The U’s Center for Integrative Biomedical Computing received a renewal for a $6.1 million grant from the National Institute of Health.
Described by bioengineering professor Rob MacLeod as an “interdisciplinary research group that spans several institutions,” the center will use the money to develop software to support a wide variety of research topics.
“We’re the bridge from the academic world and the application of those ideas for biomedical research,” MacLeod said.
The funds will also be shared among other institutions, such as John Hopkins University, and a few major hospitals. The grant began in 1999 and can be renewed every five years. MacLeod has been at the U since the first grant and has been involved with the research ever since.
“The grant really supports the creation of the tools,” he said. “The applications are broad.”
Not only are professors and graduate students involved in the project but undergraduates and professional software developers as well. With the help of these individuals, the program administrators hope to get information out of images of the heart and brain.
Ross Whitaker, a professor at the U’s School of Computing, is a specialist in this type of image analysis. He said by analyzing the images, “doctors can better predict the outcomes” of certain illnesses and conditions.
The program will allow students of all levels to train in research labs and develop medical tools with the help of doctors. MacLeod applauds the opportunity it will create at the U.
“This grant can only work in a small number of institutions,” he said. “That’s what makes Utah special. To have the access to everyone to work together, we take it for granted.”
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