COLLABORATIVE
RESEARCH &
SCHOLARLY ACTIVITY
INDUSTRY RELATIONSHIPS
ON THE RISE
Heritage College researchers have growing affiliations with private-sector
firms that have provided research funding and other benefits, including
the following:
• A Grant for Growth Innovation award of nearly $250,000 from Merck
KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, is funding research into the effects
of growth hormone on fat breakdown, led by Vishu Puri, Ph.D.,
M.S. (right), Heritage Endowed Professor in Diabetes, OHF Ralph S.
Licklider, D.O., Research Endowment.
• Close to $100,000 from Pfizer Laboratories’ U.S. Aspire Endocrine
program will support obesity-related research by Fabian Benencia,
Ph.D., associate professor of immunology; Edward List, Ph.D.,
associate investigator with the Edison Biotechnology Institute; and
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Darlene Berryman, Ph.D., R.D., L.D., associate dean for research and
innovation and professor of biomedical sciences.
• The Ohio Musculoskeletal and Neurological Institute is one of six
sites nationwide that has been chosen by Astellas Pharma to conduct
clinical trials of a chemical compound to determine if it improves
muscle performance and physical function in older adults with limited
mobility.
Additionally, an ongoing relationship with Eli Lilly has resulted in faculty
access to research support services through their Open Innovation and
Drug Discovery, Emerging Biology, and Neglected and Tropical Diseases
programs, as well as student participation in their Medical Student
Rotation Program.