Grant goes to biomedical research at NC A&T State

NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY

North Carolina A&T State University animal sciences student Eryka McDougald holds a rat in the university vivarium. A new U.S. Department of Education grant includes funds to finish the vivarium’s renovation.

A $4.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education will expand North Carolina A&T State University’s research and teaching capacity in the biomedical life sciences.

The grant will also help the nation’s largest historically Black college reach Research 1, or R1, classification, the highest level of research activity according to the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.

“We’re currently in a Catch-22 predicament. Without equipment and facilities, it is difficult to advance our research. Without the research, it is difficult to get the equipment,” Robert Newman Ph.D., a biology professor in the College of Science and Technology said in a statement. “This project will help us showcase our efforts as we move toward R1 status and raise the level of research that we’re able to accomplish in-house.”

In addition to Newman, Andrea Gentry-Apple D.V.M., a professor in A&T’s College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences and Shyam Aravamudham Ph.D., a nanoengineering professor and director of its Institute of Research Technologies, collaborated on the grant.

“The common denominator is biomedical research,” said Gentry-Apple, a veterinarian and coordinator of veterinary education. “This project will help each of us to expand our capacity to conduct research; train undergraduate, doctoral and post-doctoral researchers on state-of-the-art equipment; and grow national diversity within biomedical sciences by building careers.”

Part of the grant will be used to finish renovations and upgrades to A&T’s vivarium, which is undergoing a redesign and equipment upgrades for biomedical researchers. Renovations, which are funded by a $5.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, started last year.

“The additional funding will allow us to finish this project to serve both the live animal research needs of the campus community and create opportunities with external partners,” Gentry-Apple said.
Other funding will be used to buy new equipment for biomedical research, including instruments for sample preparation, biomolecular and cellular imaging and analysis at the new Interdisciplinary Biomedical and Engineering Core, which supports advanced bioengineering and biomedical research.

“These are all different aspects of the same, large project,” Newman said. “For instance, the vivarium will house animals and enable various surgeries and treatments to be done, while the IBEC’s histology and imaging equipment will be used for specimen analysis. Importantly, students will be involved in all aspects of the research, from animal care to sample preparation and analysis.”

Both the IBEC and vivarium projects will serve a broad range of majors, multiple colleges and research levels, he said.

Said Aravamudham, who will chair IBEC: “We’ll be able to process a wider range of specimens, and different specimens, than we have been able to do in-house, up to this point. Until now, this kind of research was outsourced, which could pose delays and barriers to high-level research.

“The renovated vivarium allows us to keep the research on campus, attract students and faculty to campus who can now do the research they want to do, and serve as a resource for the research community who, for a fee, could use the equipment.”

Another benefit: Students trained on IBEC equipment will be exposed to postgraduate opportunities.

“The project will open up opportunities to pursue research questions that were inaccessible prior to having the core labs,” Aravamudham said. “This grant will open up a lot of possibilities for us in biomedical research.”
The project will also provide funding for graduate student scholarships, stipends and career opportunities in disciplines like agriculture, biology, engineering and animal science.

“Funding is key to recruiting top students that are coming from around the world, at this point,” Gentry-Apple said. “A large portion of this grant will, through the graduate college, help support 24 graduate students with tuition and competitive stipends, which will also increase our Ph.D. program enrollment.”

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