Davids Announces Federal Grants to Improve Research at the University of Kansas Medical Center

Today, Representative Sharice Davids announced the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded the University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC) with more than $1,350,000 to boost research capabilities in Kansas’ Third Congressional District. The three projects being awarded work to decrease deaths due to lung disease, investigate the causes of oral birth defects, and uncover solutions to limit the transmission of Lyme disease. KUMC is one of the top 36 public research universities in the country.

"We are lucky to have such a widely respected and advanced medical research center in our region, and I'm glad to help increase their research capabilities with these new federal resources," said Davids. "The three studies being awarded will further contribute to medical research breakthroughs at the University of Kansas Medical Center, keeping our community and the entire country healthy."

“Government funding of science is critically important to discoveries, both now and in the future,” said Matthias Salathe, M.D., Vice Chancellor for Research, University of Kansas Medical Center. “We appreciate Congresswoman Davids’ support as researchers across KU Medical Center seek to answer questions about disease and genetic conditions—in this case, Lyme disease, chronic lung disease and cleft palate.”

The federal grants announced today support three specific research projects at the University of Kansas Medical Center:

• Lung Diseases Research - $894,333
  • The federal resources will be used to identify structure and function abnormalities in the lung that lead to lung disease, which is a leading cause of disability and death often due to late detection.
• Allergy, Immunology, and Transplantation Research - $232,500
  • The federal resources will be used to enhance the public’s knowledge of Lyme disease transmissions to improve strategies for diagnosing, preventing, and treating Lyme disease and other similar infections of global impact.
• Oral Diseases and Disorders Research - $232,500
  • The federal resources will be used to investigate specific genetic mutations that lead to structural birth defects, including cleft palates, that can have significant, lifelong implications on eating and speaking.

Davids has worked to support the University of Kansas Medical Center’s life-saving research and medical treatment since being sworn into Congress. She successfully advocated for the purchase of advanced CT and MRI machines at the Hoglund Biomedical Imaging Center, a research-based imaging facility on KUMC's campus. Davids also announced federal resources to improve youth mental health through expanded primary care clinician training at KUMC and to prepare children in Wyandotte County for life inside and outside of the classroom through programs focusing on early learning, health, and family well-being.