The University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix will receive $5.5 million over five years from the Flinn Foundation to support translational research in cardiovascular diseases, neurosciences, and serious mental illnesses.
The grant, which will help advance research in these areas towards the clinical development of therapeutics, will establish two research faculty positions and help develop the Translational Cardiovascular Research Center and a new Department of Translational Neurosciences. Funding will also benefit education and pipeline training, including a summer intern program for underrepresented high school students.
“This grant, one of the largest in the Flinn Foundation’s history, will create momentum for translational research and entrepreneurship at the UArizona College of Medicine-Phoenix and lead to a stronger bioscience-research ecosystem and health-care sector in Arizona,” said Tammy McLeod, president and CEO of the Flinn Foundation. “We recognize the continued growth of the College of Medicine-Phoenix, and its recruitment of diverse scientists, clinicians, and students, is critical to improving patient care and spurring economic development.”
As part of their work, UArizona College of Medicine-Phoenix researchers will partner with institutions including Banner-University Medical Center Phoenix, the Phoenix VA Health Care System, and Phoenix Children’s Hospital, and collaborate with the Arizona Center for Drug Develoment in the University of Arizona R. Ken Coit School of Pharmacy to facilitate the potential discovery of new drugs. The grant will also support development of a Center for Biotech Research Development and Entrepreneurialism at the Phoenix Bioscience Core.
“The College of Medicine-Phoenix is grateful to the Flinn Foundation for this remarkable gift. We are excited to expand our long-standing collaboration and shared goals of investing in innovation that help build healthy communities,” said Guy Reed, MD, MS, dean of the College of Medicine–Phoenix. “This investment in translational research will help us discover the cause of illness and develop tangible solutions that improve health.”
The Flinn Foundation is a longtime major funder of the biosciences in Arizona and has emphasized health care and medical research grants since its founding in 1965.
The University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix has graduated 669 physicians since 2007 and has accelerated discovery in cancer, stroke, traumatic brain injury and cardiovascular disease.
Watch: Video highlighting the Flinn Foundation grant
Read: UArizona College of Medicine-Phoenix grant announcement
