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As
an independent basic biomedical research institute, Hauptman-Woodward
is dedicated to achieving an understanding of diseases at a molecular
level. The knowledge that our basic research provides is often used
by others in the design of new medications, vaccines, and diagnostic
tools. However, the effect of our work is not always immediately
evident and it is difficult for individuals to see the infinite
advances that occur because of basic research. In order to demonstrate
its importance and to allow others to understand the impact of our
work, Dr. Hauptman briefly explains how a tool developed at HWI
was able to improve human health.
By: Dr. Herbert A. Hauptman
We scientists
at HWI are often asked just what we do and why our work is important.
The easy answer is that we try to improve our understanding of life
processes and in this way to improve well being through better methods
for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease. Since our
research is of such a fundamental nature it is sometimes difficult
to see the connection between our work and the resulting health
benefits. A recent incident provides a dramatic illustration of
just such a connection.
It is of course well known that antibiotics are the medicine of choice in the treatment of many bacterial infections. Less well known perhaps is that the antibiotic vancomycin is the drug of last resort, the one which works when nothing else does. However, during the course of the last ten or twelve years a strain of vancomycin resistant bacteria evolved with fatal consequences for those infected. Overnight, the development of a modified form of vancomycin needed to defeat the resistant strain of bacteria became a critical priority. However the pharmacologists working on this problem were confronted with a seemingly insurmountable obstacle. The structure of the vancomycin molecule was unknown and, owing to its complexity, appeared to be unsolvable. Yet, knowledge of its structure was an essential pre-requisite if a successful modification was to be found.
Faced with this dilemma, and after many months of failure, the pharmacologists came to HWI, recognized to be the world's leader in this field of biomedical research. Within a matter of days the computer program Shake-and-Bake, developed at HWI, solved the vancomycin structure; the pharmacologists now had at their disposal the information needed to design the required modification using the well established protocols for the structure based design of drugs. Here then is the most recent example of how the internationally recognized expertise of HWI scientists will serve to save human lives.
It is not inappropriate to stress that the development of the Shake-and-Bake algorithm at HWI was the result of the collaborative efforts of a number of scientists with expertise in different disciplines: crystallography, chemistry, biophysics, biochemistry, computer science, and mathematics. It is precisely this collection of scientists with strength in different but related fields, which accounts for our unique character and the worldwide recognition that we enjoy.
It is of course well known that antibiotics are the medicine of choice in the treatment of many bacterial infections. Less well known perhaps is that the antibiotic vancomycin is the drug of last resort, the one which works when nothing else does. However, during the course of the last ten or twelve years a strain of vancomycin resistant bacteria evolved with fatal consequences for those infected. Overnight, the development of a modified form of vancomycin needed to defeat the resistant strain of bacteria became a critical priority. However the pharmacologists working on this problem were confronted with a seemingly insurmountable obstacle. The structure of the vancomycin molecule was unknown and, owing to its complexity, appeared to be unsolvable. Yet, knowledge of its structure was an essential pre-requisite if a successful modification was to be found.
Faced with this dilemma, and after many months of failure, the pharmacologists came to HWI, recognized to be the world's leader in this field of biomedical research. Within a matter of days the computer program Shake-and-Bake, developed at HWI, solved the vancomycin structure; the pharmacologists now had at their disposal the information needed to design the required modification using the well established protocols for the structure based design of drugs. Here then is the most recent example of how the internationally recognized expertise of HWI scientists will serve to save human lives.
It is not inappropriate to stress that the development of the Shake-and-Bake algorithm at HWI was the result of the collaborative efforts of a number of scientists with expertise in different disciplines: crystallography, chemistry, biophysics, biochemistry, computer science, and mathematics. It is precisely this collection of scientists with strength in different but related fields, which accounts for our unique character and the worldwide recognition that we enjoy.