Initiative aimed at producing patient-centered medicinal therapies wins first round of $300 million Grand Challenges research funding

The Precision Health Initiative, a broad-reaching proposal to develop patient-centered medicinal therapies, was announced Monday as the first funding recipient of Indiana University’s $300 million Grand Challenges Program.

Led by Associate Vice President for Clinical Affairs and IU School of Medicine Executive Associate Dean for Research Affairs Anantha Shekhar, the initiative will seek to cure at least one cancer and one childhood disease, as well as explore ways to prevent one chronic illness and one neurodegenerative disease.

The initiative includes faculty at the IU School of Medicine, IU Bloomington and Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, with team members working closely with business and industry partners such as Eli Lilly and Co., Roche Diagnostics, Cook Regentec, Deloitte, Regenstrief Institute and IU Health.

“Precision health and person-centered approaches to patient care will be the next paradigm shift for health care delivery, and likely the dominant new forces in training the next generation of graduates from health sciences schools,” said Shekhar, who is also co-founder of Anagin LLC, a company that seeks to treat post-traumatic stress disorder without producing harmful side effects, as well as traumatic brain injuries.

“The goal of precision medicine is to get the right prevention or treatment to the right patient at the right time, and this initiative will enable us to do that for Hoosiers across the state.”

The Grand Challenges program is the most ambitious research effort in IU’s 196-year history. Over five years, the program will invest up to $300 million to address some of the most urgent challenges facing Indiana and the world.

The Precision Health Initiative was among five finalist teams selected from 21 proposals from IU faculty members representing 29 schools on six IU campuses statewide. The initiative will receive up to $40 million in Grand Challenges funding, plus up to $80 million from the IU School of Medicine. The team expects to hire about 40 new, full-time faculty members, including at least 22 at the IU School of Medicine, 15 at IU Bloomington and two at IUPUI.

Read more about Monday’s announcement here.