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University of Massachusetts, Amherst

- UMass Science and Technology Award

With these funds the Institute for Drug Resistance (IDR) was created to serve the drug resistance research and clinical communities. Founded upon the observation that close parallels can be drawn between resistance seen in one disease state and resistance within another, the IDR believes that cross-disciplinary collaboration and discussion could allow for a better understanding of resistance and result in real clinical benefits.

Our goal is to shift the paradigm of drug resistance first in drug design strategies and realizing the parallels of quickly evolving diseases. We plan to achieve this through interdisciplinary communication and synergistic collaboration. The institute will: Facilitate connection of existing expertise, provide infrastructure for targeting quickly evolving diseases, and enable collaborations between research and industrial scientists and clinicians.

- Life Sciences Moment Award to IDR Co-founders

Institute for Drug Resistance (IDR) Directors Dr. Peg Riley, Professor of Biology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Dr. Celia Schiffer, Professor of Microbiology and Molecular Pharmacy at the University of Massachusetts Medical School have received an award from the Life Science Moment Fund of the Center for Clinical and Translational Science at the University of Massachusetts. The $150,000 award will support the project "Testing novel antimicrobials to treat chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections in CF lung."

The UMass Life Sciences Moment Fund serves as a dedicated pool of funding to spur inter-campus collaboration and strengthen the university’s research portfolio in the clinical and translational research space. By providing seed funding to outstanding university faculty members, this fund facilitates the development of faculty-to-faculty networks within the university system, thereby leveraging the considerable expertise and resources that exist on the individual campuses.

Current and future projects supported by this fund are envisioned to develop into larger initiatives that attract substantial funding from extramural sources, including the federal government, the state, industry, foundations and others.

- CTFD Grant for Professional Development in Teaching

Engage in STEM (E-STEM) is a newly established afterschool education program that pairs middle school students in high needs districts with undergraduate scientist mentors who inspire them to engage in meaningful research projects, where they gain hands-on experience in scientific data collection, analysis, visualization, modeling and interpretation.

National Institutes of Health

- NIH 5R01 GM068657-01A NOT-OD-09-056 Administrative Supplement

This supplement was awarded to accelerate the tempo of scientific research on antibiotic resistance and more rapidly research the position where translational research is possible. The translation of this basic research into application will almost certainly result in the development of novel antimicrobials and/or novel therapeutic approaches for antibiotics

- NIH 1R01A1064588-01A1 Evolution of Stress-Induced Bacterial Toxins

These funds were awarded to assist in experimentally identifying environmental biotic and a-biotic factors that play a role in colicin induction. In addition, there will be further exploration of preliminary findings that suggest bacteriocins induce expression of neighboring bacteriocins. These abundant, narrow spectrum toxins are under consideration to serve as an alternative to classical antibiotics for use in human and animal health and are already used in food preservation.

- NIH 1R01A1064588-01A1 NOT-OD-09-060 Summer Research Experiences Supplement

This supplement was awarded to support 3 undergraduate students to engage in full time research over the summer months of 2009 and 2010. Specifically, the undergraduate students will engage in research on the biotic and abiotic environmental factors that trigger bacteriocin expression in vitro.

- NIH 3 R01 AI064588-03S2 NOT-OD-09-093 Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research

This supplement was awarded to support one African American female to be hired during the academic year to undertake research of one of the original aims of the parent research grant proposal. These funds further permit her to be employed over the Summer months and thus increase her research contribution from part time to full time during the Summer.

US Army

- W911QY-12-2-0001 Natick Soldier Research, Development, and Engineering Center

This proposal is designed to test a novel approach to controlling polymicrobial environments to limit the Warfighter’s exposure to pathogenic organisms.

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