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Liz McCune
(573) 882-6212
mccunee@missouri.edu
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Today, ϾƷ System President Mun Choi, along with the four university chancellors and the vice president for research and economic development, announced a series of investments in research and creative works that will help the system’s four universities achieve excellence through innovation. The investments total $20.5 million, with $11 million coming from the system and $9.5 million from UM universities.
“Within the UM System, we have an outstanding group of faculty members who are committed to research excellence,” Choi said. “It’s our job as academic leaders to provide them with the opportunities and resources to significantly grow research efforts that are bold and transformative, especially as it pertains to our highest priority, the NextGen Precision Health Initiative and Institute. These projects will be critical to catalyzing the collaboration and infrastructure investments that are needed to grow extramural funding for our universities.”
This investment supports the UM System’s vision to advance opportunities for success and well-being for Missouri, our nation and the world through transformative teaching, research, innovation, engagement and inclusion. Choi has identified research as a key investment area along with areas such as affordability. Growing the research enterprise helps to attract research dollars, distinguished faculty members and students, many of whom engage in research as undergraduates.
“These projects will help address grand challenges facing our world, foster collaboration systemwide and provide instruments and facilities to enhance faculty research,” said Mark McIntosh, UM System vice president for research and economic development and MU vice chancellor for research and economic development. “I am proud of the investments we are making in research to provide meaningful outcomes. I look forward to seeing what we can accomplish together.”
The invested funds will help train the next generation of leaders to meet workforce needs, create breakthrough discoveries to improve the human condition and convey the benefits of teaching and research to Missouri communities.
This year, there are 19 innovative research projects that will receive funding from the UM System and its four universities. The projects include research supporting the core instruments and infrastructure of the NextGen Precision Health Institute; research advancing the systemwide NextGen Precision Health Initiative; and research serving other key priorities of the UM System’s four universities.
Research that supports the NextGen Precision Health Initiative and Institute
- Missouri University of Science and Technology’s Richard Brow is leading a project to purchase thermal, mechanical and optical characterization equipment for the Center for Glass Science and Technology, including an electron microprobe that will significantly enhance research capabilities across the UM System. Brow is joined by Ming C. Leu, Julia Medvedeva and Julie Semon with Missouri S&T, as well as MU’s Yezaz Ghouri.
- ϾƷ-Kansas City’s Praveen Rao and MU’s Prasad Calyam are leading a project to develop a hyper-converged computational hub that will be capable of analyzing and storing massive datasets to support the NextGen Precision Health Initiative as well as other collaborative research projects across the UM System. They are joined by Zhu Li and Viviana Grieco with UMKC, Peter Tonellato, Deepthi Rao, Timothy Middelkoop, Kannappan Palaniappan, Satish Nair, Ye Duan and Trupti Joshi with MU, as well as Missouri S&T’s Sanjay Madria. In the coming months, university leaders will coordinate with Rao and Calyam and other faculty colleagues to leverage this investment to develop the NextGen Data Analytics Center with donors and industry partners.
- MU’s David Robertson is leading a project to provide critical infrastructure and collaborative expertise to researchers who have ideas that can attract national funding but lack the personal expertise or laboratory facilities to fully develop a radiopharmaceutical product. The long-term vision is to develop a research pipeline where radiopharmaceutical agents can be developed by faculty systemwide, tested in cell cultures and small animals at the Institute for Nano and Molecular Innovation (INMI), then in large animals at the Veterinary Health Center, with eventual in-person studies at the NextGen Precision Health Institute. Robertson is joined by Jeff Smith, Silvia Jurisson, Jeffrey Bryan and Tom Quinn.
- MU’s Michael Chapman is leading a project to investigate fundamental bio-molecular interactions and enable pharmaceutical development. Chapman is joined