May 08, 2023

Manchin Announces $20 Million to Establish Statewide Network of Neuroscience Research

Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, announced West Virginia has been awarded a highly competitive, five-year $20 million grant from the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) that will boost scientific research and upgrade infrastructure at West Virginia University (WVU), Marshall University, West Virginia State University (WVSU) and Shepherd University. The funding will establish the WV Network for Functional Neuroscience and Transcriptomics (WV-NFNT), a statewide collaboration of neuroscientists and bioinformaticists working to position West Virginia as a center for impactful neuroscience research.

“West Virginia’s universities continue to make our state and country proud with innovative scientific research projects, and I’m thrilled the National Science Foundation is investing $20 million over five years to establish the West Virginia Network for Functional Neuroscience and Transcriptomics,” said Senator Manchin. “I was proud to support this historic investment, which will allow our hardworking students, faculty and staff to continue to make groundbreaking strides in neuroscience and related research. This shows that given the right tools, West Virginia’s researchers can compete with anyone in the country. I look forward to seeing the positive impacts of this funding for decades to come and, as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I will continue advocating for resources to boost scientific research opportunities across the Mountain State.”

“Neuroscience researchers and STEM education leaders in West Virginia are honored by NSF’s selection of the WV-NFNT project for funding,” said Dr. Serafin, Senior Director of Science and Research at the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission. “We are looking forward to significant growth in neuroscience and related STEM fields during the grant period.”

“Together with our research and university partners, West Virginia has made great progress in positioning our state as a leader in scientific research,” said Dr. Sarah Armstrong Tucker, West Virginia’s Chancellor of Higher Education. “We are tremendously grateful to the NSF and to Senators Manchin and Capito for their support, and for their continuing faith in West Virginia’s faculty and student researchers. With this funding, we have the opportunity to take neuroscience and related research to new levels of discovery – which could impact real lives and our economic future in tremendous ways.”

“For the United States to remain the global leader in science, engineering and technology, we must energize talent in every region and every state in our nation. Through EPSCoR, NSF catalyzes the development of research capabilities across the country, creating sustainable scientific infrastructure and communities of innovation,” said Sethuraman Panchanathan, NSF Director. “This year's EPSCoR awards will serve individual states and the country as a whole with critical research on wildfire management, climate change resilience, biomanufacturing and advanced biomedical devices, and data science in the service of all disciplines.”