Med School: New researchers attract grants

By: Elsie Puig / Staff Writer
Boxes of unopened laboratory equipment still stack Dr. Rita Mukhopadhyay’s office in the Health and Life Sciences building and, in her first month at the University, she has focused her energies in acquiring the necessary approvals and federal regulation standards to conduct research with human pathogens.

Mukhopadhyay is part of a group of qualified researchers in the fields of reproductive endocrinology and environmental toxicology selected to act as mentors and educators in the new College of Medicine.

“When we were reviewing the applicant pool we aimed on recruiting independent scientists who not only held national and international recognition, but who had a track record of attracting grant money so they would be bringing in dollars to the campus,” said Dr. Joe Leigh Simpson, executive associate dean of Academic Affairs, who was largely involved in the recruitment process.

Others selected include Dr. Georg Petrpianu, Dr. Barry Rosen, Dr. C.V Rao, and more will soon join the team, according to Simpson.

Established medical schools with experienced researchers on staff often hire young scientists, but according to Simpson, the new FIU College of Medicine sought out seasoned individuals that could act as the founding faculty.

Mukhopadhyay, who has been at the University since the beginning of December, explained that one of her reasons for pursuing research in FIU was the economy.

“These days, because the economic situation is really bad, in a lot of medical schools emphasis on funding research is going down, but FIU [made] research [a] priority,” Mukhopadhyay said.

She agrees that extramural funding for research is crucial for medical schools.

Amid a swelling budget crisis, a steady track record of attracting grant money means that funding for research and supplies will not come from FIU’s pocket but from the scientists themselves. These grants provide some sort of relief in tough economic times.

“Research is really expensive. Not only do we already come with the necessary equipment, but part of our salary is supported by this grant money, which means you are helping the school which can use that money for something else,” Mukhopadhyay said.

Mukhopadhyay, who joined the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Infectious Disease after thirteen years of research in Wayne State University School of Medicine, is an experienced parasitologist who works with leishmania, a human pathogen common in the Middle East often infecting American Military personnel stationed there.

In order to start her experiments with leishmania, Mukhopadhyay needs to get clearance for her laboratory by being approved by the Institutional BioSafety Committee.

“In a post 9/11 era, there lots of issues regarding experimenting with a human pathogen and, since my incubators are there, anyone can potentially take a flask and run,” Mukhopadhyay said. “It is one of the things that I think comes from joining a new college of medicine, I had about two hundred people who have access to my laboratory facilities which I need to restrict access to.”

Even though Mukhopadhyay has spent the beginning of her work at the University taking care of protocol, she is happy to be here and ready to start settling herself into the halls of a new College of Medicine.

“I think these researchers are excited to be part of a process,” Simpson said. “In older schools work would not be as exciting.”