Sunday, July 10, 2011

S. Fla. biotech researchers chase stimulus cash - Baltimore Business Journal:

http://gilgonzales.com/beautiful-chicago-apartments-rent-affordability-and-comfort.html
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, signed into law by Presiden t Barack Obama in provides for the distributionof $10 billion througy the and $3 billion more througnh the . The prospect of tappingh into the funds has local research institutions giddyu after watching federal science appropriations withed for the lastseveral years. “There’s a joke going around the countruy that all the scientists have stopped researc hbecause they’re busy writing grantr proposals,” said Dr. Richard Bookman, who overseezs efforts to secure research dollars for the andits .
Jokezs aside, stimulus money may go a long way to helpSouth Florida’s young biotech cluster step up to the next research administrators say. “The federal funding of basidc biomedical research hasbeen flat. It’s actually down if you factorrin inflation,” said Dr. Harry Orf, VP of scientifiv operations atin Jupiter. “This is allowinbg some much-needed funding to come back into the research Scripps has not seen any stimuluszmoney yet, but the institution is stillp applying to have a wide arrah of projects funded, Orf said. Among thoswe projects, Scripps has appliec for money to buy an instrument that helpd studygenetic sequencing.
There’s also a machinee that helps withprotein analysis. A thir machine on its wish list does nuclearr magnetic resonance forchemical analysis. These thred machines alone cost $20 millio n and could substantially speed up researcuat Scripps, Orf said. Of course, with a limiterd pot of money and so manyhandw out, it’s hard to predict what kind of funding Scripps may get. the chances are very low, but we believer in the quality of our applicationsso we’re hopinv for the best,” Orf said. Despite the toughn competition, the University of Miami has already receive its firststimulus awards, Bookman said.
Therew is $80,000 to hire student internzs for summer researchand $230,00p0 to expand an existing study on spinakl cord injuries. The money should start flowing thanksto UM’s aggressive efforts to chasew the funds, Bookman said. A couple of monthsd ago, UM convened something called “the stimulus workin g group,” he said. The group, made up of peopls from acrossthe school, meets every Friday morning to strategize. The medicao school submitted more grant applications in the firsy four months of this year morethan $200 million – than in any full year of the school’ss history, Bookman said. The race has starter at , too.
The university has not yet securexany funds, though it went into a “frenzyt of activity” trying to do so, said Dr. Gary VP for research and technolog transfer. He estimated that NSU would applhy forabout $13 millionb in stimulus money. Among the applications in the pipelinew isa $300,000 grant for researcj that could help treat autism. Another study in the College of Dental Medicine wouldf look at how to regenerateteeth – a projectf that could have applications for bone Margules said. Unfortunately, the in Jupiterr is still too young to apply forstimulus But, that will likely changes as the institute puts a scientifix director in place in August, said Dr.
Claudia VP of institutional development. For Soutnh Florida’s growing biotechnology cluster, the stimulus money will further propepl one of the few sectors ofSouth Florida’s that is alread moving ahead on its own Orf said. “We are actuall on a growth curve, whereas other regions are

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