ATLANTA, Oct. 29, 2009 - The National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), part of the National Institutes of Health, announced today that it will provide approximately $75 million over the next five years to support four institutions, including Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM), via NCRR's Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMIs) program. The RCMI program enhances research capacity and infrastructure in minority institutions.

MSM will receive approximately $4 million per year for up to five years through a new program, the RCMI Infrastructure for Clinical and Translational Research (RCTR). The program will support clinical and translational research which focuses on cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, HIV/AIDS and other conditions that disproportionately impact minority and other medically underserved populations.

"We see this as a transformative grant that will provide us a chance to not only streamline our resources but also continue to foster the careers of junior investigators," said Eve J. Higginbotham, M.D., dean and senior vice president for academic affairs at Morehouse School of Medicine, who is the principal investigator for the new RCTR award. "It will also enable us to build a new core competency in bioinformatics, which will allow us to make a big difference in understanding the scope of personalized medicine."

RCTR awards were established to promote collaborations, leverage resources, enhance training and career development activities, and increase the efficiency and speed of translating research advances to improved health outcomes. The other institutions receiving RCTR awards are Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles, Calif., and Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tenn.

"The three inaugural RCTR institutions already have an exemplary record of transforming basic research into positive outcomes at the doctor's office and in the community," said NCRR Director Barbara Alving, M.D. "The increased efficiency and partnerships that come out of the RCTR program will accelerate this progress to improve the health of minority communities."

The fourth award adds Xavier University as a new RCMI institution. Xavier will receive approximately $2 million per year for five years to develop a cancer research center. The RCMI funds will establish core laboratories, provide instrumentation and technical staff, and fund pilot research projects.

To learn more about the RCTR and other RCMI programs activities, visit www.ncrr.nih.gov/rcmi.

About Morehouse School of Medicine
Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) recruits and trains minority and other students as physicians, biomedical scientists and public health professionals committed to improving the health and well-being of communities. MSM is a member of the largest consortium of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the world - the Atlanta University Center (AUC). For more information about Morehouse School of Medicine, visit us online at www.msm.edu.

About the National Center for Research Resources
The National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), a part of NIH, provides laboratory scientists and clinical researchers with the resources and training they need to understand, detect, treat and prevent a wide range of diseases. NCRR supports all aspects of translational and clinical research, connecting researchers, patients and communities across the nation. For more information, visit www.ncrr.nih.gov.

About the National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) - The Nation's Medical Research Agency - includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.