Adriana Beltran, PhD, Associate Professor of Genetics and Director of the Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Core, was awarded a Faculty Research Support Grant, formerly known as a PIVOT award, for $20,000 from the Department of Genetics, which was evenly matched by both the School of Medicine Office of Research, and the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center (LCCC) for a total of $60,000.
Under this award, Dr. Beltran will develop the technology to engineer vascularized brain organoids, which can then be used to study human brain development, dissect disease-specific mechanisms and search for potential cell therapies for neurological disorders.
Faculty Research Support Grants are directly awarded through the Department of Genetics. This grant is intended to support faculty members’ in obtaining external funding whether that is the collection of preliminary data to explore a new area of research, support a project in a funding transition period, or respond to reviewer concerns in a previously submitted proposal. The funds can be used for non-faculty salaries, supplies, core services, or equipment. More information and the application for this grant can be found here, on the Department’s intranet for faculty. Contact Sarah Schoenrock with questions related to Faculty Research Support Grant.