Foundation of UMDNJ Awards $1 Million In Research Grants

Forty-four faculty members from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey received a total of $1 million in research grants this year from the Foundation of UMDNJ as part of its Annual Grants Program.

The program is funded by investment income earned on board-designated funds held by the New Jersey Health Foundation, Inc.  This year, New Jersey Health Foundation earned 10.4 percent on its investments, bringing its three year annualized rate of return to 12.8 percent.  The Foundation of UMDNJ is an affiliate of New Jersey Health Foundation.

Since its establishment in 1974, the Foundation of UMDNJ has provided funding for an annual grants program exclusively for University faculty needs in research and educational enrichment/educational technology. Sandra Brown Sherman, Esq., secretary of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees and a partner in the law firm Riker, Danzig, Scherer, Hyland & Perretti, LLP, served as chair of the 2006 committee.
 “We are proud to be able to support these outstanding scientists as they positively impact the future of healthcare for all of us,” Ms. Sherman explained.

This year the Foundation awarded more money to more researchers than ever before.  Awards ranged from $7,000 - $35,000 each and are matched by other funding sources.   Recipients apply for the grants through the deans of their schools, who then make recommendations to a committee responsible for the final selections.

A critical aspect of the program is the provision of seed and bridge research grants to new faculty who are on the path to breakthrough discoveries.  Many of the researchers who receive these awards can then go on to win external funding from outside organizations such as the National Institutes of Health. 

Recipients of the awards this year were faculty from The Cancer Institute of New Jersey, the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Jersey Medical School, New Jersey Dental School, the School of Nursing, the School of Health Related Professions, the School of Public Health and the School of Osteopathic Medicine.

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