WASHINGTON — Today, Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski announced that the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign will receive $1.25 million in federal grant funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The funding comes through the Department’s National Institutes of Health and will support research related to addiction and drug misuse.

“The University of Illinois is one of our nation’s leading research institutions – and stands at the forefront of medical, agricultural and engineering innovation,” said Congresswoman Budzinski, a graduate of the University of Illinois.“Today, I’m proud to announce that $1.25 million in federal funding is headed to support drug addiction research through the University’s spectrometer program. This funding will allow scientists from across the world to participate in cutting-edge bioanalytical chemistry research right here in our community.” 

“Professor Sweedler is one of the nation’s most accomplished analytical chemists, and his work to understand the neural mechanisms of addiction has profound implications for understanding and treating drug abuse,” said Susan Martinis, Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. “We were delighted to learn that the National Institutes of Health will support this work—and the work of other NIH researchers across the country—with funding for this powerful, cutting-edge research instrumentation that will advance scientific understanding of cellular behavior.”

The federal funding will be used for the installation of a high-end mass spectrometer which will provide faculty with the ability to perform single cell and tissue imaging experiments. As one of only a few locations in the country capable of doing this research, this grant paired with the unique expertise of the University of Illinois faculty will generate advances for the entire chemistry community.