News Conference: UB leaders, medical campus partners and Congressman Higgins to discuss importance of $15 million NIH grant

Editor's note: A previous version of this news release stated UB received $16 million. The correct amount is $15 million.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Leaders from the University at Buffalo, Kaleida Health and Roswell Park Cancer Institute will brief the media about the importance to the community of the $15 million Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) announced yesterday by the National Institutes of Health.

When and where: Thursday, Aug. 13, at 11:15 a.m. on the fifth floor of UB’s Clinical and Translational Research Center at 875 Ellicott St., Buffalo, above the Gates Vascular Institute.

What: The prestigious four-year grant to UB will establish the UB Clinical and Translational Research Center as the hub of the Buffalo Translational Consortium. UB is the lead institution of the consortium in partnership with Roswell Park Cancer Institute, the Great Lakes Health System, UBMD and community health organizations.

Why: The grant will support research by UB and local partners to speed the development of new drugs, diagnostics and medical devices. It will increase the region’s capacity to conduct new medical research, improve patient care, commercialize scientific breakthroughs and bring new therapies to the market faster.

The grant will benefit the community by increasing opportunities for Western New Yorkers to participate in cutting-edge medical research and clinical trials. An important part of the grant is its Mentored Career Development Program, which will train students in all of UB’s health sciences disciplines.

Who: The following leaders from UB, its partners on the grant and the community will be available to respond to questions and provide additional background:

• Satish K. Tripathi, PhD, UB president
• Rep. Brian Higgins, U.S. House of Representatives
• Michael E. Cain, MD, vice president for health sciences and dean of the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
• Timothy F. Murphy, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor at UB and principal investigator on the CTSA grant.
• Candace S. Johnson, PhD, president and CEO, Roswell Park Cancer Institute
• David Hughes, MD, chief medical officer, Kaleida Health

Visuals: Following the briefing, media will have an opportunity to obtain footage of laboratory research in UB’s CTRC.  B-roll footage is also available here: http://bitly.com/UBmedicalresearchBroll

On-site media contact: John DellaContrada at 716-361-3006.