Channeled through existing federal agencies such as the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, the ARRA funds support research in medicine, biology, chemistry, oceanography and other fields -- research that UC San Diego is noted for translating into innovations, medical breakthroughs, jobs and new businesses in San Diego and California.
UC San Diego scientists have submitted proposals that request a total of more than $660 million for projects, and hope that the $40 million mark will soon be greatly surpassed as their project proposals are studied and funded.
"Our campus is working hard to demonstrate the merit and the urgency of UC San Diego's research proposals," said Art Ellis, vice chancellor for research. "Competition for this funding is intense, and money is limited. It's a great tribute to the quality of our research enterprise, and the commitment of our faculty, students and staff, that funding agencies have recognized UC San Diego's role in advancing regional, state, and national goals."
Based on calculations produced by a recent study of the university's economic impact, Ellis estimates that ARRA funding of UC San Diego projects will preserve or create about 800 positions. "The ARRA initiative is intended to put people to work and keep people at work," he said. "UC San Diego has a strong track record as an economic engine for San Diego and the state -- a creator of businesses and jobs -- and those factors, together with the scholarly merits of the proposals, are persuasive to funding agencies."
Research areas at UC San Diego receiving ARRA funds to date include chemistry and biochemistry; biological sciences; cellular medicine; reproductive medicine; psychiatry; and neurosciences, among others. Examples of funding for science and medical projects show the scope of supported research.
Richard Northcutt, a biologist, is studying how vertebrate nervous systems influence behavior and change. The funding, he said in his proposal, is "expected to reveal a very robust adaptive neural strategy, one that extends back to the earliest land vertebrates, and to provide new and transformative information about these first land animals."
Kang Zhang, professor of ophthalmology at the Shiley Eye Center and director of the School of Medicine's Institute for Genetic Medicine, has received $3 million in funding for genetic studies of age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness in adults over the age of 60. Zhang recently discovered the first gene associated with macular degeneration, in a study that underscores the important role that individual genetic profiles will play in the development of new therapies for disease.
Seana Coulson, a cognitive scientist, received funds to advance her research into how people integrate what they hear when the speaker uses hand gestures in addition to words. Her results will benefit the fields of pedagogy, language therapy and communication studies; and her course materials will help develop undergraduate seminars as well as be distributed to the public via the Internet.
Steffanie Strathdee, professor of medicine and associate dean for global health sciences for UC San Diego's Health Sciences, has received funding to continue her work to stop the spread of HIV and other infectious diseases among injection drug users in Tijuana.
Gerry Boss, professor of medicine, received supplemental funding for a current project partnering with San Diego's Helix High School to teach students about the importance of research and clinical trials in medicine. The school's 11th graders experience a summer internship; 12th graders use their experience to educate fellow students, family and friends about what they've learned. The stimulus funding enables Boss to expand the Helix High project to actively involve the high school students in an actual clinical trial. Students will go to area nursing homes, where they will be paired with residents in enjoyable activities such as chess, art or music. The clinical trial aims to see if such activities are beneficial in alleviating symptoms of depression in nursing home residents, as well as in improving students' attitude toward aging adults and depression.
Judith Varner, professor of medicine, received about $1.9 million to continue her team's research on new approaches to treating cancer by focusing on a better understanding of and new ways to combat angiogenesis (the development of a tumor growth-promoting blood supply) and tumor inflammation.
In their proposals for ARRA funds, researchers must identify, in addition to the scholarly benefits, the broad positive impacts of the research on their communities. Successful UC San Diego projects have described educational and community-outreach efforts associated with the funded research, including:
- Directly involving undergraduate and graduate students in the work, and incorporating the research topics into new courses and seminars.
- Using such programs as the California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science (COSMOS) to bring understanding of the research to San Diego-area K-12 students and underserved communities.
- Disseminating research results to national and international audiences using both conventional and Web-based media.
- Making associated software and other research tools and results readily accessible to others.
- Developing materials for middle-school and high-school science classes, in collaboration with such regional entities as the R.H. Fleet Science Museum in San Diego.
"The purpose of all of our research at UC San Diego is, ultimately, to improve the lives of people in San Diego, in California, across the United States, and around the world," said Marianne Generales, assistant vice chancellor for research. "The ARRA funding comes at a critical time, and helps us keep that vital work moving forward."