Penn State just received a $20 million grant from the National Institute of Health to help accelerate scientific research in order to improve public health. The grant, which is formally referred to as the Clinical and Translational Science Award, will be spread across Penn State, Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, and the Penn State College of Medicine.

The money will allow the Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute to advance Penn State public health. The institute was founded in 2007 and has worked nonstop along with two other institutes in Pennsylvania to use expertise to make a difference in the health of students.

The grant will generally be used in the CTSI’s already extensive research department, the main goal being to expand its service as a powerhouse for diverse health research at Penn State. The plan is to foster more connections within the institution and community to help speed up new discoveries within the lab. The grant will also provide the CTSI with institutional training programs for faculty, staff, and students. Additionally, the award will help to create support for pilot projects to explore new research and the development of bioinformatics infrastructure for researchers to analyze large amounts of data to aid in the prediction and prevention of diseases.

Penn State is known for being one of our nation’s premier research universities. In order to remain competitive, Penn State spends roughly $800 million each year on research. Hopefully this grant will continue to propel Penn State forward as a pioneer in research.