non-profit and corporate sources, Dr. Bahr has more than
$2 million in pending grants from the National Institutes
of Health, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the
Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation.
Dr. Deborah Lundin, associate dean of the College of
Arts and Sciences, wrote the NCBC grant.
"The University's capacity for securing extramural
research support will receive a significant boost with
Dr. Bahr on campus," Dr. Lundin said. "His expertise for
acquiring resources from a variety of federal, national and
international entities is invaluable as a catalyzing force for
UNCP faculty as they increase their efforts to engage in
funded research."
Dr. Bahr agreed, saying research attracts both funding
sources and human resources.
"I hope that our work in the lab will open funding doors
and push others in the field to see there are new ways to
treat and study Alzheimer's disease and other neurological
disorders," Dr. Bahr said.
With 130 publications to his credit and numerous con-
ference presentations, Dr. Bahr has taught and mentored
many undergraduate, graduate and post-doctoral students.
On this subject, he is enthusiastic.
"Much of my research has been conducted by excep-
tional undergraduate students, and I like the focus at UNCP
on undergraduates and their involvement in research," Dr.
Bahr said. "Undergraduate research is what got me started
in my career.
"Throughout my career, I've met very enthusiastic stu-
dents who want to work with me to understand Alzheimer's
disease," he continued. "Because Alzheimer's is always in
the news, students share my interest in the field.
"The complexity of the brain offers students the incred-
ible opportunity to realize that everything they do in the
lab makes an impact in the field," he said.
Dr. David Zeigler, chair of the Biology Department, said
Dr. Bahr's research brings prestige to the University and its
students.
"Dr. Bahr has a strong record of student involvement
in lab-based research, and he has already made contacts
with our students for research experiences in his lab," Dr.
Zeigler said. "His classroom teaching provides excellent
opportunities for our students in biology and chemistry.
"Dr. Bahr has a large number of important contacts
at other universities and in industry that will likely prove
important to both our students and faculty in the future," he
said.
Dr. Robert Poage, a member of the Biology Department,
chaired the search committee.
"Bringing Dr. Bahr to UNCP is unprecedented for our
scientific community," Dr. Poage said. "As a neurobiologist
myself, I could not be more pleased.
research, we were looking for someone with experience
working with undergraduate students and that is relatively
rare for a top researcher," Dr. Poage continued.
Dr. Poage attributed the success of the search to the
University's willingness to vigorously market the posi-
tion and its commitment to support the Friday Chair with
financial resources. The grant from the North Carolina Bio-
technology Center, which Drs. Poage and Deborah Lundin
wrote, was also a critical factor.
"Having a dedicated laboratory space available at the
new biotechnology facility was also helpful," he said.
"Dr. Bahr wanted to get into his own lab and, with under-
graduates, produce publishable research, and that is what
we were looking for."
Dr. Bahr is pleased with his new laboratory and has
enjoyed meeting the faculty at UNCP. Among his arsenal of
resources, he brought to the new lab his research assistant.
who started as an undergrad in my lab a few years ago,
accompanied me to North Carolina," Dr. Bahr said. "It
seems like things are working out for a nice Pembroke Al-
zheimer's disease kick-off to jumpstart the role of the Uni-
versity and local communities, together enhancing aware-
ness for the importance in finding effective treatments.
"With other COMtech labs, including that of Dr. Len
Holmes, we hope to further promote UNCP's strength in
biotechnology research in North Carolina," he said. "At
UNCP, I will be able to put more focus on research and
drug discovery."
This article drew material from an interview of Dr. Bahr by
Lauren Silber of the University of Connecticut as well as
telephone interviews.