Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

Keck Foundation to fund interdisciplinary research in brain disease, damage

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – A pioneering interdisciplinary research initiative that will combine neuroscience, chemistry and materials science in an effort to find new treatments for brain diseases and damage is being launched at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a $1.2 million grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation.

The grant supports a project called Neural Repair in the Microcircuit Domain, which is part of a Cross-Campus Initiative in PharmaEngineering™. The goal is to develop tools to understand and correct problems in brain circuitry such as those underlying mental retardation, degenerative diseases and neurochemical imbalances often associated with depression-related illnesses.

The neural repair grant brings together scientists from three departments: Jonathan V. Sweedler, a professor of chemistry and head of the Biotechnology Center; Martha U. Gillette, professor and head of cell and structural biology; and Ralph G. Nuzzo, professor of chemistry and director of the Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory.

The research will develop a fresh approach to the biological and chemical studies of the complex interaction of neurons in the brains, initially focusing on those found in giant mollusks, rats and mice, with the ultimate goal of identifying natural chemical signatures to restore proper wiring and functioning in malfunctioning brains.

The W.M. Keck Foundation, based in Los Angeles, is one of the nation’s largest philanthropic organizations. Established in 1954 by William Myron Keck, the founder of Superior Oil Co., the foundation provides funds primarily in the areas of medical research, science and engineering.

Read Next

Agriculture Graduate student Andrea Jimena Valdés-Alvarado, left, and food science professor Elvira Gonzalez de Mejia standing in the Edward R. Madigan Laboratory holding samples of the legume pulses they used in the study.

Fermenting legume pulses boosts their antidiabetic, antioxidant properties

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Food scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign identified the optimal fermentation conditions for pulses ― the dried edible seeds of legumes ― that increased their antioxidant and antidiabetic properties and their soluble protein content. Using the bacteria Lactiplantibacillus plantarum 299v as the microorganism, the team fermented pulses obtained from varying concentrations […]

Expert viewpoints Ukraine’s daring drone attack deep within Russia is significant but not war-redefining, and may hinder U.S. efforts to end the war, says University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign political science professor and international relations expert Nicholas Grossman.

Does Ukraine drone attack inside Russia augur new era of asymmetric warfare?

Champaign, Ill. — University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign political science professor Nicholas Grossman is the author of “Drones and Terrorism: Asymmetric Warfare and the Threat to Global Security” and specializes in international relations. Grossman spoke with News Bureau business and law editor Phil Ciciora about “Operation Spiderweb,” Ukraine’s expertly plotted drone attack inside the Russian mainland. […]

Behind the scenes Photo of a man with his leg lifted and his boot in the foreground, while another man in the foreground reacts.

Staging a fight

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A group of theatre students is gathered in a rehearsal room at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. They are each paired with a partner, and I watch as they shove each other in the chest, knee one another in the gut and then punch their […]

Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

507 E. Green St
MC-426
Champaign, IL 61820

Email: stratcom@illinois.edu

Phone (217) 333-5010