# Modernization and Expansion of the University of Illinois at Chicago Animal-Based Research Program

> **NIH NIH C06** · UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO · 2021 · $6,749,090

## Abstract

Abstract
The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) has developed highly recognized programs in health disparity research
and is a national leader among urban, public institutions that provide care for diverse patient populations through
its hospital and community-based clinical systems. Our UIC research programs have developed around our
diverse populations and communities with a focus on understanding disease mechanisms, developing novel
therapeutics and refining clinical approaches that have relevance to our patient base. Our preclinical modeling
capability and laboratory animal research facilities now require expansion to link our research opportunities with
the capability to generate and characterize models of human disease that support our core mission areas. UIC
proposes to modernize and expand its animal-based research programs by performing critical renovations to the
Biologic Resources Laboratory (BRL), the institution’s centralized animal facility. The project will comprise
renovations and upgrades to essential elements of the heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) and
electrical systems in the BRL to increase housing capacity and accommodate growth in the institution’s murine-
based cancer and metabolic research programs. These include a patient-derived organoid and xenograft
modeling core that uses samples from underrepresented cancer patient populations and a new Metabolic
Disease Core to model health disparities in the treatment of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Such
modernization will also result in significant energy efficiencies. Overall, UIC BRL improvements will support
animal-based research and permit the expansion of our translational and clinical research programs in health
disparities and drug discovery. The long-term impact of the UIC BRL expansion will sustain our programs of
translational excellence in health disparities research and drug discovery while permitting the growth of our NIH-
funded population-based research programs (All of Us within the Illinois Precision Medicine Consortium, UIC
Institute for Minority Health Research, and our CTSA-supported Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences)
and our UI Cancer Center. This expansion will also impact the research programs of our regional partners who
rely upon our facilities, cores and capability in animal research. Finally, our entrepreneurship-based strategic
plan and for-profit partnerships to drive drug discovery initiatives have also compelled the expansion of our
animal-based preclinical modeling capabilities.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10374588
- **Project number:** 1C06OD032081-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO
- **Principal Investigator:** Joanna Louise Groden
- **Activity code:** C06 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $6,749,090
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-09-20 → 2026-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10374588

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10374588, Modernization and Expansion of the University of Illinois at Chicago Animal-Based Research Program (1C06OD032081-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-11 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10374588. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*