Grants

CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy receives $2 million gift commitment to encourage collaboration between the CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy and the CU BioFrontiers Institute

Anonymous — Wed, 19 Sep 2018 06:00:00 +0000

CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy receives $2 million gift commitment to encourage collaboration between the CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy and the CU BioFrontiers Institute Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 09/19/2018 - 00:00

David Kelly

AURORA, Colo. (September 19, 2018) - The ALSAM Foundation recently invested an additional $2 million to continue the Therapeutic Innovation Grants Program at the CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

The funding supports a second phase of grants for projects focused on drug discovery and development.

David Ross, PhD, chair of the CU Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and associate dean of research at the CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy, is leading the school's efforts to identify new drug therapies and bring them to market quicker than ever before by supporting talented faculty.

"This support from The ALSAM Foundation is critical to our success," Ross said. "By allowing us to award grants to the best ideas at CU, we are able to support innovative approaches to identify the next generation of drugs to transform patient care."

The Therapeutic Innovation Grants Program encourages collaboration between the CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy and the CU BioFrontiers Institute in Boulder as well as faculty throughout CU Anschutz.

By awarding grants to researchers who build an interdisciplinary team from the CU School of Pharmacy, the BioFrontiers Institute at CU Boulder and from across the CU Anschutz Medical Campus, this fund will jumpstart some of the most transformational ideas at CU today.

"The ALSAM Foundation's generosity is fueling our innovative efforts and supporting high risk, high reward ideas in the laboratory," said CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Dean Ralph Altiere, PhD. "We are so grateful for their longtime partnership."

Some of the current active research areas include novel drug discovery efforts including high throughput and computational approaches, informatics and systems genetics, RNA-based therapeutics, immunotherapy and precision medicine.

91��Ƭ�� the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is the only comprehensive academic health sciences center in Colorado, the largest academic health center in the Rocky Mountain region and one of the newest education, research and patient care facilities in the world. Home to 21,000 employees, more than 4,300 degree-seeking students and two nationally recognized hospitals, CU Anschutz trains the health sciences workforce of the future and fuels the economy. CU Anschutz features schools of medicine, pharmacy, dental medicine and public health, a college of nursing and a graduate school. Learn more at ucdenver.edu/anschutz.

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Accelerating innovation: 7 research teams receive commercialization grants

Anonymous — Thu, 11 May 2017 06:00:00 +0000

Accelerating innovation: 7 research teams receive commercialization grants Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 05/11/2017 - 00:00

CUBT - CU Boulder Today

Seven CU Boulder research teams have been selected to receive grants for the development of commercially-promising technologies. A total of 21 applications were reviewed by a panel of external judges made up of entrepreneurs, investors, business executives and intellectual property attorneys from around the country.

Six of the seven awards are funded by the Advanced Industries Accelerator (AIA) program, administered by the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade with the support of Colorado Advanced Industry trade associations and the state’s Economic Development Commission. AIA program funds are matched at a 25 percent rate by the CU Boulder Technology Transfer Office (TTO), with internal funding provided by Chancellor Philip DiStefano’s office, derived from TTO licensing revenues. The remaining award is fully funded by the university.

The AIA program is designed to identify technologies from research institutions and connect them to the private sector, where they can be developed into commercial products.

The seven awardees are:

Next-generation autonomous manipulation for collaborative robotics (Nikolaus Correll, Computer Science): The field of mobile robots is taking off. Robots are increasingly used in warehouses, factories, hotels and homes, where they enable telepresence, deliver goods, or clean, for example. Robotic Materials Inc. has licensed the key technology that will allow equipping robots with the sense of touch, dramatically increasing the value they can create for users. CU

Development of a next-generation, highly thermostable human papillomavirus vaccine (Robert Garcea, Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology; Ted Randolph, Chemical and Biological Engineering): The goal of this proposal is to combine new technologies to formulate vaccines—applied specifically here to new HPV vaccines—that are both potent and stable without refrigeration for extended periods of time. This will circumvent impediments to current vaccine delivery by eliminating the need for a “cold chain” (appropriate refrigeration) that is frequently absent in less developed areas of the world, where vaccine needs are great.

Enhancement of thermal atomic layer etching for anisotropic etching (Steven George, Chemistry): Anisotropic etching is critical for the fabrication of three-dimensional nanostructures, such as those used in advanced semiconductor devices. George’s team will build on its discovery of new thermal reactions for atomic layer etching (ALE)—the controlled removal of material at the atomic level. This new project will develop methods to obtain anisotropic etching, where material is removed with a preferred directionality.

Miniature laser for multiphoton microscopy (Juliet Gopinath, Electrical Engineering): The goal of this project is to develop a miniature diode laser system that can eventually be used for the study and treatment of neurological disease, photodynamic therapy and endoscopy. The technology will produce short pulse sources in the near-infrared range, enabling deep penetration in tissue.

Carbonate products analyzed by XRD crystal phase analysis (Jason Ren)

Direct energy and resource recovery from carbon dioxide and wastewater (Jason Ren, Civil Engineering): The Ren lab will work with HySummit—a company dedicated to producing carbon-negative water, hydrogen and high-value chemicals—to develop scalable systems to convert beverage wastewater and CO2 into valuable chemicals, such as carbonate and hydrogen.

Preclinical assessment of drug for colorectal cancer (Tin Tin Su, Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology): Tin Tin Su’s team is studying a first-in-class drug candidate that works by depriving cancer cells of proteins they need to survive and grow. This grant will enable the team to obtain proof-of-concept data in preclinical models of colorectal cancer, where therapy options remain limited.

Continuous magnesium metal production in a novel reactor (Aaron Palumbo and Al Weimer, Chemical and Biological Engineering): Magnesium metal is the lightest structural metal used to make electronic devices ultra-portable and vehicles more fuel efficient. However, current production methods are extremely energy intensive. Palumbo and Weimer’s project will focus on the construction of a continuous, high-temperature extraction system that can reduce processing energy consumption by 60 percent, translating into a cost-reduction of at least 20 percent.

Five of the seven winners have already formed startup companies around their technologies: Robotic Materials (Correll); VitriVax (Garcea, Randolph); HySummit (Ren); SuviCa (Su); and Big Blue (Weimer, Palumbo).

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Research seed grant program impacts campus with $1.1 million in funding

Anonymous — Mon, 24 Apr 2017 06:00:00 +0000

Research seed grant program impacts campus with $1.1 million in funding Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 04/24/2017 - 00:00 CUBT - CU Boulder Today

The CU Boulder Innovative Seed Grant Program (ISGP), now in its 11th year, recently announced more than $1.1 million in seed funding through 23 grants, with a focus on interdisciplinary ventures that take investigators in high-risk, high-reward directions. This new round of funding is especially significant in light of the return on investment the program has demonstrated in recent years.

The 2017 awards, announced by the CU Boulder Office of the Provost and Research & Innovation Office (RIO), are funding 23 grants for up to $50,000 each, including $240,000 for five projects supporting work directly connected to the CU Boulder Grand Challenge.The program stimulates new and exciting areas of research and creative work on the CU Boulder campus, as highlighted by a small sampling of the 2017 Innovative Seed Grant Program winners, listed to the right.

91��Ƭ�� the 2017 program

The 2017 program featured a record 112 applications, which were reviewed by 49 faculty volunteers, including previous ISGP recipients.

The selected projects represent an investment in the future research and scholarly or artistic vitality of the university and demonstrate promise for expansion of the project goals. The awardees come from disciplines across the university—with several of the ventures involving interdisciplinary work that will foster collaborative interaction among CU faculty—as well as disciplines not traditionally connected to sponsored research.

In addition to funding specifically earmarked to further strengthen the campus Grand Challenge, this year’s ISGP had a special category for big data projects.

Impact on faculty and campus

The ISGP, which has now provided more than $11 million to 261 faculty for innovative projects, has demonstrated an impressive return on investment, especially given the full impact of successfully funded projects requires a number of years to capture. As such, meaningful results from ongoing 2016 ISGP projects aren’t yet available, but results from the 2015 and 2014 programs are telling.

Five projects from the 2015 ISGP that received a combined $249,985 in seed funding have already received more than $6.5 million in additional funding, equating to $25.08 for every $1 invested by the program. Of the nine total 2015 projects that have concluded, results include one invention and 19 published manuscripts. An additional eight projects are still underway and likely to add to these already significant outcomes.

The 19 winning projects from the 2014 ISGP received a total of $850,000 and have yielded 17 manuscripts and two inventions. Seven of these projects that totaled a combined $323,811 in seed funds have resulted in more than $5.57 million in external funding, translating to a $16.21 return for each $1 contributed.

Outside of financial returns, other ISGP impacts on the campus are immeasurable. New data, partnerships and research directions are often achieved, opening up opportunities that may otherwise not come to fruition. Additionally, funded projects provide graduate students, postdoctoral scholars and other investigators with critical research development and creative work experiences.

The 2018 program

ISGP submissions are generally requested early in the spring semester with reviews taking place in February and March and selections announced in early April. Specific dates for the 2018 program will be announced later in the fall.

For more information on this program and other funding opportunities, visit the Research & Innovation Office website or subscribe to the bi-weekly RIO Bulletin.

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$1.1 million grant funds CU Boulder research into next-generation vaccines

Anonymous — Fri, 04 Nov 2016 06:00:00 +0000

$1.1 million grant funds CU Boulder research into next-generation vaccines Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 11/04/2016 - 00:00

BioFrontiers

The University of Colorado Boulder has received a $1.1 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop next-generation vaccines that require no refrigeration and defend against infectious diseases with just one shot.

If successful, those advancements could radically transform the difficult task of dispensing life-saving immunizations in developing countries — and improve convenience in every part of the world.

Professor Bob Garcea of the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology and the BioFrontiers Institute has teamed up with Professors Ted Randolph and Al Weimer of the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering in a unique collaboration that applies a wide range of skillsets and ideas to the pressing challenge of delivering vaccines to patients in developing countries. All three investigators work in the Jennie Smoly Caruthers Biotechnology Building (JSCBB) at CU Boulder, but their research areas have very different emphases.

“It’s really merging three different people with three different sets of expertise into one project,” Garcea said.

In Garcea’s lab, located in the Jean and Jack Thompson Vaccine Research Laboratories of the JSCBB, investigators work on new vaccines such as those for human papillomavirus, a leading cause of cervical cancer that is particularly devastating to women in developing countries.

One corridor away, Randolph’s team, which focuses on creating stable dosage forms for therapeutic proteins and vaccines, developed a process for making vaccines thermostable, or resistant to damage from heat or cold. In this glassy powder state, the vaccine can be stored at temperatures as high as 120 degrees Fahrenheit for three to four months without losing efficacy, Randolph said.

The two began collaborating about two years ago and even formed a spinoff company, Vitravax Inc., which is seeing successful results in vaccine studies conducted in mice.

The Gates Foundation grant will take these innovations a step further by combining the thermostable vaccine powders with techniques developed in the Weimer lab that allow uniform nanoscopic protective layers of aluminum oxide to be applied to vaccine microparticles. This coating process, called atomic layer deposition, not only provides a nanometer-thick protective barrier for the vaccine particles but also helps trigger the body’s immune response.

The trio is now forming extended release, multilayer microparticulate vaccine dosage forms, composed of an inner core of stabilized vaccine coated with aluminum oxide layers and an outer layer of vaccine, all embedded in a glassy powder. When the formulation is injected, the outer layer provides an initial vaccine dose. Next, the aluminum oxide layer slowly dissolves, eventually releasing the inner core which acts as a second dose of vaccine. Patients receive their second or third “dose” without ever knowing it and without a return trip to the doctor.

Although each step of the process has worked independently, researchers cautioned that moving from small test batches in the lab to manufacturing millions of vaccines for public use is a challenging process that may not succeed quickly – or at all.

“We’ve done many of the individual parts of this project,” Randolph said. “Now we’ve got to put those pieces together, and have it work.”

Still, investigators say they’re optimistic about the collaboration, which might never have happened if not for their proximity on CU-Boulder’s East Campus and the interdisciplinary mission of the BioFrontiers Institute, which seeks to drive innovation by combining researchers from different fields.

“One of the hopes (of the BioFrontiers Institute) is that investigators will, by their proximity, do new and interesting things,” said Garcea, who is a member of the Institute. “In a sense, we’ve fulfilled the mission. If the technology works, we’ve really fulfilled the mission.”

The Randolph and Weimer Labs are part of the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. The Garcea lab is part of the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology at CU Boulder and the BioFrontiers Institute. At the University of Colorado BioFrontiers Institute, researchers from the life sciences, physical sciences, computer science and engineering are working together to uncover new knowledge at the frontiers of science and partnering with industry to make their discoveries relevant.

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2012 Butcher Seed Grants Awarded

Anonymous — Thu, 10 May 2012 06:00:00 +0000

2012 Butcher Seed Grants Awarded Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 05/10/2012 - 00:00

BioFrontiers

2012 Butcher Seed Grants Awarded

Ten recipients of the 2012 Butcher Seed Grant Awards were recently notified of their winning proposals in interdisciplinary bioscience. These grants bring critical funding to many of Colorado’s top academic researchers wanting to expand their scientific discoveries, and build new collaborations that span disciplines and academic institutions. This year’s winning proposals are collaborative efforts between researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder, The University of Colorado Denver and National Jewish Health. Winners will receive a maximum of $100,000 to further their research projects.

These proposals offer an exciting look into the biomedical research going on in Colorado, covering everything from therapeutics for heart failure using phenotypic screening, to using live cell imaging to change our understanding of cells. The awardees are:

Investigating phospholipid asymmetry with specific peptide probes

Xue, Ding (PI)
Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado Boulder
Yin, Hang (Co-PI)
BioFrontiers Institute, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado Boulder

Discovery of novel therapeutics for heart failure by high throughput phenotypic screening

McKinsey, Timothy (PI)
Division of Cardiology/Department of Medicine, University of Colorado Denver
Reid, Brian (Co-PI)
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Colorado Denver

Biological applications of novel shape-persistent, three-dimensional organic molecular cages

Liu, Xuedong (PI)
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado Boulder
Zhang, Wei (Co-PI)
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado Boulder

Structural studies of DUF1220 protein domains

Sikela, James (PI)
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado School of Medicine
Pardi, Arthur (Co-PI)
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado Boulder

Chemical synthesis and biological characterization of homogeneous human precursor IL-1α glycoforms

Tan, Zhongping (PI)
BioFrontiers Institute, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado Boulder
Dinarello, Charles (Co-PI)
Department of Medicine and Immunology, University of Colorado School of Medicine

Role of the Sf3a mRNA splicing complex in innate immunity regulation

Alper, Scott (PI)
Integrated Department of Immunology, National Jewish Health
Leach, Sonia (Co-PI)
Center for Genes, Environment and Health, National Jewish Health
Blumenthal, Thomas (Co-PI)
Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado Boulder

Revolutionizing the way we look at cells: Defining novel organelles by harnessing the power of proteomics and live cell imaging

Ahn, Natalie (PI)
BioFrontiers Institute, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado Boulder
Palmer, Amy (Co-PI)
BioFrontiers Institute, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado Boulder

4-dimensional flow cardiac MRI for diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension

Fenster, Brett (PI)
Division of Cardiology, National Jewish Health
Hertzberg, Jean (Co-PI)
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder
Schroeder, Joyce (Co-PI)
Department of Radiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine

Cardiac cell mechanobiology

Leinwand, Leslie (PI)
BioFrontiers Institute, Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado Boulder
Anseth, Kristi (Co-PI)
BioFrontiers Institute, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder

The Butcher Symposium began in 2002 as a grassroots effort to bring together scientists from across the CU system to create collaborations and share data. Butcher Seed Grants were awarded in 2002, 2005, 2007 and 2009 to fund potentially transformative new scientific pilot projects that required researchers with different expertise to work together to address critical challenges in the biosciences.

“The 2012 Butcher Seed Grant award winners really represent what we can achieve in the biosciences by using interdisciplinary approaches, said Leslie Leinwand, Chief Scientific Officer at the BioFrontiers Institute. “By approaching human health challenges with the tools and minds of many types of scientists, we make a deeper impact in developing new solutions.”

In addition to the Butcher Seed Grants, additional funding was provided for one winning proposal under the Elliman Family Award in Collaborative Stem Cell Research. The awardee for the Elliman Family Award is:

Treatment of Lipoprotein Lipase (LPL) deficiency with induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology

Eckel, Robert (PI)
Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes; Division of Cardiology; Department of Medicine; Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Olwin, Bradley (Co-PI)
Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado Boulder
Chen, Jiang (Co-PI)
Department of Dermatology, Charles C. Gates Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Biology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Wang, Hong (Co-PI)
Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

In keeping with the tradition of previous Butcher Symposia, recipients of the 2009 Butcher Seed Grants presented the results of their research during the Butcher Symposium in November of 2011. From developing new methods to measure the risk of premature birth to discovering the role of genetics in the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, their research represented fields as diverse as mechanical engineering, biochemistry and computer science—often in the same presentation—and included collaborators from several Colorado academic institutions.

The Butcher Program was founded through the generosity of long-time CU supporters Charlie and Jane Butcher, who saw the potential for “big picture” scientific thinking and creative cross-discipline research to transform lives. The seed grants were awarded this year thanks to continued support from the Butcher family, CU-Boulder and Anschutz Medical Center leaders, and the CU President’s Office.

In addition to supporting the symposium and the seed grants, their support established the Charlie Butcher Award in Biotechnology to recognize scientists from around the world who are using interdisciplinary science to make a significant impact on human welfare and health. The 2011 award went to Nobel Laureate, Rogen Tsien from the University of California, San Diego, who developed fluorescent proteins, which revolutionized imaging live cells.

Additional information on the Butcher Program and on Charlie and Jane Butcher, is located on our website.

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Butcher Symposium highlights the success of collaborative research

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 07:00:00 +0000

Butcher Symposium highlights the success of collaborative research Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 11/17/2011 - 00:00

BioFrontiers

Butcher Symposium highlights the success of collaborative research

On November 11, the Butcher Symposium brought together many of CU’s top researchers to share their current science and to build new scientific collaborations that span disciplines and campuses.

The Butcher Symposium began in 2002 as a grassroots effort to bring together scientists from across the CU system to create collaborations and share data. Butcher Seed Grants were awarded in 2003, 2006, 2008 and 2010 to fund potentially transformative new scientific pilot projects that required researchers with different expertise to work together to address critical challenges in the biosciences.

From developing new methods to measure the risk of premature birth to discovering the role of genetics in the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, recipients of the 2010 Butcher Seed Grants presented the results of their Butcher-funded research at the Symposium. Presentations represented fields as diverse as mechanical engineering, biochemistry and computer science--often in the same presentation-- and included collaborators from across CU-Boulder, CU Denver, the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and National Jewish Health.

In addition to the 2010 Butcher Seed Grant recipient talks, over 80 scientific posters were presented by CU researchers on topics that included genetic screening, Down syndrome, needle-free vaccines, the treatment of depression and ocular disease, and many other critical areas of bioscience.

“The interdisciplinary collaboration and research represented here today shows what we can achieve as a university,” said CU-Boulder Chancellor Phil DiStefano in his welcoming remarks to the Symposium attendees. “We can thank Jane and Charlie Butcher for lighting the way.”

The Butcher Symposium was founded through the generosity of long-time CU supporters Charlie and Jane Butcher, who saw the potential for “big picture” scientific thinking and creative cross-discipline research to transform lives.

This year, the Charlie Butcher Award was presented to Nobel Laureate and Professor of Pharmacology and Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Roger Tsien, of the University of California, San Diego. Tsien is an early pioneer in developing “imaging” molecules that have opened up the cellular world to direct viewing and analysis. He described his current work in building molecules that can attach to diseased tissues and atherosclerotic plaques, allowing their precise locations in the body to be identified and tracked. He also described how these new molecular tags can be used to light up peripheral nerves and tumors with different colors, giving surgeons visual assistance to avoid inadvertently cutting healthy nerves during tumor removal.

Thanks to continued support from the Butcher family, CU-Boulder and Anschutz Medical Center leaders, and the CU President’s Office, a new round of Butcher Seed Grants will be awarded in early 2012. Successful proposals will be funded based on their facilitation of new collaborative interactions across disciplines and campuses, and their potential benefit to the scientific community, and to human welfare and health.

For additional information on the Butcher Program and on Charlie and Jane Butcher, please visit the website.

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Boettcher Investigator Envisions Personalized Medicine

Anonymous — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 06:00:00 +0000

Boettcher Investigator Envisions Personalized Medicine Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 09/17/2010 - 00:00

BioFrontiers

Dowell is an assistant professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology, and will use her grant to advance research into why closely related people respond differently to drug treatments. Her work has the potential to assess more accurately the efficacy of specific treatments for individual patients.

“The rapid drop in the cost of genome sequencing promises to usher in an era of personalized medicine, where genome information will be utilized in determining appropriate medical treatment,” she wrote in her grant proposal.

The Webb-Waring Biomedical Research Awards Program will support the research of early-career biomedical investigators whose work has a direct impact on human health. It is the result of an innovative agreement among the Boettcher Foundation, the Webb-Waring Foundation for Biomedical Research and the University of Colorado, but scientists from other Colorado research institutions qualify for similar grants.

The program’s goals are to help Colorado researchers become more competitive, keep high-quality research in the state, and contribute to Colorado’s fast-growing biomedical industry.

Dowell will share, with two other CU researchers, a $700,000 pool of grant money that will fund up to three years of their research starting July 1. They are among 65 researchers from all four CU campuses who applied for the grants.

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CIMB Researcher receives $750,000 Cancer Research Grant

Anonymous — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 07:00:00 +0000

CIMB Researcher receives $750,000 Cancer Research Grant Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 12/09/2009 - 00:00

BioFrontiers

A University of Colorado cancer researcher secured a $750,000, highly competitive Stand up to Cancer Innovative Research Grants.

Hang "Hubert" Yin, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry at CU-Boulder, will receive the grant over a three-year period for his "high-risk, high-reward" research project.

It's high-risk because it challenges the way cancer science is currently being conducted and high-reward for its potential for saving lives, according to the organization.

Richard D. Kolodner, chairman of the Stand Up to Cancer grants review committee, said in a news release that the group asked young researchers to step outside of their comfort zones in their research.

"If these Hang "Hubert" Yin (University of Colorado)
projects come to fruition, some of the ideas could be game-changers in cancer research," he said.

Yin, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry at CU and a researcher with the CU Cancer Center, competed against more than 400 U.S. scientists to win one of the 13 grants.

His project will focus on the Epstein-Barr virus, which benignly infects nine out of 10 people. But, it's also at play in various types of lymphomas, including post-transplant or AIDS-related lymphoma, Burkitt's lymphoma and Hodgkin's lymphoma.

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Two CU-Boulder Faculty Selected for $40 Million Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Program

Anonymous — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 06:00:00 +0000

Two CU-Boulder Faculty Selected for $40 Million Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Program Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 08/24/2009 - 00:00

BioFrontiers

Two University of Colorado at Boulder faculty members are among 33 researchers selected by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute of Chevy Chase, Md., to participate in a $40 million pilot program to pursue large, collaborative and potentially transformative biomedical research.

The Collaborative Innovation Awards to the eight teams of researchers represent a shift for the institute, the first time administrators there are providing direct funding for specific projects. The four-year pilot effort that includes researchers from 16 institutions in the United States and Chile is intended to encourage both HHMI investigators and outside scientists to undertake projects so new and large in scope that they require a team of collaborators with a range of expertise.

"We're excited about this program because of the quality of the projects, but also because it broadens the community of scientists supported by HHMI," said HHMI President and CU Distinguished Professor Tom Cech. "It incorporates people outside of the HHMI investigator program in solving important problems, and lets us do something really new."

A four-person research team led by HHMI Investigator Douglas Rees, which includes CU-Boulder faculty members Michael Stowell and Hang (Hubert) Yin and the California Institute of Technology's Rob Phillips, will be developing novel methods for analyzing the three-dimensional structures of membrane proteins. Located within the cell membranes, membrane proteins act as "gatekeepers" to control the two-way flow of nutrients, hormones and signaling molecules that regulate the permeability of the membranes and help cells stay healthy.

Rees and his team will build on earlier studies by Stowell of CU-Boulder's molecular, cellular and developmental biology department and his work on the structure of proteins found in neural synapses. Stowell has been targeting cell membrane lipids and their ability under some conditions to spontaneously assemble into "supramolecular" clusters in a laboratory dish.

More about this story from CU News Center

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