Research Funding Tops $628 Million

Researchers at Emory received $628 million from external funding agencies last year, marking the eighth consecutive year that research funding has exceeded $500 million. Growing from $574.6 million last year, this is the largest amount of research funding in Emory’s history.

Federal agencies awarded $384 million, or more than 61 percent of the total, led by the National Institutes of Health with $320 million. NIH funding represented more than 83 percent of total federal dollars awarded to Emory.

“Despite continued funding challenges at the federal level, our research programs have continued to attract support because of demonstrated groundbreaking results and the promise of future discoveries with the potential to change the face of science and medicine,” says David Stephens, vice president for research in Emory’s Woodruff Health Sciences Center (WHSC).

Researchers in the WHSC received $584.8 million last year, more than 93 percent of the university total, with $353.7 million in federal funding.

restoring the skin’s barrier function. “Emollients can soothe the skin in psoriasis, but they are not sufficient for restoration of the barrier,” says lead author Jack Arbiser, professor of dermatology at Emory.

Topical steroids are frequently used for mild to moderate psoriasis, but they have side effects such as skin thinning and easy bruising. Venom-derived compounds, Arbiser says, could be used in combination with existing approaches.—Emily Sullivan 18C

Hidden Link

Lowering blood pressure may lower Alzheimer’s risk

Emory School of Medicine received $355.7 million, the Rollins School of Public Health received $131.7 million, Yerkes National Primate Research Center received $79 million, and the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing received $15 million.

Examples of Emory’s externally funded projects included the following: n Earning a comprehensive cancer center designation from the National Cancer Institute for Emory’s Winship Cancer Institute, reflecting its research, clinical trials, and population-based science. n Investigating improved post-transplant drug regimens for organ recipients through the Emory Transplant Center. n Studying 3q29 deletion syndrome, a genetic mutation associated with an increased risk for schizophrenia and other neuropsychiatric conditions. n Working to decrease HIV incidence and improve the well-being of infected individuals through continued support of the Emory Center for AIDS Research. n

The new threshold for high blood pressure begins at 130/80 mm Hg rather than 140/90. This adds 30 million adults to the ranks of those being treated with lifestyle changes or medicine for high blood pressure, for a total of 100 million—nearly half of all adults in the U.S. This earlier treatment might be good news for another reason, says geriatric neuropsychologist Felicia Goldstein, a professor in Emory’s Department of Neurology who believes that diseases like Alzheimer’s may be linked to high blood pressure.

“Hypertension may be a modifiable risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease, in contrast to other known risk factors such as advanced age, female gender, and family history,” she says. “Therefore, there is the ability to make lifestyle changes.”

Hypertension should be aggressively treated in young adults, given the strong evidence for a relationship between midlife hypertension and the risk for cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease in late life, she says. Goldstein recommends a personalized approach that addresses issues including psychosocial stressors, poor lifestyle habits, such as tobacco use, and the presence of other vascular comorbidities, such as diabetes and heart disease. n