photo by: Journal-World File

Dr. Robert D. Simari, executive vice chancellor at KU Medical Center

The University of Kansas Medical Center on Wednesday announced that it received a five-year, nearly $27 million grant from the National Institutes of Health that will fund the Frontiers Clinical and Translational Science Institute at KU. While this grant is awarded to KU and administered through KU Medical Center, it represents a far-reaching regional initiative with principal investigators at both KU Medical Center and Children’s Mercy Kansas City, a news release Wednesday from KU said.

“The University of Kansas is proud to celebrate this accomplishment,” KU Chancellor Douglas Girod said. “The impact of this grant goes far beyond its direct funding, impacting the entire region with the power of its partnerships, collaborations and innovations. This work helps ensure KU is ahead of the curve nationally.”

The institute is part of a network of 62 such hubs nationwide that are funded with a grant from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health. Frontiers accelerates research by connecting scientists to resources; facilitating collaboration among researchers, communities and institutions; and offering training.

Girod said the Clinical and Translational Science Award propelled KU into a unique class. “KU is one of only 28 U.S. universities with a cancer center, Alzheimer’s disease research center and a clinical and translational science institute, all recognized with a national designation by appropriate agencies within the National Institutes of Health,” he said.

Robert D. Simari, executive vice chancellor at KU Medical Center, said the work of Frontiers has become even more collaborative with this latest grant renewal, providing researchers from many different institutions with additional opportunities to collaborate and solve complex problems.

“One of our primary missions is to encourage discovery and collaboration to find treatments and cures to benefit the health of Kansans and beyond,” Simari said in the release. “This NCATS award will ensure continued growth and acceleration of our research efforts by embracing partners throughout the region.”

While the principal investigators are at KU Medical Center and Children’s Mercy, other partners include Kansas City University, Kansas State University, the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Saint Luke’s Health System and The University of Kansas Health System. Up to $12 million in additional funding will be provided by the partners as they support the work of Frontiers at their own institutions.