Louisiana med center awarded $20 million research grant

Officials say a $20 million federal grant has been awarded to a clinical and translational science center in Louisiana to help facilitate collaborative and biomedical research.

The Louisiana Clinical and Translational Science Center will be using the five-year grant to fund infrastructure and chronic disease research across academic institutions in the state. William Cefalu, principal investigator at the center, said the infrastructure will help expand clinical trials among the eight academic, research and health care institutions that make up the science center.

He said the center will likely focus their research on chronic diseases prevalent in the state, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity.

Cefalu said the grant will be a "game changer" for the state in creating a network of medical research partners.