Imaging research centers across the U.S. will get more than half of nearly $22 million earmarked by the National Institutes of Health this year for grants to fund cutting-edge biomedical research equipment purchases.
Imaging research centers across the U.S. will get more than half of nearly $22 million earmarked by the National Institutes of Health this year for grants to fund cutting-edge biomedical research equipment purchases.
The NIH's National Center for Research Resources began the High-End Instrumentation (HEI) program in 2002. The HEI allows research institutions to acquire equipment costing between $750,000 and $2 million. It complements the NCRR's long-standing Shared Instrumentation Grant program supporting the purchase of equipment in the $100,000 to $500,000 price range.
The HEI program provides numerous investigators access to equipment that is essential to advance their research projects. It often benefits entire research communities as well, said Dr. Barbara M. Alving, NCRR's acting director.
"These awards spur the kind of scientific discoveries necessary for the development of treatments for a broad spectrum of diseases," Alving said.
The NCRR announced in August it will provide $21.5 million during the 2006 fiscal year for 14 HEI grants. Awardees include the following diagnostic imaging research centers:
The HEI provides a one-year nonrenewable award for the purchase of one major equipment item per application. The program may fund three or more investigators per institution needing instrumentation such as biomedical imaging equipment, NMR mass spectrometers, electron microscopes, or supercomputers.
The NCRR does not require matching funds but expects applicants to provide adequate support for the infrastructure associated to their purchase.
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