IUSM and Purdue Take Aim at Better Health
They might be rivals on the gridiron and hardwood, but IU and Purdue
University are team players when it comes to developing better medical
treatments for humans and animals.
That’s the thrust behind an initiative established by a $2
million start-up grant from the Indiana 21st Century Research and
Technology Fund. Scientists from the IUSM Department of Pediatrics,
the IU-based Indiana Genomics Initiative and Purdue’s schools
of Veterinary Medicine and Agriculture will pool their expertise
in the Program for Comparative Medicine.
Purdue’s role will be to develop animal models for human
disease. IU medical researchers bring to the table their understanding
of human disease and treatment, notes Mervin C. Yoder, MD, IUSM
professor of pediatrics, biochemistry and molecular biology, who
co-directs the new program with Harm HogenEsch, DVM, PhD, head of
the Purdue veterinary school’s Department of Pathobiology
and professor of immunology.
“By studying multiple species, we’ll learn more about
diseases and, more important, how to treat them effectively,”
notes Dr. Yoder.
Currently, Dr. Yoder and other IUSM researchers use mouse models
to study and devise new means to diagnose and treat a number of
diseases striking adults and children, ranging from cancer to immune
system disorders. The medical school also plans to recruit additional
researchers and renovate lab space for the Program of Comparative
Medicine. Two labs already are devoted to animal stem cell research
in rodents and Zebra fish.
The program promises additional dividends for the State of Indiana.
“This collaboration will allow us to be morecompetitive for
federal grants from sources such as the National Institutes of Health,”
says Dr. HogenEsch.
For more information about the Program for Comparative Medicine,
visit www.comparative-med.org.
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