SHREVEPORT, La. — LSU Health Shreveport has received a Phase 2 renewal award of more than $11 million from the National Institutes of Health to continue funding its Center of Biomedical Research Excellence Center for Applied Immunology and Pathological Processes.
The competitive grant renews the center’s funding following its initial five-year award in 2021 and will support continued research into immunology, faculty development and biomedical research infrastructure. The research focuses on advancing treatments for drug-resistant viruses and bacteria as well as therapies for cancer and cardiovascular disease.
The renewal follows the center’s first funding cycle, during which junior faculty researchers secured independent National Institutes of Health funding after receiving mentorship and access to research infrastructure through the program.
“This program has allowed us to take early-career scientists and develop them into independently funded investigators,” said Dr. Andrew D. Yurochko, professor and Carroll Feist Endowed Chair of Viral Oncology, vice chair of microbiology and immunology, and director of the Center for Applied Immunology and Pathological Processes. “Every one of our Phase 1 research project leaders has gone on to secure their own NIH funding, which is exactly what the COBRE program is designed to achieve. It builds a sustainable pipeline for scientific talent.”
The National Institutes of Health established the Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence program to strengthen biomedical research capacity and improve institutions’ competitiveness for federal research funding, particularly in states facing significant health challenges. LSU Health Shreveport’s center studies immune system responses involved in infectious diseases, cancer and chronic inflammatory conditions.
The renewed funding will support faculty recruitment, advanced research core facilities and collaborative research initiatives across LSU Health Shreveport and partner institutions.
“This COBRE renewal provides another example of the quality of research and researchers at LSU Health Shreveport,” said Dr. Lester Johnson, senior vice chancellor of LSU Health Shreveport. “I am confident the Center for Applied Immunology and Pathological Processes is well positioned to provide translational research in the form of new therapies, which is critical to those we serve. Translational research plays an important role in determining LSU Health Shreveport’s national stature and reputation.”
According to LSU Health Shreveport, the National Institutes of Health estimates that every dollar awarded through Institutional Development Awards programs generates an additional $3.70 in research funding for recipient institutions. The university said its initial $10.5 million Phase 1 award generated nearly $40 million in additional funding through workforce development, research infrastructure and faculty recruitment.
The Center for Applied Immunology and Pathological Processes is one of two NIH-funded Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence at LSU Health Shreveport. The center collaborates with the institution’s Center for Redox Biology and Cardiovascular Disease on research infrastructure, faculty mentorship and scientific initiatives.