Stimulus funding boosting KU research

As part of an effort to mitigate the recession and restore prosperity, President Obama and Congress earlier this year passed what’s come to be known as the federal stimulus package.

Officially called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the plan makes significant investments in education and research – investments the University of Kansas is now benefitting from.

You likely have heard about the stimulus funding that is being provided to KU and the KU Medical Center via the Board of Regents. In the current and previous fiscal year, the two campuses combined will receive $15.8 million in stimulus funding.

The Regents have dedicated two-thirds of this funding to deferred maintenance and we will use this money to meet some of our most critical needs. For example, Dyche Hall, home to priceless research collections, will receive needed improvements to its electrical and climate control systems. Projects at KUMC include work at the Lied Biomedical Research Building, such as repairs to damaged walls, and improvements to the HVAC and laboratory water systems.

While this stream of stimulus money has received most of the attention, the Recovery and Reinvestment Act is also providing new resources for researchers at KU and KUMC.

Thanks to their skill and vision, our researchers are already very successful when it comes to securing grants from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and other federal agencies. That has placed them in prime position to take advantage of new opportunities to fund research that will benefit Kansans, Americans and people the world over.

Already, KU researchers have received $4.4 million in grants made possible by the stimulus package, funding important research and bringing money into our state at a time when it is badly needed.

Eleven of these grants totaling $2.5 million have been received by Lawrence-based researchers, while another eight grants equaling $1.9 million have been received by researchers at the Medical Center.

In Lawrence, for example, Michael Detamore in Chemical and Petroleum Engineering is developing an environmentally friendly, cost-effective technology to help the 10 million Americans who suffer from jaw joint disorders.

At the Medical Center, Yu-Jui Yvonne Wan in Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutics is examining unique genetic patterns that might contribute to the heightened risk of alcoholism and related health problems among Mexican-Americans.

This year alone, these two awards account for nearly $300,000 and will provide part of the salaries for nine people. What’s more, many other grant proposals remain under review by the agencies responsible for distributing stimulus funding. To date, 86 researchers have submitted 116 proposals at Lawrence, while 91 researchers have submitted 140 proposals at the Medical Center. The total amount requested exceeds $65 million in Lawrence and $98 million at the Medical Center.

As with all funded research, Recovery and Reinvestment Act grants can only be used for their specific purpose. They can’t help us bridge the state budget gap. And, just as the stimulus plan is unprecedented in its size and scope, these research grants come with unprecedented reporting requirements to ensure public accountability.

The competition nationally for these short-term, one-time grants is intense, as you’d expect. Our success so far is a positive story for our state, the whole university, and these outstanding researchers.

While it’s impossible to say how many stimulus-funded awards will be made to KU, every dollar is new money that supports valuable research, provides local employment, and bolsters the economy of Kansas. When combined with the jobs that will be created and preserved thanks to the $15.8 million in federal stimulus funding already dedicated to KU, the benefits to our university and our state will be significant.

Barbara F. Atkinson, MD
KU Interim Chancellor and Executive Vice Chancellor for the KU Medical Center