Feds fund New York Medical College nerve cell study

Researchers in nerve cell function at New York Medical College in Valhalla have been awarded a $241,500 grant for an imaging project by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

The competitive federal grant was announced by U.S. Rep. Nita Lowey, the senior Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee representing parts of Westchester and Rockland counties. It will fund a clinical research project involving sodium imaging of synaptic function.

William N. Ross, professor of physiology at New York Medical College, in a press release said the project he heads involves “a new form of imaging the strength of communication between nerve cells.  We know a lot about nerve cells, but there is much to learn. This grant will take us further into the process.”

The Valhalla medical school earlier this month was awarded a $483,000 federal grant through the National Institutes of Health for vascular disease and immunology research.

“These recent grants will allow the lower Hudson Valley to remain at the forefront of medical research, and they help bolster our local economy,” said Lowey, a long-time advocate in Congress for increased investment in biomedical research.