The LSU School of Veterinary Medicine gets 11 and a half million dollars in funding to launch the Center for Lung Biology and Disease. The center will work with researchers on LSU’s campus and others to develop new understandings and techniques for treating devastating lung diseases. LSU Associate Vice President for Research and Economic Development Dr. Gus Kousoulas.
“This is really a developmental pipeline that brings in young investigators and mentors them to become nationally competitive.”
The five year grant comes courtesy of the National Institutes of Health.
Kousoulas says the grant is a big win for the university, and may result in up to 16 million dollars in direct funding, and an even more substantial windfall for the local economy.
“The economic impact of this particular funding is probably five to one, for every dollar that is invested, five return here.”
The grant is renewable for two additional five year terms, for more than 32 million dollars in total funding.
Kousoulas says the state is swamped with lung disease issues, and further research into the biology of how the body reacts to initial infections and fights them off will be crucial to addressing those problems.
“The basic underlying principle is that of immunology. So we are very interested in the immunological sequences for lung disease.”
Kousoulas says the funding will help the school establish facilities that will make it eligible to receive millions more in from other institution’s grants in the future.
