A University of Hawai'i institute that gained fame for its cloning of mice has won $10.5 million from the National Institutes of Health to strengthen its research capabilities and make it nationally competitive in the study of reproductive biology.

The Institute for Biogenesis Research at the John A. Burns School of Medicine will receive the money over a five-year period and use the funds to support a Center for Biomedical Research Excellence within the institute. Money will help fund the research work of five junior faculty members along with the development of a facility for transgenic mice, or those whose genes have been altered.

The grant is expected to enhance the institute's capabilities and build on the work by Dr. Ryuzo Yanagimachi, one of the University of Hawai'i's most distinguished scientists. Yanagimachi has worked in reproductive science for four decades and is perhaps best known as the first person to clone a mouse. In 1999, a year after his cloning breakthrough, Yanagimachi produced the first transgenic mice.

The award was one of five announced by NIH yesterday and is part of a program to strengthen biomedical research capabilities in states that haven't historically received significant levels of NIH research funding.

Dr. W. Steven Ward, principal investigator at the institute, said the award is significant in that it is the first time the institute has been funded as a center instead of individuals getting grants on their own. Moreover, it will help faculty do more reproductive biology research, something that will help in getting further grants, he said.

"It's a real shot in the arm for us," Ward said. "The whole purpose of this grant is to set up these junior investigators so they can become very competitive and get their own research grants."

Various aspects of reproduction will be studied by the investigators, in the hopes that findings will help improve patient care and therapies. The Transgenic Mouse Facility will use the institute's genetic discoveries to produce gene-altered mice for biomedical researchers pursuing cures for diseases.

"This is an example of a key translational research opportunity in Hawai'i where scientific breakthroughs can lead to better patient care," said Dr. Jerris Hedges, school of medicine dean.

"In this case we can use this knowledge to enhance fertility and help understand the earliest stages of growth and development."

The NIH award is the third for the medical school under the Center for Biomedical Research Excellence program. Of the two others, one focuses on cardiovascular diseases and the other on infectious diseases.

The grant also builds on early funding for the institute provided by the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation, the Kosasa Foundation, the Eugene C. Kincaid Estate, the Victoria and Bradley Geist Foundation and the Hawai'i Community Foundation.