$10.1 million COBRE grant aids proteomics research

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cientists from the University of Kansas, K-State and Wichita State will be able to develop innovative research on proteins, thanks to a major grant awarded to Robert P. Hanzlik, professor of medicinal chemistry at the University of Kansas.

The five-year, $10.1 million Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) grant from the National Institutes of Health will support six research projects and two analytical core laboratories in the burgeoning field of proteomics. The grant also will receive matching funds from the KU Center for Research and the Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation.

In recent years, much public interest has centered on the mapping of the human genome and related breakthroughs in the field of genetics. While that interest is certainly justified, Hanzlik said equal emphasis should be placed on the proteins those genes code for, since the proteins carry out most of the biochemical functions necessary for cells to survive.

"Probably everybody has heard of the role that genes play in controlling various aspects of the development and potential that individual humans, livestock or plants express," he said. "But unlike genes, which are essentially constant throughout an individual's life, proteins come and go all the time. Certain proteins are present in cells only at certain times, while others are continuously being modified and later replaced."

By better understanding the structure and function of various proteins, and the way they come and go, the researchers will gain a deeper understanding of how proteins work in cells, Hanzlik said.

"The term `proteomics' means different things to different people," he said. "But one of the things it means is first cataloging a11 of the proteins and all of the forms in which they occur in a given cell or tissue."

Major grants such as this and the COBRE grants awarded in the past several years have helped KU achieve the largest growth rate for federally funded life science research among the nation's top 50 comprehensive public universities from fiscal years 1996 to 2000, according to data released by the National Science Foundation. This is the second NIH COBRE Award the HBC will administer. (Ranjit Arab with KU University Relations contributed to this story) •