The National Institutes of Health annoaunced Tuesday it has awarded UW-Madison's School of Medicine and Public Health a $41 million grant, one of the largest grants in the school's history.
The grant will funnel into the university's new Institute for Clinical and Translational Research.
This is a highly visible, highly covetous award given to only the most elite institutions in the country,"" said Robert Golden, dean of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health.
UW-Madison is among 24 institutions nationwide to receive grants in the last two years.
Chancellor John D. Wiley said the grant made ""complete sense"" for the university and called it a ""transformative national initiative.""
""The opening of our Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery and Interdisciplinary Research Complex in the near future will further enhance our capabilities,"" he said in a statement.
The five-year NIH grant would allow UW to stand out as a national leader in accelerating the translation of basic discoveries into meaningful clinical applications, according to Golden.
He said the funding would allow UW researchers to go beyond the usual 'Ivory Tower' approach often seen in academic medical centers, and instead form collaborative partnerships throughout the state.
""[One of the goals is] so that everybody in Wisconsin, whether you live close to an academic medical center or research university or not, will be able to participate in studies in the community and get access to state-of-the-art clinical trials,"" Golden said.
He said much of the reward would help with translational research that moves beyond lab studies and forms a research setting within the real world.
""We want to break down the difference that exists now between what we already know and what is actually being done,"" he said.
Lisa Brunette, media relations director for UW Health, said translational research is ""very different from the kind of work that's being done now.""
""The whole idea is to get things to take care of people faster, and if that works, then we'll all profit from it,"" Brunette said.
ICTR started a partnership with several units on campus - o - othe School of Nursing, School of Pharmacy, the College of Engineering and the School of Veterinary Medicine.
Golden said the possibilities provided by the grant could put UW-Madison on the map as a nationally recognized research university.
""We are among the few really strong places where there is such a proud tradition of collaboration and cooperation across the units, rather than competition,"" Golden said.
""It's a great honor, but even more importantly a great opportunity to make a difference in the health of the citizens of Wisconsin.
