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Wayne State University President Irvin Reid joined Michigan House Democratic leader Kwame Kilpatrick and other state officials to announce that WSU may receive a $3 million state grant to support its bid to be the permanent home of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Perinatology Research Branch.

“This has been truly an effort where we benefited by staying close to our representatives in Lansing,” said Reid, explaining the government relations work that is so vital to securing funds for WSU. “With this $3 million good will gesture, Wayne State and Hutzel Hospital will have the opportunity to have a permanent institution,” he said referring to WSU’s pending NIH bid.

Dr. Reid drums up support for the PRB
in a WWJ radio interview.

The money, explained Reid, is contingent upon NIH selecting Hutzel as the permanent home of the Perinatology Research Branch (PRB) and will be used initially to renovate Wayne’s existing facilities. WSU has served as temporary home to the PRB for the last decade. Retaining the branch could bring upwards of $140 million in funding to Wayne State and the Detroit Medical Center over the next 10 years.

“We have a large and underserved minority population typically characterized by poor pregnancy outcomes and a large disparity in results from majority populations,” said School of Medicine Dean John Crissman, who explained that a large proportion of the mothers who participate in research at the NIH-sponsored research projects used drugs during pregnancy and received little or no prenatal care. Establishing this Perinatology Research Branch ensures that this population’s needs are met through world-class care that would be unavailable without these funds.

“In times of an economic downturn and massive slashes to the state budget, it becomes crucial that we don’t allow cuts to harm hard working families and children,” said Kilpatrick.

Being located on campus at Hutzel Hospital gives WSU’s perinatal research facility the distinction of being the only National Institutes of Health partner in an academic medical center. It is unique because it is not located at NIH in Bethesda, MD.

“The Perinatology Research Branch has helped Wayne State recruit outstanding clinicians and researchers devoted to improving pregnancy outcomes,” Dr. Crissman said. “Wayne’s facility will continue to be a world leader in pregnancy research.”

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Honors

Rounds

Continuing Medical Education

Women's Health Lecture Series