Nebraska’s biomedical researchers must “dream big, reach high” and work across disciplines to successfully compete for National Institutes of Health funding.
That’s the advice of Daniel Rosenblum, M.D., medical officer for the NIH’s National Center for Research Resources. Speaking to about 150 faculty and administrators at the 2006 Nebraska Biomedical Research Retreat on Thursday, Dr. Rosenblum urged researchers to “think outside your discipline.”
Building robust interdisciplinary collaborations that offer innovative approaches is critical to improved funding success, he said.
“Collaboration is good but there needs to be cooperation across all your disciplines to accomplish what you set out to do,” Dr. Rosenblum said.
About 220 Nebraska scientists receive NIH funding. Nebraska has about $64 million in NIH grants, which ranks in the middle of six surrounding states, he said. Missouri leads the list with $344 million while Wyoming has $7 million in current grants and awards.
“You can do better,” Rosenblum told the faculty from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, UNMC, Creighton University and Boys Town National Research Hospital. NIH is interested in building research capacity in states like Nebraska but proposals must be competitive.
“You have good ideas,” he said. “A strength of this state is that Nebraskans really believe in connecting with each other.”
Researchers must find ways to break down barriers and build teams across disciplines and institutions.
“To be truly productive, you have to look beyond your discipline. If you don’t do that, you will not be competitive,” Dr. Rosenblum said.
Rosenblum cited The Nebraska Center for Virology as one example of a successful NIH-funded Center for Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) with global reach. This center, headed by UNL molecular biologist Charles Wood, includes about 40 faculty from UNL, UNMC and Creighton University. Training AIDS/HIV researchers from Zambia and China is part of Wood’s international efforts.
UNMC’s Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) project is a good example of an NIH-funded program to enhance science education among young people, Rosenblum said. Maurice Godfrey, Ph.D., leads this program, called “Breaking Barriers: Health Science Education in Native American Communities,” which includes six Indian tribes.
Dr. Rosenblum’s parting advice: “Dream big, reach high and put together presentations that are really strong.”
“Promoting Collaborations” was the theme of this year’s Biomedical Research Retreat at Quarry Oaks Golf Course near Ashland. This retreat provided faculty a chance to hear about national biomedical research priorities, help identify Nebraska’s strengths in biomedical research, meet researchers who are potential collaborators and discuss possible teams to pursue collaborative research.
In the morning, researchers from the four institutions outlined research underway in biomedical engineering and bioimaging; behavioral science/health disparities/patient oriented research; and molecular science. During the afternoon, researchers working in small groups discussed possibilities for collaborative research in topic areas within behavioral sciences, bioengineering and molecular sciences. Their ideas and recommendations were shared with the entire group at day’s end.
In closing remarks, UNL Vice Chancellor for Research Prem Paul encouraged participants to follow up on ideas discussed during the retreat.
“We can accomplish whatever we want if we set our minds to it,” Paul said.