Dr. Cory Brooks and his colleagues are a step closer to creating a facility at Fresno State where researchers from across the California State University system and the greater community can measure protein interactions.

Thanks to a $242,073 grant from the National Institutes of Health, Brooks and three other Fresno State biochemistry faculty were able to acquire a surface plasmon resonance instrument platform. Think of it as a fancy laser system with a prism, Brooks said. A sample is placed on the surface, a light shines through it and the reflected light intensity is measured.

The award was one of 434 grants and contracts that Fresno State received during the 2023-24 academic year for a total of $78.3 million, setting another research and grant funding record for the sixth consecutive year.

That’s a 10.8% increase in funding over the previous year to support academic research, provide internship opportunities, offer mentorship programs, purchase equipment and more.

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Brooks, who has taught biochemistry at Fresno State since 2013, specializes in researching antibodies for treating pancreatic cancer. In the past, he has had to collaborate with other universities and institutions to measure protein interactions.

“Now, we can bring that capability here. That’s very exciting,” Brooks said. “These instruments have been around for a long time but most of the instruments have very expensive maintenance associated with them. This one, because of the design, requires basically zero maintenance, so it’s perfect for undergraduate research.”

Brooks added that “this instrument is heavily used in biotech … we can train students how to use it, and the theory behind it, in the teaching lab or in the research labs and that could be a valuable skill for students who want to go work in biotech.”

Notable Grants Last Year

The grants awarded to Fresno State varied in amounts and came from a variety of nationally known federal, state and private agencies. Among the notable grants and contracts from the past year are:

• $5 million from the Mellon Foundation to the College of Arts and Humanities to design, implement and scale an internship program for humanities majors that will allow them to put theories learned during coursework into practice.
• $200,000 from the Andrew Carnegie Fellowship to political science professor Dr. Lisa Bryant, who was named as one of 28 Andrew Carnegie Fellows. The stipend is to be used for research related to political polarization.
• $226,951 for continued funding from the California Department of Health Care Services to Fresno Family Counseling Center’s Mentored Internship Program. The counseling center provides services to Fresno County residents and is a training program for Fresno State’s Marriage, Family, and Child Counseling program.

In 2022, Fresno State earned an R2 designation as a “Doctoral University – High Research Activity” by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, highlighting a significant commitment to growing research activities at Fresno State.

“I am energized by the remarkable strides our institution continues to make in research productivity. As an R2 institute, our dynamic faculty, staff, administrators and innovative students are driving impactful scholarship and creativity across disciplines,” said Dr. Joy J. Goto, interim dean of the Division of Research and Graduate Studies at Fresno State. “This growing momentum is a testament to our commitment to fostering a collaborative and supportive environment that fuels academic and societal advancements.”