly administered program into the top echelon nationally. The biomedical engineering program is the most visible of several interdisciplinary initiatives the engineering school is pursuing in partnership with other departments around the University. "
"It has been heartwarming to see the faculty and students of both schools come together in the effort to win these important funds," said Dr. Robert M. Carey, dean of the U.Va. School of Medicine. "This shows the wonderful things that can happen when people unite for a common goal. With these grants we will greatly enhance the interdisciplinary research and education initiatives of the University."
The department will pursue three areas of excellence in research on vascular engineering: in vivo sensing and characterization; targeted imaging; and gene analysis, design and delivery, according to Jen-shih Lee, chairman of the department and principal investigator for the Whitaker grant.
"The in vivo sensing and characterization aspect of this research involves defining new ways of measuring the chemical and physiological parameters related to cardiovascular function and pathology," said Brian Duling, director of the Cardiovascular Research Center and co-principal investigator for the Whitaker Foundation grant. "With targeted imaging we are focusing on improving the capabilities of magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasound for visualizing form and function in the cardiovascular system. For the gene delivery aspect of the research, we will be looking at ways to modify genes for the vascular system, to eventually reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in certain patients. Basically we want to improve disease detection, better identify what conditions we can change, and find new ways of modifying the cardiovascular system."
The Whitaker's $3 million Development Award -- along with funds from University and private sources, and contributed by the engineering and medical schools -- will allow the department to deepen and expand its capabilities significantly, especially in the field of vascular engineering. Eight outstanding new faculty members in the field of biomedical engineering will be hired. In particular, the department will seek two senior faculty members of National Academy of Engineering stature, according to Lee. A significant portion of the development grant will go toward equipping state-of-the-art educational facilities in biomedical computation, bioinstrumentation, microsystems technology, integrative and molecular physiology, and enhancing collaboration in biomedical engineering throughout the medical and engineering schools.
The development grant comes with an option for another $2 million after three years if the program's objectives are met, Lee said.
A special grant of $7.5 million will be dedicated to construction of a new $43 million biomedical engineering and medical sciences building that will house the departments of biomedical engineering and pathology along with the cardiovascular sciences of the School of Medicine. The University capital campaign is seeking the remainder of the private support required for the project.
Architectural plans for the 85,000-square-foot building are being completed. The groundbreaking is scheduled for August 1999, and the biomedical engineering department expects to occupy about 29,000 square feet in the building by July 2002.
The educational program, which is designed to train biomedical engineers for the coming "Biotech Century," when biomedical discoveries will drive much new science, includes: developing a new undergraduate minor in biomedical engineering; introducing a new five-year combined bachelor's and master's degree program leading to careers in biomedical industries; continuing to offer a strong master's degree in biomedical engineering; and strengthening the doctoral program by combining a strong foundation in engineering with a molecular perspective.
"We are deeply grateful to the Whitaker Foundation for this generous support," said President John T. Casteen III. "The contributions come at an especially appropriate time, just as a faculty-led commission is developing long-range, strategic plans to raise the quality of our science and engineering programs. The Whitaker Foundation's awards to biomedical engineering support these larger efforts, provide new opportunities for faculty and students, and ultimately benefit humankind with the results of scientific research and discovery."
The Whitaker Foundation's previous support of biomedical research at U.Va. includes two grants that are still in effect. In 1995, the Whitaker Foundation made a Special Opportunity Award of $750,000 to Thomas C. Skalak, professor of biomedical engineering (and co-principal investigator for the new Whitaker grant), for the development of an educational program in "Engineering of Wound Prevention and Repair." The following year, the Whitaker made another Special Opportunity Award of $1 million to Klaus Ley, a physician and associate professor of biomedical engineering, to initiate an educational program in "Genetic Engineering Targeting Vascular Disease."
The Whitaker Foundation, which is based in Rosslyn, Va., is a private, nonprofit foundation dedicated to improving human health through the support of biomedical engineering, a relatively new field that combines the techniques of engineering, science and medicine to prevent, diagnose and treat disease. The foundation was established in 1975 upon the death of Uncas A. Whitaker, founder and chief executive officer of AMP Inc., the world's largest manufacturer of electrical connectors and connecting devices. An inventor, engineer and philanthropist, Whitaker encouraged and supported collaborative medical research involving engineers, scientists and physicians.
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For more information on the Whitaker grants or U.Va.'s department of biomedical engineering, call Jen-shih Lee at (804) 924-5095; Marguerite Beck at the Medical Center at (804) 924-5679; or Tom Doran at the Engineering School at (804) 924-1381. Television reporters should call our TV News Office at (804) 924-7550.
The biomedical engineering department's website can be reached at
http://www.med.virginia.edu/medicine/basic-sci/biomed/BME.html
Whitaker's website is: http://www.whitaker.org/news/soawards.html
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