NEW BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH CENTER ESTABLISHED AT MORGAN STATE

$10 Million NIH Grant Funds Multidisciplinary Research in State-of-the-Art Laboratories

Morgan State University is the proud recipient of a $10 million award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Center for Research Resources (NCRR). The highly competitive grant, which will span a five-year period, provides funding for the Morgan State University Biomedical Research Center. The facility will present students and faculty with state-of-the-art laboratories in which they can perform vital research in the areas of stress and cardiovascular diseases, HIV and AIDS, neuroscience and environmental toxicology.

"This center will undoubtedly enhance the research capacity and capabilities at Morgan," says T. Joan Robinson, Ph.D., dean of the School of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences and project director of the center. "It will also allow researchers to integrate valuable information across the disciplines of biology, chemistry, computer science and environmental health toxicology."

Dr. Robinson adds that one important goal of the center is to "address the health concerns of the urban environment and the nation." The center will also help support postgraduate programs in the Department of Biology, and assist the school in attracting new faculty to expand the department's funded research potential. Its long-term benefit will be to provide Morgan's faculty with assistance in start-up research projects and the use of essential equipment. Additionally, both undergraduate and graduate students will be encouraged to work and volunteer time in the laboratories and conduct research alongside their professors.

Dr. Robinson is involved in a variety of activities that seek to increase the number of minority students who are pursuing science careers. She has been Dean of Morgan's School of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences since 1998.

Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a coeducational institution offering more than 60 academic programs leading to bachelor's degrees as well as programs at the master's and doctoral levels. As Maryland's public urban university, Morgan serves a multi-ethnic and multi-racial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information on Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.