Researchers receive $500,000 grants

FAYETTEVILLE — A cardiologist and a public health researcher are the newest Arkansas Research Alliance scholars.

Edward Yeh, chairman of the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, and Philip Massey, a future University of Arkansas associate professor, each receive $500,000 research grants.

The Arkansas Research Alliance is a public-private partnership that since 2010 has worked to recruit researchers to the state. It receives money from the state Economic Development Commission. The Arkansas Research Alliance Scholars program is the “cornerstone for our organization and bridges the gap between university research and economic development,” Jerry Adams, president of the alliance, said in a statement by UAMS.

Yeh joined UAMS in 2020 from the University of Missouri School of Medicine, where he was oncology chair. His past research work has involved studying “relationships between cancer, chemotherapy agents and heart disease,” according to UAMS.

Massey will join UA in August and serve as director of the Center for Media, Technology and Health, said Matt McGowan, a UA spokesman. He is an associate professor at Drexel University in Philadelphia, according to the university’s online directory. His work involves studying ways to reduce health disparities between groups of people and improving the health of youth and young adults, according to his curriculum vitae.