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Waters Lab Dedicated to Protein Research
The Barnett Institute of Chemical and Biological Analysis celebrated the opening of the Waters Mass Spectrometry Laboratory on May 1. The new laboratory, led by Associate Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology John R. Engen, is dedicated to studying protein shapes and characteristics to provide pharmaceutical and biotechnology innovators with the tools necessary to develop treatment options for some
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| NU President Joseph Aoun and Waters CEO Douglas Berthiaume cut the ribbon for the Waters Laboratory at the Barnett Institute. | of the world?s deadliest diseases such as AIDS and cancer. Waters Corporation Founder James L. Waters, CEO Douglas A. Berthiaume, and Executive Vice President Art Caputo joined President Joseph Aoun and Barnett Institute Director Barry Karger for the festivities.
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| Membrane Lipid Rafts Detected for the First Time in Mouse Oocytes and Cleaving Preimplantation Embryos
Results of a study performed by Matthews Distinguished Professor of Biology Carol Warner show that the membranes of the mouse oocyte and preimplantation embryo are rich in lipid rafts and that these rafts are associated with the cleavage furrow. The research confirms the critical role lipid rafts and their associated proteins play in preimplantation developmental events.
> Read an article. |
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Anti-angiogenic Gene Therapy with Systemically-Administered sFlt-1 Plasmid DNA in Gelatin-Based Nanovectors
This study examined the potential of engineered gelatin-based nanoparticulate vectors in efficient systemic delivery of therapeutic gene encoding for soluble vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1 (sVEGF-R1 or sFlt-1) to a human breast cancer model established in the mammary fat pad of athymic mice. The study was reported in the Nature journal Cancer Gene Therapy by Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences Mansoor Amiji and doctoral student Sushma Kommareddy.
>> Read an article.
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Gas Composition Strategies for the Successful Scale Up of Ajmalicine Production from Catharanthus Roseus Cultures
The need for valuable plant-derived alkaloids, such as the monoterpenoid indole alkaloid ajmalicine from the Catharanthus roseus plant, has propelled interest in the large-scale production of this valuable compound from cell cultures of this plant. Research performed by Carolyn Lee-Parsons, Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering, has demonstrated the critical role of dissolved gas composition on the scale-up of growth and secondary metabolism as well as a strategy for optimizing the production of ajmalicine and other valuable alkaloids from plant cell cultures.
>> Read an article. |
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Herpesvirus Saimiri Tip Protein Proved to Be Largely Unstructured
Research performed by Associate Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology John R. Engen was recently published by the Journal of Molecular Biology. Analyses performed with hydrogen-exchange mass spectrometry on the tyrosine kinase interacting protein (Tip) from Herpesvirus saimiri showed that although Tip is largely unstructured, it is still functional and capable of binding and activating its target Lck. These results suggest that Tip, a causative agent in lymphoma in its host, must fold upon interaction with target proteins.
>> Read an article. |
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NU Positioned to Seek International Collaboration and Research Funding
Graham Jones has been selected to join the N8 Group, a powerful consortium of research universities located in the U.K. Jones' goals are to initiate collaborations with the group's members on behalf of NU researchers and to assist NU in gaining access to the trillions of dollars in research funding available across Europe. Jones is chair of the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology and special assistant to the provost.
>> Read an article. |
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Of Note
Associate Professor of Biology Joe Ayers' robolobster, a 7-lb., 2-ft.-long robot modeled after a real lobster, appears in the "Design Life Now: National Design Triennial 2006" series exhibition, showing now through July 29, 2007 at the Smithsonian Institution's Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York City.
>> For more information.
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Upcoming Campus Events
Save the date for the Barnett Institute's Dieter and Inge Hoehn Lectures in Bioanalytical Chemistry on
November 27 and 28, 2007 and Biogenerics Conference on March 2-4, 2008.
For more information, see Upcoming Events. |
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The Biotechnology Initiative promotes state-of-the-art interdisciplinary research and innovative education at Northeastern with emphasis on close collaboration with industry and medical communities. Biotechnology Initiative
Northeastern University |
