CHRB Announces Awards Totaling $1,061,644 to 11 medical and health researchers
in Virginia
Chairman of the Commonwealth Health Research Board, Dr. Robert S. Call today
announced awards totaling $1,061,644 to 11 medical and health researchers in
Virginia. The researchers are from Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters, Eastern Virginia Medical School, George Mason University, Radford
University, University of Virginia, and Virginia Commonwealth University.
“The Commonwealth Health Research Board [CHRB] provides great opportunities for
researchers to improve the health of Virginia’s citizens,” said Dr. Call. “Virginia’s own CHRB is also a unique resource dedicated to help Virginia’s scientists achieve their dreams.”
The five new grants funded this year include: support for studying new
approaches for treating breast cancer, developing improved HIV therapy,
examining a potential new anti-cancer drug, exploring new treatment of
multi-drug resistant bacteria, and identifying the progression of breast
pre-cancer to invasive malignancies.
Six investigators have received a second year of funding to enable them to
continue studies in the following areas: La Crosse virus, Autism Spectrum Disorders, renal injury in newborn infants,
schizophrenia, sepsis, and diabetes.
“It is always difficult, but fascinating, to choose those to be funded - - doubly
so this year with lots of quality papers and less cash to distribute. We have a prime selection of researchers,” added CHRB Vice Chairman Dr. George E. Broman.
The list of researchers, their respective research institutions, the amounts of
their awards, the matching funds supplied by the recipient institutions, and
the titles of the projects are attached.
The Board was established in 1997 by the Virginia General Assembly using funds
provided from the conversion of Trigon from a mutual company to a stock
company. The Board awards grants for traditional medical and biomedical research as well
as research related to health services and the delivery of health care. Since its inception in 1999 the CHRB has funded 141 research grants totaling
approximately $10.7 million. CHRB grant recipients have leveraged $14.2 million in additional private and
federal grant funds to further their research studies.
