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News Archive |
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UCSB Wins Support for Stem Cell Research Project
Professors in MCDB and several other departments are to receive $1,343,859 in state funds over three years to fund stem cell research. The grant was announced by the Independent Citizens' Oversight Committee and is one of the first 15 awarded by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). The long-term goal of UCSB's stem cell research program is to understand how human embryonic stem cells can be differentiated into ocular cells that might be used to treat eye disease, especially macular degeneration. Biodefense and Infectious Disease Study Wins NIH Grant
Research on countering threats from bioterrorism agents and infectious diseases will be conducted at UCSB under a $1.5 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health. UCSB microbiologist Peggy Cotter (pictured here) is a project director in the newly established Pacific-Southwest Regional Center of Excellence (RCE) for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Disease Research - one of only 10 NIH-funded centers in the nation dedicated to such research. Cell Fusion Discovery by MCDB Researchers May Lead to Improved Cancer, Fertility Therapies
Thomas Weimbs Joins MCDB Faculty Dr. Thomas Weimbs will be joining the MCDB department as a new Assistant Professor in July 2005. Dr. Weimbs' research is in the areas of epithelial cell polarity in normal cells and polycystic kidney disease, membrane fusion in cytokinesis, and renal cell carcinoma. He has made outstanding contributions to our understanding of how membrane proteins are trafficked to different locations in the cell. Dr. Weimbs received his Ph.D. degree in 1993 at the University of Cologne with Professor Wilhelm Stoffel working on the biochemistry of the myelin proteolipid protein. He then moved to Prof. Keith Mostov's laboratory at U.C. San Francisco as an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow and later an Irvington Fellow, where he studied vesicular-mediated protein transport in polarized epithelial cells. In 1999 he started an independent position as an Assistant Staff scientist at the Lerner Research Institute at the Cleveland Clinic and at the Glickman Urological Institute and is now also a Member of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. He is also a Member of the Graduate Program in Cell Biology at Case Western Reserve University and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Kent State University and Cleveland State University. Dr. Weimbs will bring valuable research and training experience to the MCDB department in the broad area of the molecular biology of the cell, with particular expertise on cell membranes. He will be joined by his wife, Dr. Seng Hui Low, who will be a project scientist in the Weimbs lab and Adjunct Professor in MCDB. Several other members of his current lab group in Cleveland will also make the move west. Welcome Thomas and Seng Hui! For more information on Dr. Weimbs research, see http://www.lifesci.ucsb.edu/mcdb/faculty/weimbs/research/research.html. MCDB Researchers Advance Understanding of Genetic Switch Underlying Urinary Tract Infections Researchers in David Low's lab have made important strides in understanding a genetic switch in E. coli that regulates the expression of genes encoding pili, the hair like structures on the cell surface that play an important role in adhesion during urinary tract infections. The findings, the result of two years of study, are published in the November 19 issue of the journal Molecular Cell. MCDB scientists, Aaron D. Hernday, Bruce A. Braaten, Gina Broitman-Maduro, Patrick Engelberts, and Professor David A. Low, studied how certain stressful conditions can influence the genetic "switch" that causes the bacteria to be covered in pili. The study shows a mechanism by which a sensor called Cpx detects stressful environmental conditions and sends a signal to turn the switch off. This response may be important in allowing bacterial survival under stressful conditions. First Rathmann Fellowships Awarded; Rathmann Lecture Hall Named We are pleased to announce that first year graduate students Anubhav Arora, Andrew Bonham, Qiang Gong and Fernando Santiago are the first recipients of the George and Joy Rathmann Fellowships. Anubhav and Andrew are students in the BMSE program and Qiang and Fernando are in the MCDB program. These $25,000 fellowships are in the name of George and Joy Rathmann and have been made possible by many generous donations by friends of the Rathmann's. George Rathmann is one of the Biotechnology Industry's true pioneers, and his work has helped to revolutionize drug discovery. As you may know, George served as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer at Amgen from its inception in 1980 to October 1988 and Chairman from October 1988 to July 1990. George also helped to found the Biotech Companies Hyseq (now called Nuvelo) and ICOS. Amgen and UCSB have had a long relationship, as John Carbon was on the first Scientific Advisory Board, and many UCSB alumni have gone on to successful and productive careers at Amgen. These fellowships are meant to recognize and support outstanding graduate students in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry at UCSB. The Fellowship Awards were presented in a special ceremony in Corwin Pavillion November 13, attended by the Rathmanns and their many friends. Congratulations Anubhav, Andrew, Qiang and Fernando! The George and Joy Rathmann Graduate Fellows will provide research at the interface between Molecular and Cellular Biology, Physical Sciences and Engineering by supporting distinguished graduate students for a full year scholarship. Students selected as "Rathmann Fellows" reflect the top incoming graduate students to the highly inter-disciplinary programs in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology and the interdepartmental Biomolecular Science and Engineering program. In honor of George and Joy, the lecture hall in the new Life Science and Technology building will be named The George and Joy Rathmann Lecture Hall. This state-of-the-art research and teaching facility will also house the Amgen lab and the Carbon Chair holder. The naming is a funding milestone that reflects the successful completion of $1 million in gifts towards the George and Joy Rathmann Graduate Fellowships, generously donated by the many friends of George and Joy. Researchers Discover Living Nanoscale "Necklace"
In an interdisciplinary endeavor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, a team of researchers in MCDB and Physics have made a discovery at the nanoscale level that could be instrumental in the production of miniaturized materials with many applications. Dubbed a "living necklace," the finding was completely unexpected. The collaborating labs are those of Cyrus Safinya, professor of materials and physics and faculty member of the Biomolecular Science & Engineering Program, and Leslie Wilson, professor of biochemistry in MCDB. The first author of the paper is Safinya's graduate student Daniel Needleman. Postdoctoral researchers Uri Raviv and Miguel Ojeda-Lopez from Safinya's group and Herbert Miller, a researcher in Wilson's group, completed the team.
This discovery could influence the development of vehicles for chemical, drug, and gene delivery, enzyme encapsulation systems and biosensors, circuitry components, as well as templates for nanosized wires and optical materials. The findings are reported in the November 16 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and published online the week of November 8. Exploring the Frontiers of Cancer Research: Seminal Leaders in Cancer Treatment will Lecture at UCSB Leading scientific innovators in cancer treatment will present free public lectures at UC Santa Barbara as part of a distinguished speaker series called "Frontiers in Cancer Research" that began Nov. 5. In the first lecture, Biochemist Nick Lydon, developer of the leukemia wonder drug, Gleevec, spoke about the process of discovery in "Gleevec, from Bench to Clinic". The second lecture will take place on Dec. 6 with Judah Folkman, a surgeon turned researcher and pioneer in the field of "angiogenesis" (blood vessel growth) as a key element to target in cancer treatment. It will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the Corwin Pavilion in the University Center. The series will continue Feb. 9, 2005 with a presentation by researcher Arnold Levine, discoverer of the p53 tumor suppressor gene, which acts to protect individuals from developing cancer. Levine is a professor at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey at the Robert Wood Johnson School of Medicine. J. Michael Bishop, a physician who shared the 1989 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for discovering that cancer genes could be derived from normal genes that had not been inherently cancer causing, will present the final lecture on April 22. Bishop is chancellor of UC San Francisco.
The prominent scientists in the Frontiers in Cancer Research lecture series will also meet with students and faculty members in small colloquia to discuss their groundbreaking advances in the treatment and prevention of cancer. The series is made possible by a generous gift from the Doreen J. Putrah Foundation, with additional support from the College of Letters and Science, the College of Engineering, and the Cancer Center of Santa Barbara. New Research Expected to Improve Cancer Treatments
MCDB Researchers have determined that a new drug combination containing two natural products – the yew tree derivative Taxol and a chemical from an ocean–growing sponge–might eventually help patients with breast, lung, and ovarian cancer as well as Kaposi's sarcoma. Mary Ann Jordan, Research Scientist and Adjunct Professor in MCDB and NRI, working with Postdoctoral Scholar Kathy Kamath and Professor Les Wilson, found that the synergistic effect of the two drugs together is greater than either one alone.
MCDB will expand to occupy space in the new Life Sciences and Technology Building.
The old barracks building 478 has been demolished to make room for a new state of the art Life Science and Technology Building that is presently under construction. The 4 story building will provide new research laboratory space, administrative offices, an auditorium, and two new teaching laboratories. Also included will be a Biosafety Level P3 laboratory, a microscopy facility, and a biotechnology laboratory. MCDB will occupy the first two floors and part of the third floor. This new cutting edge facility will allow the department to recruit excellent new faculty and keep pace with new developments in molecular biology research. The LST building is one of three new buildings that will fill out the "Biology Campus" in the area around the Bio II building. Other buildings are the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management and the Marine Science Institute. Kenneth Kosik to join MCDB from Harvard Medical School as the Harriman Chair Dr. Kenneth "Ken" Kosik, Professor of Neuroscience at Harvard Medical School and Senior Neurologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital, will join the UCSB Faculty effective July, 2004. Ken is an international leader in the fields of neuronal development, neurodegeneration and Alzheimer's Disease. At UCSB Ken will be the inaugurating incumbent to hold the distinguished Harriman Endowed Chair in Neurosciences, and will be a member of the Neurosciences Research Institute and Professor in the Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology Department. MCDB will be the home of a new endowed chair The College of Letters and Science and the MCDB Department recently announced the wonderful news of a new endowed chair at UCSB: The John Carbon Chair of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. This new Chair honors Prof. John Carbon, and his seminal contributions to science, to UCSB, and to Amgen. Dr. Carbon is one of the founders of molecular biology at U.C. Santa Barbara, and he served as one of the original scientific advisors to Amgen where he played a pivotal role in shaping the company's future. The John Carbon Chair is made possible by especially generous gifts from several individuals and foundations. These extraordinary donations and commitments provide MCDB with a great opportunity to recruit an eminent senior scholar who will provide future leadership to MCDB, and who will carry on Dr. Carbon's tradition of excellence in research and teaching. The gifts both establish the endowment and provide for start-up. Discovery of Cell Survival Gene May Lead to New Treatments for Degenerative Diseases and Cancer
Our cells are constantly making life and death decisions. A new gene that controls this life or death switch and protects cells from dying has been discovered by MCDB researchers at UCSB, as reported in the August 28 edition of the scientific journal Nature. The discovery may provide scientists with new means for identifying drugs that combat degenerative diseases such as Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS), the destructive effects of stroke and heart diseases, autoimmune diseases, and cancer. More Information >> $9.4 Million NSF Grant Backs UCSB-Led Effort in Bio-Imaging Informatics The National Science Foundation has awarded a $9.4 million grant for the development of new information-processing technologies that will make it possible to extract detailed understanding of biological processes from images depicting the distribution of biological molecules within cells or tissues. The project is headed by Bangalore Manjunath, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at UCSB, and includes Stuart Feinstein, Les Wilson and Steve Fisher in MCDB. The five-year grant provides $6.9 million to UCSB and $2.5 million to Carnegie Mellon University. Army Research Office Announces Grant of Up to $50 Million to Partnership Led by UCSB The Army Research Office has made an initial grant of up to $50 million over five years to a UCSB-led partnership to establish the Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies. Caltech and MIT are partners in the project, as are six industrial companies that will develop the technologies created in the university laboratories. Steve Fisher receives Von Sallmann Prize in Geneva Professor Steven K. Fisher was awarded in October the prestigious "2002 Ludwig Von Sallmann Prize for Outstanding Contributions to Vision and Ophthalmology". The Award Committee, which was unanimous in its support of Dr. Fisher, made special note of his "continuing research over many years toward a better understanding of the pathophysiology of retinal detachment". The award ceremony was be held in Geneva, Switzerland. David Low Elected as AAAS Fellow Congratulations to David Low, MCDB Professor, who was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. This distinction is based on David's many significant research contributions to the field of Gene Regulation. David has carried out pioneering studies of the role of DNA methylation in controlling gene expression and pathogenesis in bacteria.
Ed Orias Receives the Emile Maupas Medal Research Professor Eduardo Orias was awarded the "Emile Maupas Medal" for his contributions to the knowledge of Ciliate genetics. The medal commemorates the scientific work of Emile Maupas, a visionary 19th century French cytologist whose primary job was the Directorship of the National Library of Algiers. Professor Orias is the 5th recipient of this medal during its 90-year history. The Award was conferred in Nijmegen, Netherlands. Chuck Samuel Receives Prestigious Humboldt Research Award The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Germany awarded the Humboldt Forschungspreise Biochemie to Professor Charles E. Samuel for his work on interferons. The Forschungspreise awards honor "lifetime achievement in research and teaching." Chuck's award in the field of Biochemistry for his work on the interferon system and virus-host interactions, carried out at UCSB over the past 25+ years with numerous graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. The Award was conferred at a ceremony in Berlin. |
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A recent discovery in cell fusion from Joel Rothman's lab may allow scientists to enhance organ regeneration by stem cells, prevent the progression of cancer, and control fertility. Cell-cell fusion allows a sperm to unite with an egg and is also used widely in development, for example during the formation of organs, including muscles, bones, and placentas. In addition, stem cells can reprogram their fates by fusing with other differentiated cells. However, there is a sinister side to cell fusion: tumor cells can fuse with normal cells, causing progression to more aggressive or chemotherapy-resistant forms of cancer. In a recent paper in Developmental Cell, post-doc Kenji Kontani (now an Assistant Professor at the University of Tokyo), former graduate student Ivan Moskowitz, and Prof. Rothman reported that the inappropriate joining of cells by fusion in C. elegans is naturally prevented by a familiar protein, the vacuolar ATPase, acting in an unanticipated context. This discovery could lead to new methods and drugs for controlling cell fusion.
