UNM’s Health Sciences Center received $4.7 million in funding increases in 2015, according to a UNM HSC press release.
This year, the HSC has received $160,753,570 for different research projects, according to the statement.
“Since 1998, HSC has more than tripled its research grants and contracts, from $45 million to more than $160 million,” according to the statement. "These federal research dollars, primarily obtained from foundations, private industry and federal sources, provide a significant economic impact in New Mexico."
Richard Larson, HSC executive vice chancellor and vice president for research, attributed the success of HSC teams in getting funding to their ability to carry out versatile research and develop specialized research projects and proposals.
“The robust research ethic at the HSC has a long history of growth, innovation and scientific breakthroughs critical to improving health care in New Mexico,” the statement quoted Larson. “We are unique among health care providers in New Mexico, generating discoveries and breakthroughs that have led to economic growth, social improvement and improved health – but most importantly, hope – for all New Mexicans.”
The HSC holds the honor of being one of only 29 institutions nationally that has obtained two of the National Institutes of Health’s most prestigious awards: an NIH-funded Clinical and Translational Sciences Center, and a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center, according to the press release.
The HSC research enterprise also serves 350 different communities in New Mexico by enrolling people in the clinical trials for treatments of diseases like cancer, HIV, and Hepatitis-C.
“UNM’s HSC has achieved scientific breakthroughs in diabetes, cancer, multiple sclerosis, asthma, brain trauma and numerous other diseases through basic discoveries in laboratories, new drugs and clinical tests in our hospitals, and improved healthcare delivery in our communities,” according to the press release.
