New organization shows intercampus collaboration for research

Researchers from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and the University of Missouri in Columbia have launched the first American Physiological Society chapter in Missouri.

The new APS chapter signifies increased collaboration among the University of Missouri System campuses, designed to bring more national research dollars to Missouri that could lead to better healthcare outcomes. The effort is part of the recently announced Interdisciplinary Intercampus Research Program.

Marco Brotto, Dale and Dorothy Thompson Missouri Endowed Professor of Research and director of the Muscle Biology Research Group (MUBIG) at the UMKC Schools of Nursing and Medicine, co-founded the chapter with Gerald Meininger, Margaret Proctor Mulligan Professor in Medical Research and director of the Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center at the University of Missouri in Columbia.

“The collaboration among campuses means the funding of new ideas and the potential cures of diseases,” Brotto said. “For example, one researcher discovers a new drug with the potential to treat a specific disease, but he or she does not know how to deliver that drug to the specific tissue that needs to be treated. But then a researcher on another campus has the delivery method.”

Meininger visited UMKC recently to present research highlights from MU’s Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center to MUBIG. His seminar on microscopy for studying vascular cell biology commemorated the launch of the new APS chapter.

The APS is considered the nation’s greatest authority on physiology, the biological study of the human body.

“Our main goal is to promote teaching and research,” Brotto said. “We want to engage with K-12 education, to show the beauty and honor of being and becoming a scientist to serve our nation and mankind.”

About the University of Missouri Muscle Biology Research Group (MUBIG)

The UMKC Muscle Biology Research Group (MUBIG) is an interdisciplinary team of researchers from the Schools of Nursing and Medicine, with collaborations in the Schools of Dentistry, Pharmacy and Computing and Engineering, seeking to make basic biologic discoveries about muscle function that can be translated from the lab bench to the bedside and into the community. The combined expertise in skeletal, cardiac and vascular smooth muscle represents a unique resource for the comprehensive study of muscle tissue in health and disease. Through the association with the UMKC Center of Excellence in Mineralized Tissues and Musculoskeletal Disease, MUBIG is investigating signaling pathways in skeletal, cardiac and vascular smooth muscle linked with decline in musculoskeletal function in aging, fatigue, obesity, diabetes, muscular dystrophies and cardiovascular disease.

About the University of Missouri-Kansas City
The University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC), one of four University of Missouri campuses, is a public university serving more than 15,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students. UMKC engages with the community and economy based on a four-part mission: life and health sciences; visual and performing arts; urban issues and education; and a vibrant learning and campus life experience. For more information about UMKC, visit http://www.umkc.edu/. You can also find us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and watch us on YouTube.

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