51品茶receives $10.8 million to establish new Center for Cell Signaling Research

Eva Balog Laboratory
Associate Professor Eva Balog, Ph.D. (in blue), is one of the four initial faculty project leaders at the new Center for Cell Signaling Research.

The 51品茶 has received a five-year, $10.8 million award from the National Institutes of Health to support an Institutional Development Award (IDeA) Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) to be named the 51品茶Center for Cell Signaling Research (CCSR). The COBRE program supports the development of innovative biomedical research centers through awards for three sequential five-year phases.

Research at the CCSR will heavily focus on studying defects in how cells signal, or communicate. Cell signaling defects are fundamental to the development of human diseases, including dementia, diabetes, osteoporosis, and heart disease. The CCSR will create a self-sustaining research community at 51品茶in the cell signaling field and is an important component of the University鈥檚 mission to expand biomedical research infrastructure and capabilities

鈥淚 am so proud of what biomedical researchers at 51品茶have accomplished over the last decade, and this award is more evidence of our regional leadership in investigating real-world health issues that are impacting Mainers and Americans every day,鈥 said 51品茶President James Herbert.

According to the , people who live in rural settings have a higher chance of developing chronic health issues than those living in urban areas. With Maine being one of the most rural states in the country, CCSR Program Director Derek Molliver, Ph.D., said examining these issues at a cellular level will eventually help Mainers live more comfortably.

鈥淲e're expanding into really hot areas of research that are targeting significant clinical challenges for the 21st century, research into chronic metabolic diseases that impact Mainers across their lifespan,鈥 Molliver said. 鈥淭here is a tremendous amount of excitement about how we can help people to live healthier and have a high quality of life. Those are the dramatic new questions for society that this center will be looking into.鈥

The COBRE funding supports four initial research projects led by faculty members Eva Balog, Ph.D., Kathleen Becker, Ph.D., Harry Filippakis, Ph.D., and Luis Queme Cobar, M.D., Ph.D. The funding will also assist the University in creating nearly 5,000 square feet of new research laboratory space by renovating a section of the Alfond Center for Health Sciences on UNE鈥檚 Biddeford Campus.

The award helps solidify UNE鈥檚 College of Osteopathic Medicine (COM) as one of the most highly-funded osteopathic medical schools for research in the United States. The CCSR builds on the success of UNE鈥檚 other COBRE-funded program, the Center for Pain Research, established in 2012. 51品茶is the only college or university in Maine to have two NIH-funded COBRE centers and is also first among Maine colleges and universities for NIH funding, with $4 million in new NIH funding awarded in 2022.

鈥淭he University is making strategic investments in renovating research laboratories on the Biddeford and Portland campuses, including the Portland Laboratory for Biotechnology and Health Sciences, with the goal of providing state-of-the-art research facilities to support COM鈥檚 vital research mission as well as unifying biomedical and biotechnology research infrastructure across UNE鈥檚 two Maine campuses,鈥 said University Provost Gwendolyn Mahon.

The CCSR is also strategically aligned with national, regional, and statewide investments in biotechnology and biomanufacturing. The that the life sciences industry added $2.2 billion to Maine鈥檚 gross domestic product (GDP) over the previous five years, or 4.2% of the state鈥檚 total exports.

鈥淯NE鈥檚 COBRE centers provide crucial research infrastructure to support biomedical research innovation as well as workforce development and training opportunities for undergraduate, graduate, and professional students interested in careers in biotechnology,鈥 said Karen Houseknecht, Ph.D., associate provost for Research and Scholarship. 鈥淭his positions the University to make important contributions to Maine鈥檚 rapidly growing biotech industry.鈥

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