U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas, said federal funding is essential to programs such as the sickle cell center. "I will continue to champion this cause in Congress. Our investment in medical research will no doubt lead to breakthroughs in the fight against this disease. The joint efforts of these institutions will have a positive impact on the communities involved and on those personally affected by sickle cell disease."
UT Southwestern will administer the grant and receive the majority of the funds. UTD will receive the second-largest amount, about $1.1 million in research funding over the 5-year period. The balance will be divided among the other institutions.
"The outstanding track record of the sickle cell program at UT Southwestern and Children's over the last 20 years helped us obtain this highly competitive grant," said Buchanan, who is also the medical director of the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children's. "In addition, the research of UTD's Dr. Steven Goodman helped complete the package necessary to win designation as one of the few NIH centers focusing on the illness."
Goodman, who came to UTD from the University of South Alabama last year, where he was director of their Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center, said the combination of his basic research with the research and clinical care initiatives at UT Southwestern makes "the perfect marriage." Dr. Goodman is also an adjunct professor of Cell Biology at UT Southwestern.
Goodman, director of UTD's newly established Sickle Cell Disease Research Center and head of Molecular and Cell Biology, and Dr. J. Victor Garcia-Martinez, associate professor of internal medicine and microbiology at UT Southwestern, will lead the basic science research effort.
Goodman will study "Dysregulation of the Sickle Cell Membrane Skeleton." Dr. Goodman discover
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Contact: Barbara Bedrick
barbara.bedrick@utsouthwestern.edu
214-648-3404
UT Southwestern Medical Center
16-Sep-2002