Scripps gets $22.5 million to explore health threats

The new grant research will be led by SRI researcher Richard Ulevitch.SRI

The Scripps Research Institute, which last year won a Nobel Prize for its work in immunology, has been awarded $22.5 million to lead a team exploring the immune system, especially the body's fast and vigorous response to potential threats like microbes.

The federal grant will support a group of researchers that includes Bruce Beutler, a University of Texas scientist who was at SRI last October when he was awarded the Nobel in physiology or medicine for his work in immunology. Stanford University and the Seattle Biomedical Research Institute also are part of the new SRI grant.

SRI is taking a different approach to exploring immunology. Instead of looking at one or two genes and proteins at a time, scientists are looking at many genes and proteins to try to understand how the body's immune responses work as a system. The approach is known as systems biology.

The grant's principal investigator, Richard Ulevitch, said in a statement, "I’m delighted the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has decided to continue supporting this important research. Since the initiative began 10 years ago, the consortium has made seminal contributions to the field. Now, thanks to the new funding, there are more discoveries to come.”


