Grant Award Will Enable BSC to
Add Biomedical Research Faculty Member

Dr. Patrick Muldoon, Bluefield State College chemistry professor, inspects DNA analysis equipment, purchased by the College through a West Virginia Biomedical Research Infrastructure Network grant.

A substantial grant award will permit Bluefield State College to add a biomedical research faculty member to its Division of Arts & Sciences this fall.

Notification of the $102,000 grant from the Administrative Core of the West Virginia Biomedical Research Infrastructure Network (WV-BRIN) has been received by Dr. Patrick Muldoon, Associate Professor of Chemistry at BSC, providing up to $50,000 to hire the faculty member, along with $40,000 toward acquiring supplies and equipment, and $12,000 toward faculty search expenses.

"The WV-BRIN faculty grant delivers several advantages to the College," Dr. Muldoon noted. "It provides the support for adding a faculty member with a terminal degree, while creating a new source of income for the institution during a time when the College faces declining appropriations from traditional funding sources." Muldoon also praised BSC President Dr. Albert Walker and the College's Research & Development Corporation for their support of the initiative.

The College and the R&DC will provide the salary and fringe benefits funding for years two-through-four of the four-year commitment to underwrite the position.

"The supplies whose purchase will be underwritten by the grant will have multiple applications," Muldoon explained. "They will expand the College's ability to provide the latest training and education to our students in the sciences."

The new faculty member will be either a biochemist or cell biologist, according to the BSC chemistry professor. A separate WV-BRIN grant award in the amount of $23,000 has permitted the College to purchase equipment for the purpose of conducting DNA analysis. Interestingly, Dr. Todd Green from the Marshall University School of Medicine is scheduled to speak to BSC students about DNA analysis before the semester ends.

"Students' research opportunities will be enhanced," Muldoon added. "Students who conduct research develop a better understanding of the process and, as a result, expand their career options."

The grant creates additional opportunities, as well, according to Dr. James Voelker, BSC Arts & Sciences Division chair. "The WV-BRIN grant opens the option for our science faculty to become involved in research, if they desire to do so," Voelker said. "The new faculty member also may be able to help Applied Science majors develop and conduct their capstone research projects."

With the search process underway, College officials hope to have the new faculty member on board by mid-August.

May 5, 2003