2005

2005 Seed Grants

In 2005, the Alliance for NanoHealth posted a request for collaborative research proposals that investigated innovative biomedical nanotechnology projects. Over 60 pre-proposals were received, 34 teams were invited to submit a full-proposal, and 10 seed grant awards were granted. The Alliance for NanoHealth allocated approximately $2.0M to fund 10 externally reviewed seed grant projects in 2005. The ANH Community responded with vigor: 91 investigators self-assembled to form 34 nanotechnology-based research projects, 16+ distinct nanotechnologies were showcased, and 6 institutions in all participated. Although the funding has recently been released to the 10 teams of investigators (October 2006), the scientific/clinical impact is already becoming evident. The Alliance is proud to hear that at least 1 of the 10 seed grant recipients has already received additional RO1 funding as the result of the collaborative efforts inspired by the Alliance's seed grant opportunity. The ANH is confident that future success stories will be soon to follow.

2005 VA HUD/NASA Joint Research Program

The $2.0M Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development (VA-HUD)/NASA earmark is currently supporting a joint research program between the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHSCH-H), Rice University, and NASA Johnson Space Center for the development of carbon-based nanomaterials for spaceflight healthcare applications. These funds, which $1.984M was actually received, have allowed for the hiring of four new researchers at the UTHSC-H (two research faculty & 2 postdoctoral fellows) and seven new researchers at Rice University (seven postdoctoral fellows). Each of these newly recruited research personnel have specialized training in biomedical nanotechnology. Additionally, the VA-HUD/NASA funds supported six summer internships (four undergraduates and two students from the DeBakey High School).