MSU’S INTER-DISCIPLINARY FOCUS

HELPS LAND MORE NIH RESEARCH FUNDS

By Tom Oswald and Laura Min Mercer

August 7, 2007

      Some examples of collaborative MSU research show why the NIH has increased its support of MSU scientists.

        In fiscal 2006, the amount of research funding MSU received from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) stood at around $56 million, marking the second year in a row NIH funding increased.

      “And those were just the awards that came directly to MSU,” says Ian Gray, vice president for research and graduate studies. “When you add up the contracts for NIH awards that flow through other universities, that total is somewhere around $61 million.”

        In fiscal 2005, MSU’s NIH funding stood at around $40 million, which was up from $33 million the year before.

      Gray says there are any number of reasons why the university is seeing a marked improvement in these numbers. One of the most important is the multidisciplinary nature of the research conducted at MSU.

      The NIH is now funneling many of its dollars to programs that cross scholarly boundaries, so it only makes sense that MSU is reaping the benefits of that.

      “The successful address of problems requires multidisciplinary approaches,” he notes. “Here at MSU we’ve done this for years. There are no barriers. It’s something we take for granted.”

      Gray cites other reasons why MSU is poised to be even more successful in earning NIH funding:

• The establishment of a Clinical Research Office, which serves as an information center for MSU’s biological research. Under the interim directorship of Gregory Fink, a professor of pharmacology and toxicology, the office facilitates clinical trials, works closely with community partners, and does whatever it takes to move clinical research forward.
  
  
• Providing young faculty with what Gray calls “internal investments,” that is, the offering of smaller grants to faculty that are designed to help them get their research off the ground and in a position to apply for larger NIH grants.

        “What we want to do is put young faculty with more experienced faculty,” Gray explains. “Put them in a scholarly environment, an encouraging environment and mentoring environment.”

      Following are examples of five NIH-funded research projects currently ongoing at MSU.

MSU is site for national Parkinson’s disease study

      MSU is one of 51 sites nationwide participating in an NIH study to test the effectiveness of a drug that could slow the progression of Parkinson’s disease.

      The study is trying to determine if a dietary supplement known as creatine helps slow the progression of a disease that affects more than one million Americans.

      Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative disorder of the brain in which patients develop symptoms such as tremor, slowness of movements and stiffness of muscles that progressively worsen as the disease evolves.

      “Pilot studies have given us an indication that creatine may be effective, but conducting a large, controlled clinical trial is the only way to be certain,” says John Goudreau, MSU associate professor of neurology and ophthalmology who is leading MSU’s part in the study.

      Nationwide, the study will attempt to recruit as many as 2,000 patients, half of which will receive the creatine, the other half a placebo. Patients will be asked to participate for five to seven years.

      Goudreau says one major advantage of this study is that patients do not have to abandon any of the care they are already receiving.

      “Every medication or treatment a doctor would do for the patient to help them manage their Parkinson’s disease they will continue to do,” he says. “The goal is to evaluate a community-based sample of patients to see how creatine works in people who are cared for in a routine fashion.”

      To be eligible for the study, one needs a confirmed case of Parkinson’s disease and be on medications that control symptoms, such as Sinemet, Requip or Mirapex, for at least nine months but no longer than two years.

      Creatine is a nutritional supplement that supports energy production in brain cells affected by Parkinson’s disease. While creatine can be found in health food stores and online in small amounts, Goudreau and other researchers are quick to point out that the supplement will not directly treat the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

      “It is unclear if the supplement will slow the progression of the symptoms over many years; that is why it is so important to do a controlled study of this type,” he says. “One thing we want to get across is that you can’t go to the store, buy small amounts of creatine and think it’s going to improve your Parkinson’s symptoms. We don’t want anyone to think this is a panacea for Parkinson’s.”

      This is one of several Parkinson’s-related projects at MSU. In total, the university has been awarded nearly $2 million in funded research relating to Parkinson’s disease.