News

Indiana consortium wins funds to build medical research hub

WFIU | By Ethan Sandweiss

Published July 14, 2026 at 2:06 PM EDT

Indiana University President Pamela Whitten speaks during a Jan. 27 press conference at the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute to celebrate and officially launch IU LAB. — Above: Indiana University President Pamela Whitten speaks during a 2025 press conference at the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute. The Indianapolis building will be the headquarters for a consortium of musculoskeletal health researchers.

A group of Indiana research and business organizations led by Indiana University faculty is receiving funds from the National Science Foundation to build a musculoskeletal health research hub.

The NSF IMPACT Engine in Indiana is one of ten regional teams to win an NSF Regional Innovation Engine award.

IMPACT – which includes partners at Eli Lilly, Purdue University and the Regenstrief Institute alongside IU and others – is getting $15 million for the first two years of the program and may be eligible for up to $160 million over a decade.

Besides federal funding, IU said its partners will provide $179 million.

Funds became available through the CHIPS and Sciences Act co-sponsored by Indiana Senator Todd Young, which has led the federal government to pour millions into the state’s technology sector since 2022.

The group hopes to train medical tech workers and launch startups across the state, which is already a hot spot for medical tech. It also plans to create a musculoskeletal dataset that it claims will be the world’s largest.

IMPACT will be headquartered at IU LAB in Indianapolis, one of the university’s recent projects aimed at commercializing research.

Increasing medical research, attracting investment in the state and aligning the university with corporate projects are goals in the university’s strategic plan, IU 2030.