Big Grant Targets Top Scientists
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowAn effort to attract top scientists to Indiana has received a major boost. Lilly Endowment Inc. has awarded a $25 million grant to fund the INCITE program, which is a collaboration among players including the Indiana University School of Medicine, the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute and Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE: LLY) to bring biomedical scientists to enhance research and education at the school and strengthen the state’s life sciences sector.
Other partners in the INCITE program include Roche Diagnostics, Dow, Cook Group Inc., IU Health and Eskenazi Health. Organizers say the initiative will also include partnerships with Purdue University and the University of Notre Dame.
As part of the program, members of Indiana’s life sciences community will work with the IU School of Medicine to identify areas of unmet need in the community and attract scientists with the expertise and interest to address those needs. The school expects key research areas to include genomic medicine as well as new treatments for cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes and childhood diseases.
Indiana University President Michael McRobbie says INCITE will help meet a "critical" need to attract top research talent. He says the funding will "further invigorate efforts by Indiana University faculty to turn their scientific breakthroughs into the types of new products, services and treatments that will have a major impact on our state’s economic development and quality of life."
The school says the grant will also support the creation of a high-end biomedical research center that will be available to researchers at the school and other Indiana life sciences organizations. It will also help establish a PhD program in bioinformatics.