Shiguang Yu, assistant professor of immunology at the Arkansas Biosciences Institute at Arkansas State University, has been awarded a $1.7 million research grant from the National Institutes of Health.
The research project grant program (R01) is the original and oldest grant mechanism used by NIH. The R01 grant supports a specified project by an investigator in an area representing the investigator’s specific interest and competencies. It is the most esteemed investigator research award used by NIH and the most prestigious research award.
“This first NIH R01 award to A-State provides further recognition of the quality of our faculty and the research they are able to produce,” Andy Sustich, vice provost for research and graduate studies, said in a news release. “The R01 grant review is a rigorous process with review by highly regarded scientists and we are very proud of Dr. Yu’s achievement in being awarded this grant.”
“We are enthusiastic about this project and look forward to start working,” Yu said in the release. “This project will provide more opportunities for undergraduate students and graduate students at A-State to conduct important biomedical research.”
The $1.7 million grant, distributed over a five-year period, is designated for Yu to continue to study mechanisms leading to development of autoimmune diseases. Jing Chen, is a co-investigator in this project.
Yu’s research focuses on understanding how dysfunctional immune cells mediate autoimmune inflammation. The long-term goal is to find novel therapeutic targets for intervention on autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis.
Yu will involve undergraduate and graduate ASU students in his research to perform cell and molecular biology experiments pertaining to this study. This provides ASU students with the opportunity to perform research-learning, cutting-edge techniques to help treat autoimmune diseases.
Read more about Yu’s research here.
