July 25, 2005

Minnesota Partnership Expands Research Projects With New Funding

Leaders thank State of Minnesota for support

MINNEAPOLIS/ROCHESTER, Minn. — Bolstered by new funding from the state Legislature, the Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics announced a major expansion of research with a request for new projects from partnering researchers at the University of Minnesota and Mayo Clinic. New funding will allow the Partnership to build on the energy that researchers brought to this Partnership two years ago, support positive collaborations between Minnesota's two leading medical research institutions and, in turn, benefit the people of the state.

"First, we want to express our thanks for the bipartisan support of the legislature, the leadership of the Legislative Biosciences Caucus and the vision of Gov. Pawlenty for making this possible," said Frank Cerra, M.D., Senior Vice President for Health Sciences, University of Minnesota and Partnership co-leader, in a letter to the state lawmakers. "The Partnership is already having an impact on Minnesota and we are beginning to see real advances in medical science."

The legislature approved $15 million in funding for the Partnership this summer. A portion of that support will allow the Partnership to better organize its ongoing efforts, including critical scientific infrastructure, recruitment and retention of top-level scientists, product development as a consequence of discovery, and collaborations with start-up companies to invigorate Minnesota's economy. A majority of the new funding — upwards of $9 million — will be used to fund this second, expanded round of research awards to focus on health problems facing Minnesota's citizens.

"We are currently alerting researchers at the University of Minnesota and Mayo Clinic that we're accepting funding applications for the next round of research," said Hugh Smith, M.D., chair, Mayo Clinic Board of Governors in Rochester and Partnership co-leader. "We anticipate the same high level of scientific excellence we saw following our initial request."

As with the four previously funded teams, each team of applicants must propose a project that can be completed in two years, with a strong likelihood of producing intellectual property and an application for continued funding from the NIH. These proposed projects should advance the understanding of a disease or disease process and focus on a treatment, prevention or diagnosis. Each proposal must represent a true collaboration, something each institution could not accomplish on its own. Deadline for proposals is Sept. 30. Finalists will be announced in November and awards will be named in February 2006. Most proposals are expected to be in the $200,000 to $1 million range.

The current research teams are investigating Alzheimer's disease, prostate cancer, heart disease, and obesity, which confront tens of thousands of Minnesotans. Already, the four teams have made considerable progress. They have:

Submitted five papers for publication in prestigious medical journals.
Received two grants — an equipment grant award from the VA Medical Center Research Services, and an equipment grant award from the Minnesota Medical Foundation.
Submitted two federal grant applications, including a competitive renewal of a National Institutes of Health Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE) grant, and a National Science Foundation grant.
Filed one patent application.

Additionally, a Partnership team is preparing to submit an application for an NIH Program Project Grant titled "Physical activity and obesity: from molecule to community."

###

Contact:

Bob Nellis
507-284-5005 (days)
507-284-2511 (evenings)
newsbureau@mayo.edu

Jonell Rusinko
612-624-5680