Cohen Announces $590K for Research at University of Tennessee Health Science Center

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN-9) today announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has awarded the University of Tennessee Health Science Center three grants worth $590,428. Two grants worth $220,792 and $74,792 will be used to expand research into neurological disorders and will be distributed by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). The third grant – worth $294,844 – will be used for aging research and will be distributed by the National Institute on Aging (NIA).

“The University of Tennessee Health Science Center is one of the best research hospitals in the world,” said Congressman Cohen. “Research helps saves lives. These new federal funds will help so many people across Memphis, Tennessee and the rest of the country who are suffering from neurological disorders and illnesses related to aging.”

As part of the Department of Health and Human Services, NINDS’ mission is to “reduce the burden of neurological disease -- a burden borne by every age group, by every segment of society, by people all over the world.” This research will provide vital scientific research since “neurological disorders strike an estimated 50 million Americans each year, exacting an incalculable personal toll and an annual economic cost of hundreds of billions of dollars in medical expenses and lost productivity.”

NIA, one of the 27 Institutes and Centers of the National Institutes of Health, leads a broad scientific effort to understand the nature of aging and to extend the healthy, active years of life. In 1974, Congress granted authority to form NIA to provide leadership in aging research, training, health information dissemination, and other programs relevant to aging and older people. Subsequent amendments to this legislation designated the NIA as the primary federal agency on Alzheimer’s disease research.