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F.O.E. and University of Iowa Commitments

F.O.E. Commitment

The FOEDRC is based on a $25 million gift from the Fraternal Order of Eagles. This gift is being used in four major ways:

Endowed Chairs in Diabetes/Obesity Research

Endowed chairs are a most valuable asset of an academic institution. They provide an annual source of unrestricted funds that are used to enhance the research program of the chair holder. The FOEDRC is using these chairs to recruit/retain the best diabetes/obesity scholars at the University of Iowa. Four fully endowed chairs are established.

Research Scholar Awards

Five-year awards were given to three tenure track scholars who showed outstanding promise in the field of diabetes/obesity research. They were used by the recipients to further their research programs.

Pilot Project Program

This program awards $50,000 annually to young investigators who propose to establish a research career in diabetes/obesity, to senior investigators in another field who want to explore a project related to diabetes/obesity, or to established diabetes/obesity investigators who proposes to pursue an entirely new approach. Recipients are chosen based on a competitive evaluation of proposals submitted by the applicants. Each project can be renewed for one year, providing satisfactory progress is made. These projects are used to generate data that is critical to acquire peer-reviewed, long-term research support from outside agencies. Learn more about our current and past recipients award recipients.

Faculty Recruitment 

The largest portion of the gift from the Fraternal Order of Eagles is used to recruit new faculty members to the Center. Successful candidates are provided salary support and research laboratory support amply sufficient to establish an independently supported research program. Whenever possible the Center leverages its support with that of departments of the Carver College of Medicine at the University of Iowa. This allows recruitment of more faculty members than could be accomplished by the FOE gift alone. Using this approach, we have been successful in recruiting outstanding scientists in the area of diabetes/obesity research and anticipate to continue the recruitment.

University of Iowa Commitment

The University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine has made a matching contribution to the Center. The FOEDRC is currently housed in newly renovated research space on campus. A entire floor in the Pappajohn Biomedical Research Building has been allocated as the permanent home of the FOEDRC. This floor  includes 20,000 square feet of high-quality laboratory space, valued at approximately $20 million. The Pappajohn Biomedical Research Institute is housing, in addition to the FOEDRC, several other interdisciplinary research programs, including those focused on cystic fibrosis, human genetics and neuroscience. 

In addition to this premium research space, the Carver College of Medicine has pledged $5 million for core resources, administrative support, an educational program and other related purposes. Together, this commitment matches the $25 million gift from the F.O.E. This is a true partnership.