Funds made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act which passed earlier this year

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Carl Levin (D-MI) announced today that the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and the Michigan Technological University received a total of $1,706,251 in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding through the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The University of Michigan-Ann Arbor has been awarded $1,541,730, and the Michigan Technological University will receive $164,521 to conduct medical research to prevent diseases.

“This recovery funding will go a long way towards promoting important research projects right here in Michigan, which are committed to curing chronic diseases that affect millions of Americans,” said Stabenow. “These research projects are leading the way to greatly improve the quality of life and treatment options for the families affected by these diseases and creating good-paying jobs in the process.”

“This federal economic recovery funding will help the University of Michigan and Michigan Technological University do important research and improve the way we understand, diagnose and treat diseases,” said Levin. “I am hopeful that this funding will create and preserve jobs in the short-term and help prevent and treat disease for generations to come.”

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the primary Federal agency for conducting and supporting medical research. Helping to lead the way toward important medical discoveries that improve people's health and save lives, NIH scientists investigate ways to prevent disease as well as the causes, treatments, and even cures for common and rare diseases.

Individual funding awards can be found in the table below. For more information please visit http://www.nih.gov.

Institution Project Title Summary Amount
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Tailored Web-based Interventions for Cancer Patients and their Family Caregivers Over 10 million cancer survivors' needs for psychosocial care are not being met. This study translates an established intervention for cancer patients and their family caregivers to a tailored, webbased intervention, thereby, potentially providing psychosocial care at a much lower cost. $202,990

University of Michigan at Ann Arbor Ultra Rapid Monitoring of Bacterial Nano-Growth and Antibiotic Susceptibility Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is a pressing health problem. Tests for rapid determination of bacterial susceptibility to an antibiotic could improve treatment of infectious diseases. $226,417

University of Michigan at Ann Arbor Gene therapy of HIV-neuropathic pain with morphine tolerance Project Narrative This proposal will investigate the mechanism of interaction of HIV-neuropathic pain and morphine tolerance. The research may provide a novel approach to treatment of HIV-neuropathic pain with morphine tolerance. $154,500

University of Michigan at Ann Arbor Immunodominant Stress Proteins of Porphyromonas gingivalis Molecules that produce a particular class of cell proteins called chaperones can become involved in disease processes. Understanding how this happens can lead to treatments for chronic diseases linked with long-lasting, unresolved periodontitis. $398,885

University of Michigan at Ann Arbor Surface protein complexes of oral treponemes: assembly and host cell interactions This project will provide information on an how a key bacterium involved in initiating periodontal disease interacts with human cells. $365,813

University of Michigan at Ann Arbor Developmental Dynamics of Enamel Formation Proposes to develop a three dimensional model of enamel formation with the goal of understanding the development of enamel and diseases affecting enamel. $193,125

Michigan Technological University Development of Biomaterials that Release Therapeutic Agents to Modulate Inflammation This project is developing implantable materials that provide sustained release of agents that might improve recovery from spinal cord injury. $164,521