CHEYENNE -- The University of Wyoming captured a $16.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health on Thursday -- the largest research grant ever awarded to UW in any field.

The grant will be put towards diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular research at UW, as well as helping Wyoming students as young as middle schoolers work towards a career in medical research and science.

The five-year grant won't just help UW: it also directs money towards junior high schools, high schools and Wyoming's six community colleges, said Jun Ren, associate dean for research at UW's College of Health Sciences.

The grant money, Ren said, will help Wyoming students interested in medical research along every step of the way until they enter a career: from funds to introduce junior high and high school students to the field of medicine to paying for better lab facilities and equipment at community colleges to giving students scholarship money to attend UW, and beyond.

The goal is to give Wyoming students the chance to find solutions to the state's health problems.

"The grant allows us to pursue our long-term goal to establish a statewide network for biomedical education and research," said Scott Seville, associate dean in the Outreach School and associate professor of zoology and physiology, in a media release.

In short, Ren said, "It's going to help the whole state."

At UW, the grant money will greatly improve the university's biomedical research programs, Ren said.

Professors and students will be able to buy new equipment and conduct hands-on biomedical research into a variety of fields -- especially regarding diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease, three health problems that are leading causes of death and high health care costs in the U.S.

Among the many topics UW researchers are currently tackling are why air pollution is linked to heart disease and how improving diabetes patients' mental health can also improve their physical health.

In addition, the grant money will allow UW to hire new faculty needed to create a "critical mass" needed to develop competitive, sustainable medical research programs, according to UW's grant proposal.

"This grant will help UW to make a big leap," Ren said. "[Right now,] UW is nowhere close to being the top tier in the nation in terms of this type of research."

The NIH grant is already turning heads even outside Wyoming, as Ren found when he attended a recent regional health conference.

"It will have a major impact out of state," he said. "This program is now fully aware by professors, by students -- even by high school students in the region."

The grant was awarded by the NIH through its Institutional Development Award program, which helps health-related research and institutions in states that historically have received comparatively few NIH grants.

Contact capital bureau reporter Jeremy Pelzer at 307-632-1244 or jeremy.pelzer@trib.com