State, NCTR ink partnership renewal
Focusing on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s National Center for Toxicological Research and the state’s leading research universities, FDA acting Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock and Gov. Asa Hutchinson have signed a five-year renewal agreement.
The signing took place at the 50th anniversary celebration for the National Center for Toxicological Research, according to a news release.
“For 50 years, NCTR has helped to ensure that like science itself, the FDA remains forward looking and a step or more ahead of the science, so that we have the capabilities to take on the challenges of the future,” Woodcock said.
Originally signed in 2011, the memorandum of understanding guides the formal working relationship between the FDA and the state. It recognizes a 50-year history between the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and the National Center for Toxicological Research.
“This MOU continues a long and fruitful relationship that will yield even more life-changing research by world-class scientists,” Hutchinson said.
The memorandum of understanding builds on the track record of university research and training collaborations in Arkansas. It also reinforces the role of the Arkansas Research Alliance in taking a strong lead in growing and coordinating these activities across all of the research institutions in Arkansas, according to the release.
The updated agreement frames activities for future partnerships, as well. The memorandum of understanding, signed Wednesday, provides opportunities for more interaction and round-table discussions between Arkansas institutions and the FDA. It envisions ways in which Arkansas and the FDA might combine and leverage resources and strengths in diverse scientific disciplines that affect human and animal health and medicine. All these efforts are aimed at obtaining solid scientific data to provide public health protection, according to the release.
Other dignitaries participat
ing in person or virtually for the memorandum of understanding signing were FDA Chief Scientist, Rear Adm. Denise Hinton; Deputy FDA Commissioner Frank Yiannas; Director of National Center for Toxicological Research Dr. William Slikker; U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman; and Arkansas Research Alliance President Jerry Adams.
The National Center for Toxicological Research and the Arkansas Research Alliance updated its partnership intermediary agreement to promote cooperative activities.
Arkansas Research Alliance facilitates collaborations among six research institutions – the University of Arkansas, UAMS, Arkansas State University, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, and the National Center for Toxicological Research.
In 2015, the nonprofit established the ARA Academy of Scholars and Fellows, which assembles talent from all six research institutions to address the world’s most pressing challenges through science and innovation, according to the release.