Posted on November 8, 2005 at 10:05 a.m.
BIRMINGHAM, AL — The Civitan International Foundation has awarded a $920,000 grant to the UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham) Civitan International Research Center (CIRC). The funds represent Civitan International’s ongoing commitment to funding UAB research and treatment in the area of developmental disabilities.
In particular, Civitan organizations in the Huntsville area and in the Chesapeake Bay region of Maryland and Virginia have made major contributions to research programs at UAB.
Since 2002, the Civitan Chesapeake District Foundation has contributed $1.5 million to the CIRC, including $900,000 for the establishment of a pediatric functional MRI imaging and research facility.
This year, three Huntsville-area Civitan Clubs joined together to contribute $83,000 to support research and treatment of developmental disabilities. All Civitan Clubs and district funds contributed to the UAB CIRC are coordinated through Civitan International Foundation.
In addition, two UAB scientists have been named 2005-2006 McNulty Civitan Scientist Award recipients. Lucas Pozzo-Miller, Ph.D., assistant professor of neurobiology, and Bart Hodgens, Ph.D., clinical psychologist at the CIRC, share the award this year. The McNulty Civitan Scientist award was created last year in memory of Tommy McNulty, a Maryland man who had Down syndrome.
The UAB CIRC is the flagship project of Civitan International, which has contributed more than $13 million to research programs at the center since its founding in 1990.
Some of that funding will establish a new program to reward and recognize young, upcoming scientists and clinicians. The Program for Emerging Scholars in Developmental Disabilities supports innovation and research by doctoral candidates and post-doctoral trainees. Four grants of $25,000 each have been awarded for 2005-2006.
“We have a renewed focus on developmental disabilities and mental retardation at CIRC, and these grants will help support and foster the next generation of researchers in the field,” said Center Director Harald Sontheimer, Ph.D. “Funds made available through the Civitan International Foundation afford us the opportunity to recognize and reward innovative work by these young scientists in developmental disabilities education, service and research.”
The Emerging Scholars Award recipients are doctoral candidates Maria Hopkins Lifespan Developmental Psychology Program; Jennifer Larimore Department of Neurobiology; and Ken Walls, Department of Pathology; and postdoctoral fellow Hua Yu Sun, Ph.D., Department of Neurobiology.
The Civitan International Research Center works to improve the well-being and quality of life of individuals and families affected by mental retardation and developmental disabilities through basic and clinical research, exemplary clinical services and programs and education.