© happysteve

Four St. louis area schools have announced the founding of the St. Louis Institute of Nanomedicine Working Group.

"By bringing together skills and expertise from several area institutions, the institute will promote joint research projects and permit sharing of equipment and other resources," according to Nanowerk News. "Washington University, the University of Missouri-St. Louis, Saint Louis University and St. Louis Community College are among the founding members of the new institute."

"The new St. Louis Institute of Nanomedicine Working Group received $1.5 million for three years from the Missouri Life Sciences Research Fund, part of the 1998 state tobacco settlement," according to the St. Louis Business Journal. "The grant, issued in December, will fund about four pilot projects each year that will conduct research and train undergraduate and graduate students in the field."

"The institute will assemble a broad base of regional expertise in nanotechnology, medicine, technology transfer and education to create novel solutions to complex health-care problems," says Samuel A. Wickline, M.D., who heads the Siteman Center of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence at Washington University. "It will be an inclusive, open network that will cultivate research and improve the ability to translate scientific discoveries into practical applications."

The press release is here.