Despite the Georgia senate’s budget plan proposing a major cut to funds, the University intends to continue supporting research.

The Georgia Senate Appropriations Committee passed a budget plan Wednesday calling for a $1.6 million reduction in research funds and a $1.5 million cut in the Brain Train – a proposed train system to link the University, Georgia Tech and Emory.

This budget significantly differs from the Georgia House’s draft. If the Senate approves the current version of the budget, the two chambers must work for a compromise.

Although the Senate threatened cuts, the Research Foundation Board voted Thursday to pay $100,000 each year for the next three years for infectious disease research.

The money will be used to collect infectious disease teams to study diseases such as the bird flu, the West Nile virus, tularemia and tuberculosis, Vice President for Research David Lee said.

“It’s an area where we can be a national player,” he said.

The group of researchers will come from fields such as microbiology, virology, food safety and public health.

“It will pull together researchers in various areas to do something larger than they could do individually,” said Terry Hastings, spokesperson for the vice president for research.

The University is using the money from an expiring initiative on poverty to fund the initiative on infectious diseases, Lee said.

In the Research Foundation Board meeting, University President Michael Adams said he has spent about two days a week at the state capitol since the legislature has been in session. He said he expects to be very pleased with the funding the state decides to provide after the legislative session concludes.