HBC Newsletter Q405

"Teaming" with Possibility:
Medicinal Chemistry chair unites ancient remedies with cutting edge technology

Barbara Timmermann's study of plants and microbes is a natural fit for bioscience research at the University of Kansas. Recent demand for safer and effective new drugs and increasing public interest in natural remedies are leading a resurgence in natural products chemistry research. KU is prepared to take a leading role in this aspect of pharmaceutical research, with Timmermann acting as a team-builder to facilitate the use of naturally occurring chemicals in tomorrow's prescription drugs.

This month names such as Russ Middaugh and Barbara Timmermann will be fixed on the doors of finished spaces in KU's new $40 million Multidisciplinary Research Building (MRB), nearing completion on the West Campus. Just before Christmas, the shiny bow will come off, the doors will open and researchers will start moving into KU's newest research building. Formal dedication of the MRB will take place during the spring semester.

KU joins major universities, FDA in effort to improve quality and reduce costs of pharmaceuticals

The University of Kansas has joined with 11 other universities and the Food and Drug Administration to form a research institute devoted to learning more about drug manufacturing and to reducing the skyrocketing costs of drug development.

NIH renews grants to projects led by KU's Georg

A senior University of Kansas medicinal chemistry professor has been awarded a $10.4 million federal grant for cancer research and an $8 million grant to find compounds for male contraception.

Gunda Georg, university distinguished professor in KU's School of Pharmacy and director of the Center for Cancer Experimental Therapeutics at the Kansas Masonic Cancer Institute, recently received a five-year grant from from the Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) program, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, to mentor fellow faculty members across Kansas and support their promising research in the battle against cancer. The NIH previously awarded Georg a similar $10 million grant in 2000 that ended this summer.

Higuchi Biosciences Center and National Science Foundation- a Partnership for Innovation

Doctors do it. Plumbers do it. So do lawyers, teachers, accountants and electricians. Lots of professions need to continually update their training and education in order to remain current with rapidly evolving job requirements. Not so for laboratory scientists, at least in a formal sense, despite the fact that theirs is a rapidly evolving field. Yet, for the biotechnology industry, keeping up with rapidly evolving techniques is of paramount importance for competitive success. The solution for most businesses is to send their scientists off to short courses to learn specific techniques at considerable expense and lost time.

For life science companies in the greater Kansas City area, there is now a new option. KU’s Division of Continuing Education teamed with the Higuchi Biosciences Center to win a grant from the National Science Foundation “Partnerships for Innovation” program. The grant, “Life Sciences Work Force Development: Partnership for Innovative Laboratory Training,” seeks to help bioscience industry professionals receive the continuing education they need to remain successful and productive.

COBRE-PSF Celebrates Successes

At KU, an NIH-funded center has been making real progress toward its goals. The Center of Biomedical Research Excellence in Protein Structure and Function (COBRE-PSF) pursues basic research, but also assists junior faculty to establish both their laboratories and their biomedical research careers. The Center is open to junior faculty at any of these four Kansas institutions: Kansas State University (KSU), The University of Kansas (KU), The University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC) and Wichita State University (WSU). The program began in late 2002 with six junior investigators and one collaborating investigator spread among three campuses (KSU, KU, and WSU). After only three years these original six investigators have already “graduated” by obtaining their own independent (NIH) research funding.

"Teaming" with Possibility: Medicinal Chemistry chair unites ancient remedies with cutting edge technology
	Barbara Timmermann's study of plants and microbes is a natural fit for bioscience research at the University of Kansas. Recent demand for safer and effective new drugs and increasing public interest in natural remedies are leading a resurgence in natural products chemistry research. KU is prepared to take a leading role in this aspect of pharmaceutical research, with Timmermann acting as a team-builder to facilitate the use of naturally occurring chemicals in tomorrow's prescription drugs. Timmermann's research of the medicinal qualities of plants and microbes has promising implications both for drug discovery and for identifying chemical interactions of organic compounds. She brings to the University an extensive background in biodiversity prospecting, the science of identifying and utilizing chemical compounds produced by natural organisms.
	*read article*
KU to unwrap MRB in mid-December
	This month names such as Russ Middaugh and Barbara Timmermann will be fixed on the doors of finished spaces in KU's new $40 million Multidisciplinary Research Building (MRB), nearing completion on the West Campus. Just before Christmas, the shiny bow will come off, the doors will open and researchers will start moving into KU's newest research building. Formal dedication of the MRB will take place during the spring semester.
	*read article*
KU joins major universities, FDA in effort to improve quality and reduce costs of pharmaceuticals
	The University of Kansas has joined with 11 other universities and the Food and Drug Administration to form a research institute devoted to learning more about drug manufacturing and to reducing the skyrocketing costs of drug development. The collaboration, called the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Technology and Education (NIPTE), was announced November 3rd at a policy briefing by institute members on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Participating with KU are Duquesne University, the Illinois Institute of Technology, Purdue University, Rutgers University, and the universities of Puerto Rico, Connecticut, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland and Minnesota. The institute signed a memorandum of agreement with the FDA in June, establishing the collaboration with academia and industry "to further pharmaceutical development and manufacturing innovations." KU will serve as a lead university in the institute.
	*read article*
NIH renews grants to projects led by KU's Georg A senior University of Kansas medicinal chemistry professor has been awarded a $10.4 million federal grant for cancer research and an $8 million grant to find compounds for male contraception.
	Gunda Georg, university distinguished professor in KU's School of Pharmacy and director of the Center for Cancer Experimental Therapeutics at the Kansas Masonic Cancer Institute, recently received a five-year grant from from the Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) program, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, to mentor fellow faculty members across Kansas and support their promising research in the battle against cancer. The NIH previously awarded Georg a similar $10 million grant in 2000 that ended this summer. Earlier this year, a five-year NIH contract was awarded to Georg and a team of University of Kansas and Kansas University Medical Center researchers to find chemical compounds to develop into reversible male contraceptives. The contract will allow the scientists from the two campuses to continue research and testing started in partnership with the NIH four years ago. The KU team is one of only a few research groups in the world working to develop male contraceptives. In addition to George, the team's primary members are Joseph Tash, associate professor of molecular and integrative physiology at KUMC; Qi-Zhuang Ye, research professor at the Higuchi Biosciences Center; and Ernst Schonbrunn, assistant professor of medicinal chemistry.
	*read article*
Higuchi Biosciences Center and National Science Foundation- a Partnership for Innovation
	Doctors do it. Plumbers do it. So do lawyers, teachers, accountants and electricians. Lots of professions need to continually update their training and education in order to remain current with rapidly evolving job requirements. Not so for laboratory scientists, at least in a formal sense, despite the fact that theirs is a rapidly evolving field. Yet, for the biotechnology industry, keeping up with rapidly evolving techniques is of paramount importance for competitive success. The solution for most businesses is to send their scientists off to short courses to learn specific techniques at considerable expense and lost time. For life science companies in the greater Kansas City area, there is now a new option. KU’s Division of Continuing Education teamed with the Higuchi Biosciences Center to win a grant from the National Science Foundation “Partnerships for Innovation” program. The grant, “Life Sciences Work Force Development: Partnership for Innovative Laboratory Training,” seeks to help bioscience industry professionals receive the continuing education they need to remain successful and productive.
	*read article*

CMLD Poster Session a Success	HBC People in the News
*read article*	*read article*

COBRE-PSF Celebrates Successes
	At KU, an NIH-funded center has been making real progress toward its goals. The Center of Biomedical Research Excellence in Protein Structure and Function (COBRE-PSF) pursues basic research, but also assists junior faculty to establish both their laboratories and their biomedical research careers. The Center is open to junior faculty at any of these four Kansas institutions: Kansas State University (KSU), The University of Kansas (KU), The University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC) and Wichita State University (WSU). The program began in late 2002 with six junior investigators and one collaborating investigator spread among three campuses (KSU, KU, and WSU). After only three years these original six investigators have already “graduated” by obtaining their own independent (NIH) research funding.
	*read article*