Leading-edge, shared technologies are an important component of advancing research to improve health. Specialized instruments such as high-powered electron microscopes, high-resolution mass spectrometers and supercomputers that rapidly process vast amounts of data can enable breakthrough discoveries in preventions, treatments and cures for diseases.
Thanks to the Recovery Act, more health scientists now will have access to these state-of-the-art devices, the National Institutes of Health announced today. Through its National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), NIH has awarded $300 million in shared instrumentation grants.
In total, NCRR awarded more than 450 Recovery Act instrumentation grants to groups of NIH-funded scientists in 42 states and the District of Columbia. The grants, which range from $100,000 to $8 million, enable the purchase of technology that is vital to promising research projects.
"These Recovery Act awards make world class resources available to scientists nationwide," said NIH Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D. "More researchers now will have access to the latest technologies that accelerate the pace of biomedical research, ultimately leading to new advances and treatments for diseases."
Following are three types of technologies and instruments funded by these grants, all of which have the potential to enhance a wide variety of biomedical research in many disease areas.
"Innovative research requires access to the latest technologies," said NCRR Director Barbara Alving, M.D. "These high-performance tools will ensure that NIH-funded investigators remain at the forefront of modern biomedical research."
NCRR's instrumentation grants fall under two categories. The Shared Instrumentation Grant (SIG) program provides funding for NIH-supported investigators to obtain equipment in the $100,000 to $600,000 price range. Examples of instrumentation supported by SIG funding include nuclear magnetic resonance systems, cell sorters, and protein and DNA sequencers. The High-End Instrumentation (HEI) grant program supports the purchase of sophisticated research equipment costing more than $750,000 with a ceiling of $2 million. For the Recovery Act awards, the floor for the HEI program was adjusted to $600,000 and the ceiling was raised to $8 million to accommodate a broader range of technologies. Instruments in this price range include high-resolution mass spectrometers, electron microscopes and supercomputers.
SIG and HEI grants are highly cost-effective because the programs require that each instrument be shared by at least three researchers. Approximately eight to 10 investigators will share each of the instruments funded through this Recovery Act program, enabling a reach of more than 3,500 scientists nationwide.
More information about NCRR's Recovery Act instrumentation grants can be found at ncrr.nih.gov/recovery/instruments .
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 .
The activities described in this release are being funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). To track the progress of HHS activities funded through the ARRA, visit www.hhs.gov/recovery .
To track all federal funds provided through the ARRA, visit www.recovery.gov .