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2000
Press Releases
Maine
Medical Center Research Institute Awarded $10.6 Million
Research Grant
(October 26, 2000)
Background Information
The Maine Medical Center Research Institute recently
learned it will receive $10.6 million to study angiogenesis,
the process by which new blood vessels grow. Findings
from the research will be useful in developing treatment
options for cardiac-and eventually cancer-patients.
The grant, which is among the largest ever awarded to
a research facility in Maine, comes from the National
Institutes of Health as part of an effort to establish
a Center of Biomedical Research Excellence in Maine.
Thomas Maciag, Ph.D., who leads the Institute's Center
for Molecular Medicine, will serve as the project director
and lead scientist.
According to MMCRI's Director Dr. E.J. Lovett III,
"this award is a perfect fit with the Institute's primary
mission, which is the study of cardiovascular (heart)
disease. As science better understands the way in which
the human body controls the growth of new blood vessels,
it will further medicine's ability to treat heart disease
and cancer."
While Maine Medical Center is already well known in
Northern New England for its preeminent cardiovascular
surgery program, the MMCRI is rapidly gaining similar
levels of recognition. Established by Maine Medical
Center in 1991 as another means of addressing the health
needs of Maine's residents, the research component is
one of the characteristics differentiating tertiary
care centers from other hospitals.
"Maine Medical Center's commitment to the study of
disease through the Research Institute is quite impressive,"
said Lovett. "Not only has it enabled us to assemble
in Maine a team of high quality researchers, including
world-class scientists such as Maciag, but it extends
to the construction of a new, state-of-the-art laboratory
on the Medical Center's Scarborough campus."
Angiogenesis is the formation of blood vessels in a
tissue. The process is necessary for many of the body's
activities, such as tissue repair, following injury
or tumor growth. Information learned through the project
will help scientists understand how two specific families
of proteins, FGF1 and Jagged1, work together to regulate
the angiogenic process. This knowledge will be directly
applicable to the repair of heart muscle in humans afflicted
with heart disease.
Tom Maciag is one of the pioneers in the field of angiogenesis.
"He is internationally renowned for his work," said
Lovett. "When he joined MMCRI in 1997 he brought with
him the highest of scientific credentials." Lovett believes
that both Maciag's background and interest within the
research community concerning the angiogenesis project
will serve as a magnet for attracting additional scientists
to MMCRI. This should serve the Institute well as it
seeks additional research staff during the course of
this project.
Assisting Maciag in the project's efforts are five
principal investigators, each of whom is responsible
for a discrete portion of the overall effort. They include:
Robert Friesel, Ph.D.; Lucy Liaw, Ph.D.; Volkhard Lindner,
M.D., Ph.D.; Douglas Spicer, Ph.D.; and Calvin Vary,
Ph.D.
MMCRI, currently located in South Portland, will be
relocating to a new research facility at the Medical
Center's campus in Scarborough. With approximately 110
employees, the Institute's primary focus is on cardiovascular
disease, although it has additional projects underway
studying both cancer and bone & mineral disease.
The Institute expects to initiate this NIH program in
October.
"This award is very prestigious, and will in all likelihood
lead to additional funding and recognition for this
project, the investigators, and the Research Institute,"
said Lovett. The Medical Center is also in the midst
of a $4 million fundraising effort to purchase new equipment
for the MMCRI laboratory, as well as aid in the recruiting
of additional scientists. So far they have raised just
over $1 million of that goal.
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