The University of Hawaii's Pacific Biomedical Research Center has won a highly competitive $9.3 million grant to develop better understanding of vascular and cardiovascular diseases, UH officials announced today. UH gets $9.3 million for
cardiovascular researchBy Helen Altonn
haltonn@starbulletin.comThe National Center for Research Resources of the National Institutes of Health chose PBRC for one of 24 Centers for Biomedical Research Excellence for cardiovascular research across the country.
"We have never had such a big grant, not as one single grant," said Dr. Charles Boyd, principal investigator and director of the new center.
He was at a meeting in Oklahoma last week of all center leaders, where he learned "how competitive this is becoming ... These sort of fairly large center grants are dream grants that deans and directors and presidents of universities build institutions on."
Boyd cited the importance of a center focusing on cardiovascular disease, not only because it's the nation's No. 1 killer but because of high incidence among native Hawaiians and other ethnic groups in Hawaii.
PBRC's distinguished research record, as well as discoveries of collaborating UH programs, helped to beat out stiff competition for the five-year grant.
The Laboratory of Matrix Pathobiology, directed by Boyd in PBRC, has discovered new genes important to formation of blood vessels and mutations responsible for various diseases and disorders.
The team last year identified a new gene, pseudoxanthoma elasticum or PXE, that can cause premature hardening of the arteries, gastro-intestinal bleeding and other devastating effects.
"That gene is one of three genes the data in the center is based on," Boyd said.
PBRC's partners in the Center for Cardiovascular Research are the John A. Burns School of Medicine, Cancer Research Center of Hawaii and the College of Natural Sciences.
Faculty co-investigators are Dr. Katalin Csiszar, PBRC molecular biologist, and Dr. Alan Lau, Cancer Research Center biochemist. A renowned cell biologist on the mainland is being recruited as a fourth investigator.
The nationally recognized researchers will take five junior investigators under their wings, Boyd said, explaining the centers are intended to provide opportunities for promising young scientists who cannot yet compete for NIH funding.
The five include: Dr. Bonnie Warn-Cramer of the Cancer Research Center, Dr. Kristin Kumashiro of the College of Natural Sciences and Dr. Ping-An Li, Dr. Olivier Le Saux and Dr. Zsolt Urban, all of PBRC and the School of Medicine.
Each will lead a project looking at different aspects of the blood vessel wall.
Ka Leo O Hawaii
University of Hawaii
