January 18, 1996 Contact: Robert Irion (408) 459-2495; irion@ua.ucsc.edu
KECK FOUNDATION AWARDS $450,000 TO UCSC FOR EQUIPMENT TO CONTRIBUTE TO BASIC STUDIES OF DISEASES
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SANTA CRUZ, CA--The W. M. Keck Foundation of Los Angeles has awarded $450,000 to the University of California, Santa Cruz, for equipment that will let chemists and biologists explore the structures and functions of molecules that play roles in causing or treating human diseases.
The grant will help establish a laboratory for the study of biomolecules--substances that take part in the everyday processes of human life within our cells. A broad spectrum of UCSC scientists will use the new tools to study topics such as potential drugs from the tissues of marine organisms, proteins that can trigger cancer or other diseases by folding into certain harmful shapes, and enzymes that fix damaged DNA.
Such studies are many years removed from a new cure or treatment. However, all diseases arise from countless biomolecules gone awry: genes that have mutated, proteins that have stopped working, viruses that have commandeered a cell's machinery. Discovering the structures of such molecules, how they interact in the cell, and how they arise in the first place forms the basis for understanding a disease and finding ways to stop it.
Most of the funds from the Keck Foundation will pay for a new mass spectrometer, a sophisticated instrument that analyzes the compositions of substances in fine detail and provides clues about their molecular structures. The remaining funds will upgrade an existing facility for nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, purchased last year with grants from the Elsa U. Pardee Foundation ($100,000) and the National Science Foundation.
"This state-of-the-art equipment will significantly enhance the research capabilities of our faculty," says Thomas Schleich, chairman of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. "Declining budgets have made it very difficult for us to meet these needs without private support from donors such as the Keck Foundation."
The W. M. Keck Foundation has a long history of supporting scientific research at UCSC. Its total donations to the campus now exceed $1.35 million, including awards of $250,000 and $600,000 to UCSC's Institute of Tectonics in 1986 and 1990, respectively, for equipment related to research on earthquakes and the physics of the earth.
About twenty faculty members in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Department of Biology will use the new equipment to advance the frontiers of their fields. Planned research includes the following:
* Studies of compounds from marine sponges and other sea life, by a group led by professor of chemistry Phillip Crews. Many such compounds, which may have evolved in the organisms as self-defense chemicals, hold promise for treating cancer and other diseases. Accurate information about the structures of these compounds is vital. In addition, the new equipment will let Crews use minuscule amounts of the compounds in each analysis, thus conserving his precious supply.
* Research on the structures of proteins, in the labs of associate professor of chemistry Glenn Millhauser and assistant professor of biology Lydia Gregoret. Proteins are long strings of building blocks, called amino acids, that fold into complex 3-D shapes. The shape of each protein determines its precise role in the cell. Millhauser and Gregoret are studying the structures of protein fragments that may contribute to Alzheimer's disease and certain cancers.
* Studies of the interactions between DNA and proteins, by assistant professor of chemistry Sheila David and her team. David, who holds a Young Investigator Award from the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation, explores an enzyme that repairs a specific type of damage in DNA, the genetic instructions in our cells. When such enzymes don't work, the damaged DNA directs the cell to churn out dysfunctional molecules. Diseases such as hereditary colon cancer can result.
"The new mass spectrometer and the upgraded NMR facility will serve a diverse group of chemists and biologists, giving us structural information that is essential to rapid research progress," says research professor of chemistry David Deamer, whose work could contribute to the successful mapping of the genes carried by every person. "That basic information is the foundation for all other studies, for it essentially tells us about the processes of life at the molecular level."
One of the nation's largest foundations in terms of annual grants, the W. M. Keck Foundation was established in 1954 by the late William M. Keck, founder of The Superior Oil Company, who also created in his will the W. M. Keck Trust for the sole benefit of the foundation. The primary focus of the foundation is on grants to universities and colleges throughout the U.S., with particular emphasis in the fields of science, engineering, and medical research. It also provides limited support, focused on programs serving southern California, in the areas of community services, health care, precollegiate education, and the arts.
Editor's note: For further comment on the grant, you may contact the following researchers, who were involved closely with the proposal: Phillip Crews--(408) 459-2603; phil@chemistry.ucsc.edu David Deamer--(408) 459-5158; deamer@hydrogen.ucsc.edu Thomas Schleich--(408) 459-2067; yoti@aku.ucsc.edu
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