Volume 1, Issue 2
November 2008
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ARIZONA
RESEARCH
LABORATORIES
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Director:
Dr. Michael Cusanovich
PO Box 210077
Tucson, AZ 85721-0077
cusanovi@u.arizona.edu
Media:
skhelsel@skhelsel.com
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Marek Romanowski, in ARL's Division of Biomedical Engineering (BME), is the first principal investigator at the UA who has received a K25 award from NIH. Only four K25s have ever been awarded by NIH in the state of Arizona. A K25 Award supports interdisciplinary research that is invigorated by novel perspectives. The unique mechanism of NIH K25 provides support for scientists with background in quantitative science and engineering to integrate their expertise with medical research. Romanowski's project, entitled "A near-infrared contrast agent for targeted imaging of cancer," provides a total of $690,353 to study nanoparticles for medical applications, to develop a technological basis of nanomedicine. A novel class of biodegradable nanostructures of gold are being tested for imaging, therapeutic interventions, and drug delivery. Romanowski's research was featured in the Research Highlights section of Nature, vol. 453.
>> The goal of BME is to operate research programs with international reputations in the fields of regenerative medicine and bioimaging, and to maintain an outstanding educational opportunity for bioengineering and biomedical science students. To learn more about BME, click here
John Hildebrand, Director of the ARL Division of Neurobiology, has learned that his NIH research grant "Glomeruli as Functional Units for Olfactory Coding" has been renewed for five years for $1,420,623. This award is a continuation of a grant that has been in operation for 14 years and findings promise to have an enormous impact on human welfare. The research will advance understanding of olfactory modulation of behavior, should yield insights into changes that accompany disorders of olfaction, and aid efforts to control insects-particularly vectors of devastating diseases that impact human health and welfare. Hildebrand is a leading neurobiologist known for his work on the neurobiology and development of insect olfactory systems and their effects on insect behavior. His recent trip to China to receive the Einstein Professor award from the Chinese Academy of Sciences is also covered in this issue.
>> ARL's Division of Neurobiology (ARLDN) is an academic and organized-research unit devoted to education and research on the development, organization, evolution, and function of nervous systems. Click on this link for more information on ARLDN.
Hans-Werner Herrmann and others in ARL's Human Origins Genotyping Laboratory (HOGL) are collaborating with the Cameroon government on a project to better understand the harvesting of African bushmeat. The use of bushmeat obtained from gorillas, chimpanzees, elephants and other endangered and exotic species is affecting wildlife populations in many African regions. Scientists in ARL and Africa will analyze the meat from village markets, and track its geographical source using DNA- markers in order to better assess how to manage affected wildlife populations. Read the recent Arizona Daily Star article about this project.
>> ARL's Human Origins Genotyping Laboratory was formed to service the DNA testing needs of large-scale projects for both the academic community and the private sector. Read more about HOGL and its range of projects here.
ARL's DNAShoah project is building a database, developing forensic tools, and creating scientific curricula to help reunite families torn apart by The Holocaust, as well as unite families displaced by the Second World War. The Human Origins Genotyping Laboratory, part of ARL Biotechnology, will perform the marker development and sample testing. The technologies and multi-disciplinary academic expertise assembled by ARL have created one of the few (if not the only) sites in the world with the infrastructure required to support the DNAShoah Project.
A video short about the DNAShoah project can be viewed on the website, here.
Read more about DNAShoah Project and its range of projects here.
Read the recent article about the DNAShoah Project in the Arizona Daily Star here.
The Einstein Professor award from the Chinese Academy of Sciences was officially presented to ARL's John Hildebrand at a ceremony in Beijing on October 21. Hildebrand, Director of the ARL Division of Neurobiology, received the official distinction in April of this year; he is one of 10 scientists worldwide and the only biological scientist to be so honored. This distinction is reserved for leaders in their respective fields who have the potential to win Nobel and other international science awards. While in China, Hildebrand also visited Wenzhou Medical College in representation of the bilateral relationship between ARL's Center for Insect Science and Wenzhou. A thorough review of Einstein Professor Award is available on UANow.
More complete details about the bilateral relationship between the UofA and Wenzhou Medical College are in the article that directly follows.
Nick Strausfeld, Director of ARL's Center for Insect Science CIS (CIS), initiated the International Memorandum of Agreement between the University of Arizona and Wenzhou Medical College. The agreement was formalized end of spring 2008 when visiting Chinese dignitaries from Wenzhou took part in a formal signing ceremony on the UA campus. The bilateral, international relationship is primarily one of student exchange although faculty and technical specialists may also visit on a case by case basis. As was referenced in the preceding article, John Hildebrand met with Chinese representatives of the initiative on-campus at Wenzhou Medical College during his trip to China last month. The student exchange works both ways between ARL and Wenzhou and may last for one semester or one academic year. The student collaboration will include insect science and research areas involving insects as model organisms ranging from medical research to neuro-physiological, ecological and evolutionary biology.
>> CIS was founded in 1989 when it received one of the three original National Science Foundation Biological Centers Awards. CIS' role is to foster collaborative research and education across topics relevant to integrative biology and areas of biomedicine and biotechnology that employ insects and other arthropods as model systems or investigate their medical impact. For additional information on the Center for Insect Science click here.
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