Foundation’s Research Awards Pass $3 Million Mark

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Disbursements from the Focused Ultrasound Foundation’s Research Awards Program passed the $3 million mark this month with the selection of two new funding recipients. (See chart for details.)

Since its launch in September 2007, the Research Awards program has become a major and increasingly competitive source of financial support for pioneering focused ultrasound studies. To date, the program has provided nearly $3.2 million in funding to 31 projects exploring applications ranging from uterine fibroids, pelvic disease and knee osteoarthritis to cancers of the brain, breast, head, liver, neck and prostate.

The goal of the Research Awards Program has been to accelerate development of focused ultrasound applications by tapping the power of financial and informational leverage. The program provides “seed money” that enables researchers to generate the data needed to qualify for large, follow-on grants from organizations like the National Institutes of Health. It also encourages recipients to publish and present their data so others in the scientific community can learn from and build upon their work.

Metrics for the Research Awards Program show that its “seed money” investments are generating solid returns. Twenty-one projects are now complete, and their principal investigators have so far leveraged $2.16 million in Foundation funding into $10.7 million in follow-on grants. Data from 81% of completed projects has been published in peer-reviewed journals, and details of all completed projects have been presented at scientific meetings.

2013 Focused Ultrasound Foundation Research Awards

Study title Funding Category& Amount Principal Investigator Location

Safety and Efficacy of Focused Ultrasound for Treatment of Low Back Pain Related to Sacroiliitis

Clinical$100,00

Lynn Kohan, MD

University of Virginia, USA

Metastable Perfluorocarbon Nanodroplets for Enhanced HIFU Ablation

High Risk$100,000

Paul Dayton, PhD

University of North Carolina, USA