UAMS awarded $10.5 million for national research

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) has received a five-year, $10.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop biomarkers for all human diseases including cancer through the IDeA National Resource for Quantitative Proteomics.

The grant awarded by the NIH’s National Institute of General Medical Sciences supports ongoing efforts to make highly advanced protein analysis known as proteomics available to biomedical researchers nationwide.

This latest award brings the total federal investment in the UAMS center to more than $20 million since its founding in 2020.

Led by Alan Tackett, Ph.D., deputy director of the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the national resource is the only NIH-funded proteomics service provider in the U.S. Located at the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the resource provides the most advanced, cost-effective quantitative analysis of proteins to any NIH-supported investigator performing biomedical research in the country.

“Our staff is one of the most skilled in the country in collecting, interpreting and analyzing complex biological data in support of developing new diagnostics and therapies for dozens of diseases, including cancer,” said Tackett, who also serves as executive associate dean for Basic Research at UAMS, holds the Scharlau Family Endowed Chair for Cancer Research, and is a distinguished professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in the UAMS College of Medicine.

“The study of proteins using proteomics is at the core of nearly all biomedical research and often serves as the first step in discovering new disease biomarkers or drug targets,” he said.

Proteomics is the large-scale study of proteins — the molecules responsible for nearly all biological processes. Understanding how proteins function or malfunction allows researchers to identify new drug targets, diagnostic tools and treatment strategies for diseases such as cancer.

“Cancer often occurs in the behavior or misbehavior of proteins that drive tumor growth,” Tackett said. “Proteomics helped identify key targets like HER2 in breast cancer, which led to the development of multiple lifesaving therapies. Our goal is to continue making these breakthroughs possible for many other diseases.”

Since its inception, the IDeA National Resource for Quantitative Proteomics at UAMS has grown from a regional operation to a fully established national resource that now supports investigators in all 50 states plus Puerto Rico.

Over the past five years, the resource has:

• Served more than 2,000 researchers nationwide;
• Analyzed approximately 50,000 samples;
• Supported about 500 NIH grants totaling nearly $200 million;
• Enabled over 100 scientific publications; and
• Provided approximately 500 education, internship and training opportunities for faculty, students and research staff.

The national resource also serves as a shared core facility for the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, supporting dozens of Cancer Institute researchers focused on cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

With the renewed funding, the UAMS team plans to expand national access to state-of-the-art proteomics technology and strengthen education, training and outreach efforts. These initiatives ensure equitable access to advanced biomedical tools for researchers across the U.S.