On Feb. 5, the Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee met at the University of Utah to discuss upcoming state funding for universities. This unique event got policymakers off the hill and up to the U, bringing them together with students, staff and researchers from across the state to celebrate the value of academic research and education through keynote talks, hands-on activities and lab tours.
Showcasing research solutions
Publicly accessible, hands-on research demos showcased how academic research leads to real impact, attracting crowds of U community members and legislators before the subcommittee hearing. In one corner of the atrium, participants could play mental health “brain games” designed at the U to increase cognitive flexibility and help address treatment-resistant depression. In another, legislators lined up to measure their blood carotenoids—a proxy for fruit and vegetable consumption—in front of a table highlighting the Mountain West Prevention Research Center, which focuses on research to address childhood obesity in rural communities.
Highlighting real value
In presentations during the hearing, university leadership showed how the U’s research and education benefit the state. From receiving the very first National Institutes of Health research grant to discovering nearly 50 genes linked to cancer to developing brain-powered prosthetics and new therapies for heart failure, President Taylor Randall shared how research at the U creates real benefits for Utahns. “We hope that you will see us on the cutting edge of creating a new type of university, an impact university,” Randall said. “We are making ourselves outward-facing and solution-oriented for the state.”
Similarly, President Brad Mortensen of Utah State University showed how USU’s statewide campuses and recent programmatic overhauls are making great education accessible to students across Utah. “It’s not just about lining up the degrees but about making sure they have the experience to be successful in the future,” Mortensen said.
From bench to benefit
After the session, attendees had the opportunity to attend lab tours and get an up-close look at the local science driving solutions.
In the lab of Randall Peterson, Ph.D., professor of pharmacology and toxicology and dean of the University of Utah College of Pharmacy, participants got to look at zebrafish under the microscope—their beating hearts and flowing blood cells visible through their transparent bodies. In Peterson’s lab, zebrafish are an indispensable model for drug development. “Zebrafish are so similar to us genetically,” Peterson said. “82% of all genes that cause diseases in humans have a counterpart in zebrafish.” The fish’s rapid growth and genetic accessibility jumpstart drug discovery. “We can take engineered zebrafish that have a human disease and screen thousands and thousands of compounds to see if we can make the fish better,” Peterson said, adding that the third drug developed in their lab is about to enter clinical trials. The lab has developed a zebrafish model of opioid addiction and is currently working to find compounds that can help treat opioid use disorder.
Participants also had the chance to dive into the bizarre biology of the Great Salt Lake in the lab of Jaclyn Winter, Ph.D., associate professor of pharmacology and toxicology at the U. “The Great Salt Lake is a resource because it’s such a harsh environment,” Winter explained. The microbes that live in Great Salt Lake sediments have developed unique adaptations to thrive despite extremely high levels of salt and heavy metals—adaptations that represent a treasure trove for the development of new pharmaceuticals and strategies for bioremediation. “New environments make new biology,” Winter said, “so what information can we learn from these organisms?”
The answers are as diverse as they are practical. One compound discovered in Great Salt Lake microbes, called bonnevillamide, is a highly specific anti-tuberculosis antibiotic. Other microbial compounds can wrap around heavy metals and help plants sequester them from the soil.
The featured research represents only a tiny fraction of the vast spread of projects across the U. “Last year, our research community submitted almost 3,700 research proposals, which resulted in over 2,500 research awards,” said Erin Rothwell, Ph.D., vice president for research at the U. “Utah is number one in the nation for innovation capacity and outcomes. Our research community punches above our weight.”