NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – The University of California Irvine has been awarded an $11.5 million federal grant to support continuing operations of its systems biology center.
The UCI Center for Complex Biological Systems was created in 2001. It is one of 13 National Centers for Systems Biology funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, which provided the $11.5 million grant announced today. NIGMS previously provided the center with grants of $450,000 in 2002 and $14.5 million in 2007.
"Over the past decade, we've tried to take a teamwork approach to really hard biological problems, encouraging researchers from all over the sciences and engineering to work together," Center Director Arthur Lander, who also is a professor of developmental and cell biology and biomedical engineering, said in a statement. "This award is a clear endorsement of that strategy, especially given the current funding environment."
The center said that its efforts focus on special dynamics — how biological systems have evolved to control what happens over time and space in cells, tissues, and organs.