"The imaging resources give MU a powerful advantage in terms of trying to answer questions about blood vessels that are thinner than human hair, as well as cells and tissues," said Ronald Korthuis, PhD, chair of the Department of Medical Pharmacology and Physiology and a project leader for the grant. "Where others can only speculate, we are able to show the world."

All of the project leaders in the program grant are faculty members in the MU School of Medicine Department of Medical Pharmacology and Physiology, which is ranked 12th in the nation in terms of research grant funding. The prominence of Dalton and the department in microcirculation research led to MU's selection as host for more than 150 scientists from around the world for a meeting of the Microcirculatory Society in October 2009.

The pharmacology and physiology department also is generously supported by private gifts for endowed faculty positions and research centers. Grant program director Meininger, project leader Michael Davis, PhD, and George Davis, MD, PhD, and other department scientists involved in the grant are Margaret Proctor Mulligan Distinguished Professors in Medical Research. Korthuis, a project leader, is the George L. and Melna A. Bolm Distinguished Professor in Cardiovascular Health. Center for Gender Physiology director Virginia Huxley, PhD, is the James O. Davis Distinguished Professor in Cardiovascular Research. She and other scientists are housed in the Thomas W. and Joan F. Burns Center for Diabetes and Cardiovascular Research.

"These endowments helped transform MU into a highly competitive institution for cardiovascular research," said Chancellor Brady Deaton, PhD, who recently led MU in receiving more than $1 billion in gifts for a campuswide fundraising campaign. "With this new NIH grant, we'll continue to leverage our significant investments in cardiovascular research to improve the health and quality of life for people across our state and throughout the world."

Source: University of Missouri-Columbia