LOS ANGELES (April 8, 2010) With a goal of creating jobs and enhancing chronic disease studies, the federal government is awarding a $9.7 million grant of stimulus funds to the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (LA BioMed) for the construction of a new Chronic Disease Clinical Research Center on its campus, David I. Meyer, PhD, the institute's president and CEO, announced today.
Construction of the new research center is expected to create up to 190 new jobs and a new environment for LA BioMed's research into chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other respiratory ailments, cardiac disease and HIV/AIDS.
"With the construction of a new research center, our distinguished investigators who study chronic diseases will be able to expand and strengthen their clinical research activities to provide promising new treatments and therapies to the underserved," Dr. Meyer said. "There was incredibly stiff competition for the facilities grants, and it is a credit to LA BioMed's investigators and staff that the institute was able to secure a share of this one-time infusion of capital funding."
The grant comes from the National Institutes of Health National Center for Research Resources and is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or the stimulus program. It requires rapid deployment of shovel-ready projects to ensure the grant creates jobs and stimulates the economy.
"It is great news for Californians that LA BioMed received millions in stimulus dollars which will help it maintain essential services, save lives and provide comfort and care to people across the state," said California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. "This much-needed funding will create jobs and build a state-of-the-art facility that will help researchers find cures and develop treatments for chronic diseases."
The construction of the new Chronic Disease Clinical Research Center is expected to generate 150 new construction-related jobs, and the expansion of research at LA BioMed is estimated to create up to 40 additional new jobs.
"One-hundred fifty new construction jobs and up to 40 new staff positions at LA BioMed are a shot in the arm for the South Bay's economy," said U.S. Rep. Jane Harman, D-Venice. "The grant will also foster the development of new treatments and therapies for chronic ailments. Congratulations to the doctors and researchers whose innovation and hard work will help save lives."
The grant will pay for the construction of a two-story, 23,171-square-foot research center that will consolidate the collaborative research programs of investigator groups who are studying chronic diseases. It will serve as the new home for LA BioMed's Center for Rehabilitative Medicine, its Center for Atherosclerosis Research, the HIV/AIDS research program and the Investigational Drug Service.
"This grant award is great news for LA BioMed and the South Bay because it will create much-needed new jobs and help stimulate our local economy," said Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas. "LA BioMed is a pioneer in research that benefits the underserved in our society, and it is leading the way in turning great science into great medicine. I look forward to the advances in treatments and therapies that will be developed at LA BioMed's new Chronic Diseases Clinical Research Center."
The new Chronic Disease Clinical Research Center is scheduled to be completed by the fall of 2013, and it will include an outpatient research clinic, research pharmacy, office space, a cardiac CT reading center and exercise physiology, pulmonary function and cardiac labs.
"This grant is great news for LA BioMed, for the South Bay and for anyone suffering from a chronic disease," said Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe. "LA BioMed is one of Los Angeles' real gems. Its physician-researchers take the knowledge they gain at the bedside of their patients into the labs where they develop therapies and treatments that will improve the lives of people around the globe. We are fortunate to have such an outstanding research facility located in the heart of the South Bay."
About LA BioMed
Founded in 1952, LA BioMed is one of the country's leading nonprofit independent biomedical research institutes. It has more than 150 full-time and part-time researchers conducting studies into improved treatments and cures for cancer, inherited diseases, infectious diseases, illnesses caused by environmental factors and more. It also educates young scientists and provides community services, including immunization and childhood nutrition programs. LA BioMed is academically affiliated with the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and located on the campus of Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. For more information, please visit www.LABioMed.org