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| Wilson Secures $921,000 for a New Emerging Infectious Diseases Center at the UNM School of Medicine |
December 21, 2000 |
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| ALBUQUERQUE, NM — Congresswoman Heather Wilson was joined by Dr. Paul Roth, Dean of the UNM School of Medicine and researchers from UNM at a press conference today to announce the approval of her request for $921,000 in federal funds for a new Emerging Infectious Diseases Center at the UNM School of Medicine.
“Since its work on the Hantavirus, UNM has become nationally known for its ability to rapidly identify new infectious diseases,” said Wilson. “This center with strengthen the school’s ability to do this rapid research for the nation.”
The new center will increase the School of Medicine’s collaboration with Sandia National Labs, Los Alamos National Labs and the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute in the field of emerging diseases. The center will combine advanced genetic technology with the power of supercomputers to produce diagnostic techniques so powerful that doctors could detect the presence of a disease before a patient develops the first symptoms. The center will develop innovative systems to detect, understand and prevent emerging epidemics by working at the intersection of public health and cutting-edge research.
“With this much needed support, School of Medicine scientists will seek ways to rapidly identify highly contagious diseases early on, resulting in many lives being saved each year,” said Dr. Paul Roth.
For many years before the hantavirus outbreak, UNM faculty, staff and students had been conducting a variety of research, patient care and public service activities that positioned UNM to respond rapidly when the disease struck. Virtually no other organization in the country could have responded so quickly and effectively to the challenges posed by the sudden outbreak.
UNM scientists now provide the same kind of quick analysis to patients and physicians around the world as they discover new varieties of hantavirus. Since the mid-1990s, UNM has provided invaluable consultation and assistance to several foreign countries encountering hantavirus epidemics for the first time. Scientists in UNM’s infectious diseases and inflammation program have achieved similar acclaim for their research on other emerging diseases such as hepatitis, HIV, asthma and human papillomavirus infection.
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