Arkansas Center for Membrane Biology

阿肯色州膜生物学中心

• 批准号: 9704712
• 负责人: Michael Jennings
• 金额: $ 58.87万
• 依托单位: University of Arkansas Medical Sciences Campus
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1997
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1997-06-01 至 2000-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9704712&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Arkansas; Center; Membrane; Biology

9704712 Jennings The objective of the proposed project is to develop the Arkansas Center for Membrane Biology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). The rationale for choosing membrane biology for development is that expertise in the study of membrane receptors, transporters, and channels will complement and augment several existing basic research strengths at UAMS, including neuroscience, glycobiology, endocrinology, virology, and toxicology. The Chancellor and the Dean of the College of Medicine at UAMS have made a major commitment to building in this area with the hiring in 1995 of the P.I. of this proposal, Michael L. Jennings, as Chairman of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics. Newly renovated laboratory space and salary lines to hire six faculty (three new positions and three replacements) have been provided to Dr. Jennings. Two additional faculty recently hired with adjunct appointments in Physiology and Biophysics will also contribute importantly to the critical mass of investigators in membrane biology. NSF EPSCoR funds are requested to enhance the equipment startup packages for new faculty and to support core facilities that are needed for competitive research in membrane biology. Development of the Center will focus on two themes. The first is the regulation of function of membrane receptors for hormones and neurotransmitters. There are currently four members of this group, with one established investigator, Lawrence E. Comett. The others are George T. Blevins, Jr., Richard C. Kurten, and Dana Gaddy-Kurten, all of whom study different aspects of peptide hormone receptors. Dr. Blevins has been Assistant Professor for three years; Drs. Kuden and Gaddy-Kurten were hired as Assistant Professors in August, 1996. Two additional faculty will be hired in this area. The other group of investigators will use biophysical approaches to study membrane transport and electrophysiology. The nucleus of this group consists of M.L. Jennings, Gerald Dienel, and Z. Jimmy Zhou. Dr. Dienel was hired as Associate Professor in April, 1996, and Dr. Zhou was hired as Assistant Professor in August, 1996. Two additional faculty will be hired in the area of transport biophysics and electrophysiology. The two areas of focus (receptors and biophysics) will not be isolated from each other; there will be constant interaction between the groups, and the faculty to be hired will very likely have interests that overlap both groups. EPSCoR funds are requested for the purchase of equipment and the support of core facilities that will enhance the competitiveness of the target faculty: Blevins, Kuden, Gaddy-Kurten, Dienel, Zhou, and four faculty to be hired. The core facilities are a molecular biology laboratory, a transgenic mouse facility, and computer facility for access to DNA sequence data bases. Funds are also requested for an extensive extramural seminar program, which will allow faculty to interact closely with leading experts in membrane biology. Other funds will be used for summer salary for visiting faculty from neighboring undergraduate institutions and for stipends for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Three major equipment items are requested. The first is a work station for the laser manipulation of cells (laser scissors and tweezers), to be used by Drs. Kurten and Gaddy-Kurten to enable them to select rare cells from a population and to do a variety of other cellular manipulations. The second item is equipment for optical imaging of calcium, to be used by Drs. Zhou and Blevins to quantify the time course and spatial pattern of calcium release from intracellular stores or entry across the plasma membrane. The third item is a brain imaging system to be used by Dr. Dienel and several collaborators for analysis of transport and metabolism in intact central nervous system. Additional equipment funds are requested to enhance the startup packages for the four additional faculty to be hired. A plan is in place for the professional development of the faculty in the Center, including the provision of protected time for junior faculty, publication goals, and assistance in preparing grant proposals. The national reputations of faculty will be developed by participation in national meetings and other off campus learning experiences; hosting visits by seminar speakers; presentation of seminars at other institutions; and participation as peer reviewers of manuscripts and grants. The goals over the next few years are for individual faculty to become established investigators with extramural funding, and for major multi-investigator grants to result from common interests and complementary expertise among members of the Center.

9704712 Jennings 拟议项目的目标是在阿肯色医学大学 (UAMS) 建立阿肯色膜生物学中心。选择膜生物学进行开发的理由是，膜受体、转运蛋白和通道研究的专业知识将补充和增强 UAMS 现有的几个基础研究优势，包括神经科学、糖生物学、内分泌学、病毒学和毒理学。 UAMS 校长和医学院院长于 1995 年聘用了 P.I.，对这一领域的建设做出了重大承诺。这项提案由生理学和生物物理学系主任迈克尔·詹宁斯 (Michael L. Jennings) 负责。已向詹宁斯博士提供了新装修的实验室空间和工资线，以雇用六名教员（三个新职位和三个替代职位）。最近聘请的另外两名在生理学和生物物理学领域担任兼职的教师也将为膜生物学研究人员的临界数量做出重要贡献。 NSF EPSCoR 资金用于增强新教师的设备启动包，并支持膜生物学竞争性研究所需的核心设施。 该中心的发展将重点关注两个主题。第一个是激素和神经递质膜受体功能的调节。该小组目前有四名成员，其中一名已确定的调查员是劳伦斯·E·科梅特 (Lawrence E. Comet)。其他人是 George T. Blevins, Jr.、Richard C. Kurten 和 Dana Gaddy-Kurten，他们都研究肽激素受体的不同方面。 Blevins 博士已担任助理教授三年；博士。 Kuden 和 Gaddy-Kurten 于 1996 年 8 月被聘为助理教授。该领域还将聘用两名教员。 另一组研究人员将使用生物物理方法来研究膜运输和电生理学。 该小组的核心成员是 M.L.詹宁斯、杰拉尔德·迪内尔和 Z.吉米·周。 Dienel博士于1996年4月被聘为副教授，周博士于1996年8月被聘为助理教授。运输生物物理学和电生理学领域还将聘用两名教师。两个重点领域（受体和生物物理学）不会彼此孤立； 小组之间会不断互动，而要聘用的教师很可能有与两个小组重叠的兴趣。 EPSCoR 申请资金用于购买设备和支持核心设施，以增强目标教师的竞争力：Blevins、Kuden、Gaddy-Kurten、Dienel、Zhou 以及拟聘用的四名教师。核心设施是分子生物学实验室、转基因小鼠设施和用于访问DNA序列数据库的计算机设施。还需要资金来开展广泛的校外研讨会项目，这将使教师能够与膜生物学领域的领先专家密切互动。其他资金将用于支付邻近本科院校访问教师的暑期工资以及研究生和博士后研究员的津贴。 需要三项主要设备。第一个是用于激光操作细胞的工作站（激光剪刀和镊子），供 Drs 使用。 Kurten 和 Gaddy-Kurten 使他们能够从群体中选择稀有细胞并进行各种其他细胞操作。第二个项目是钙光学成像设备，供 Drs 使用。 Zhou 和 Blevins 量化了钙从细胞内储存或跨质膜进入的时间过程和空间模式。第三个项目是迪内尔博士和几位合作者使用的脑成像系统，用于分析完整中枢神经系统的运输和代谢。需要额外的设备资金来增强要雇用的四名额外教员的启动包。 该中心制定了一项针对教师专业发展的计划，包括为初级教师提供受保护的时间、出版目标以及协助准备资助提案。教师的全国声誉将通过参加全国会议和其他校外学习经历来提高；接待研讨会发言人的来访；在其他机构举办研讨会；并作为手稿和资助的同行评审员参与。未来几年的目标是让个别教师成为拥有外部资金的知名研究者，并通过中心成员之间的共同兴趣和互补的专业知识获得主要的多研究者资助。