New $11.2 million grant to help K-State continue neuroscience endeavor

MANHATTAN, Kan. (WIBW) - A new $11.2 million grant will help Kansas State University in its endeavor to better understand the human brain.

Kansas State University says its Cognitive and Neurobiological Approaches to Plasticity Center, or CNAP, will continue its important neuroscience-related research thanks to an $11.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.

K-State said the second phase of the grant is part of the Centers for Biomedical Research Excellence, or COBRE, program and build on the research from phase 1 - which started in July 2017 with a $10.6 million COBRE grant that established CNAP.

The University noted that the phase 2 grant will fund the next 5 years of CNAP research on plasticity - the way the brain changes over time. It sand CNAP is a statewide effort led by the university which also involves the University of Kansas and Wichita State University.

At K-State, staff said CNAP involves interdisciplinary researchers from the College of Arts and Sciences, the Carl R. Ice College of Engineering, the College of Health and Human Sciences and the College of Veterinary Medicine.

“Receipt of the phase II COBRE award is a fantastic achievement for the CNAP center,” said Kimberly Kirkpatrick, university distinguished professor of psychological sciences and CNAP director. “We will be using the funds to continue to support junior faculty development and make significant infrastructure upgrades to core facilities to support cutting-edge neuroscience techniques.”

K-State the grant will help CNAP continue to:

Promote neuroplasticity research by supporting junior faculty
Establish a critical mass of investigators in this area of research to compete for external funding
Support and improve research infrastructure for neuroplasticity research

The University also noted that the second phase funds will help with three new research projects which continue to expand on three research core facilities - including the Behavioral Neuroscience Core, the Cognitive Neuroscience Core and the Neuroinformatics Core. The funds will also help operate the pilot grant program and strengthen connections with other research centers and organizations through scientific exchange networks.

For more information about the researchers and projects, click HERE.