Following the recommendations of its investment committee, the Kansas Bioscience Authority Board on Tuesday approved $11 million in new projects.

The board made the decision during a meeting in Atlanta where members were attending the Bio International Convention.

The largest contributions went toward establishing two centers of innovation.

The Kansas Innovation Center for Advanced Plant Design will receive $4 million over two years. The center, which is a partnership of Kansas Wheat, Kansas State University, Kansas University and private investors, will work with advanced technologies to improve plants.

The center’s goals include developing varieties of wheat and milo that would be more drought-tolerant and high-yielding. It also is looking to develop new foods rich in antioxidants and with fewer allergies.

A second center, the Center for Biomaterials in Orthopedic Research, will also receive $4 million. Drawing from orthopedic work at Wichita State University and the region’s aviation expertise, the center will look for new ways composites can be used in medical instruments, devices and implants.

The KBA also approved giving $1.6 million for projects spearheaded by the Kansas University Cancer Center.

Two $500,000 investments were awarded for research. One of the investments went toward KU Cancer Center’s research with Scripps Research Institute to reduce toxicity in chemotherapy drugs and improve breast and prostate cancer treatments. The other investment would go toward a Phase I clinical drug trial in Wichita.

Another $600,000 was set aside by the KBA for supporting the KU Cancer Center’s quest for National Cancer Institute designation.

One local business also received funding. Lawrence-based CritiTech and SCF Technologies were awarded $50,000 to develop technology for converting drugs into a dry, sterile powder form. The investment is a match to the $100,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health and National Cancer Institute.