“It draws a lot more attention to the programs that we have and that we’re developing here,” Kennedy said.
The center, which currently has 20 undergraduate and four doctoral students, has 10 years of research experience on the Protein Structure Initiative.
They also have been involved in metabonomics research in recent years with children’s hospitals in Ohio, discovering biological markers, which can predict which people will be susceptible to disease, and be used for early detection and to monitor how treatment is working, Kennedy said.
“We can use all of this expertise and experience to offer as a resource to all the state,” said Kennedy, who is now in his fourth year at Miami as a professor of chemistry and biochemistry.
“We hope that our capabilities in both of those areas would be valuable to other institutions,” Kennedy said.
The center at Miami has one of the top metabonomics facilities in the world, said James Oris, associate dean for research and scholarship and professor of zoology at Miami.
“This recognition will help us to advance and accelerate the pace of biomedical research in Ohio,” Oris said. “Further, it helps to establish our center as a world-class site for medical researchers and collaborators who have a need and interest in research related to children’s diseases.”
Kennedy and his team are now working to secure more research grants for the center with other academic institutions and medical researchers at regional hospitals, and in recruiting more undergraduate and graduate students into these fields of study.
Contact this reporter at (513) 523-4139 or mengle@coxohio.com.
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