Biological Building Blocks

New Facility and Scholars Enhance SMU's Research Programs in the Biological Sciences

By Ellen D. Mayou

The Department of Biological Sciences has gained an international reputation for its research on the relationship between antioxidants and the aging process. William Orr leads this research, which uses the fruit fly Drosophila as a model.

Trypanosoma brucei may not be a household word in the United States, but it is widely known in Africa, where the microscopic parasite spread by the tsetse fly threatens public health by infecting the nervous system and causing the disease commonly known as sleeping sickness. An estimated 300,000 people in sub-Saharan Africa die each year from trypanosomiasis, which is always fatal when left untreated.

"Trypanosomiasis is part of a group of great neglected diseases," says Larry Ruben, chair of the Department of Biological Sciences in Dedman College. "Most of these diseases predominantly affect people outside the United States."

Ruben has spent the past 20 years studying different ideas that may someday lead to an effective method for eliminating Trypanosoma brucei.

The task is difficult because the trypanosome is a eukaryotic cell, just as are human cells. Therefore, drugs that are likely to affect the trypanosome are just as likely to affect the host, Ruben says. "Most of the existing drugs to fight trypanosome are extremely toxic."

Ruben is trying to find unique processes in the trypanosome that can be used to design new therapies. His current research focuses on the pathways that regulate cell division and cell death. "Our goal is to find a way to get the cell to kill itself or to stop it from dividing properly," he says.

Ruben is one of the researchers in Biological Sciences using the latest technology to study diseases as well as the fundamental mechanisms of cells.

New faculty members Robert Harrod and Pia Vogel are adding to SMU’s growing expertise in the biological sciences.

Last year the department moved into its new quarters in the 68,000-square-foot Dedman Life Sciences Building. In addition to providing more space for classrooms and laboratories, the building has enabled the department to recruit several promising young scholars.

Among them is Robert Harrod, a virologist who joined the SMU faculty last fall from the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health. Harrod is studying two retroviruses – the HIV-1 virus that causes AIDS and the Human T-cell Lymphotropic Virus (HTLV), which causes Adult T-cell Leukemia/Lymphoma (ATLL). By providing a more detailed understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms associated with the pathogenesis of these retroviruses, Harrod's work may identify novel targets for anti-retroviral drug therapies.

"Robert is, without a doubt, one of the most prolific young scientists I have ever seen," Ruben says, noting that his work has been published in such prestigious journals as the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Harrod's work will complement research conducted by Rick Jones, a developmental biologist who also is studying how the addition and removal of different protein components can change the regulation of genes. Jones is gaining international recognition for his studies of a protein known as E(Z), which he discovered while doing postdoctoral research at Harvard. His work applies to the process of human development and cancer. Jones is collaborating with researchers at the University of North Carolina's Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center to learn more about how this important protein works to repress gene expression. The journal Science published a paper of theirs last year.

The new Dedman Life Sciences Building has enabled the Department of Biological Sciences to recruit promising young scholars such as Harrod and Vogel.

Also joining SMU last fall was Pia Vogel, a biochemist with expertise in electron spin resonance (ESR) procedures who studies dynamic properties of protein structure. Much of her work examines how cells manufacture adenosine triphosphate (ATP), a chemical produced in a cell's mitochondria that provides energy. Virtually every cell function, from the building of bones to the contraction of muscles and the transmission of nerve impulses, relies on ATP.

"Pia is the only person in the Dallas area to use the electron spin resonance method," Ruben says. "She brings unique expertise to the SMU campus."

Vogel's work complements research by Steven Vik, professor of biological sciences, who is researching a different protein in the ATP synthase. Vik received a four-year, $637,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health to support his work, as well as a grant from the Welch Foundation.

A $1 million grant from NASA's Office of Biological and Physical Research gave the Department of Biological Sciences a boost last summer. The grant supports research by providing start-up funds for the new faculty members and enabling the department to purchase some specialized equipment. New equipment purchased with the grant includes a confocal microscope that will enable researchers to identify individual proteins from among the 10,000 proteins in a cell. Harrod, for example, will use this microscope to study the dynamics of certain proteins in cells infected with HIV.

Other new equipment extending the department's capabilities includes a fluorescence-activated cell sorter for the analysis of tagged cells within a population, an electron spin resonance spectrometer that will help faculty members learn more about the structure of large proteins, and a microcomputer that the department will use to help analyze protein folding and protein-protein interactions.

"This grant is another step in the process of helping us build one of the truly excellent biological sciences programs," says Jasper Neel, dean of Dedman College.

Already, the department has gained an international reputation for its research on the relationship between antioxidants and the aging process. This research, which uses the fruit fly Drosophila as a model, is led by William Orr, professor of biological sciences. Orr recently received a five-year, $1,125,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health, bringing his annual research funding to nearly $500,000.

A $1 million grant from NASA's Office of Biological and Physical Research enabled the Department of Biological Sciences to purchase this confocal microscope that Department Chair Larry Ruben uses for his studies of the microscopic parasite Trypanosoma brucei.

The new grant will enable Orr to study a family of genes known as thioredoxin peroxidases that was just discovered in the past decade. The genes appear to have antioxidative properties, and Orr is one of the first researchers to investigate how they may protect against aging.

Pia Vogel's expertise in electron spin resonance procedures is expected to further SMU's studies on aging, because spin-labeled probes can be used to tag specific proteins and monitor the accumulation of oxidative damage in a variety of conditions.

The department plans to add up to three more faculty members in 2003 who will further strengthen its program on aging, as well as its overall scholarship.

"In five to 10 years, I expect we will be nationally recognized for our work in AIDS, signaling processes, energy capture, and regulation of gene expression, as well as aging," Ruben says.

Unlike other universities that focus on hiring established scientists in mid-career, Ruben's goal is to hire young researchers who he thinks will be successful, and give them every opportunity to develop their careers.

"I'd like to nurture the next Nobel laureate," he says.

For more information: Larry Ruben
lruben@mail.smu.edu
www.smu.edu/biology