Buffalo, NY, July 8, 2005 - - The Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute (HWI) received a five-year, $16.9 million grant award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to fund a Center for High-Throughput Structural Biology. This grant represents one of ten nationally funded centers that are part of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) Protein Structure Initiative (PSI).

The Protein Structure Initiative (PSI) is a national effort to assemble a large collection of protein structures in a high-throughput operation. To be successful, the PSI must cut the costs and time it takes to produce proteins for study and to determine their three-dimensional structures. The long-range goal is to make the atomic-level structures of most proteins easily obtainable from their corresponding DNA sequences. Knowledge gained could help researchers better understand the function of proteins, learn how altered structures can contribute to disease, and identify new targets for drug development.

This specialized center, led by Dr. George DeTitta, HWI Principal Research Scientist and Executive Director & CEO, was made possible through the collaborative efforts of the Hauptman-Woodward Institute, the University of Rochester, Cornell University, Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Washington, University of Pittsburgh, and Ontario Cancer Institute.

Dr. George DeTitta stated, "This competitive award represents the collaborative efforts of many scientists and institutions. Hauptman-Woodward is honored to be the core facility for this center and is proud to bring new federal research dollars to Western New York. We thank our U.S. Senators and Members of Congress for their tireless support of the National Institutes of Health and the life sciences."

Congresswoman Louise M. Slaughter, who attended the announcement, stated, "I congratulate Hauptman-Woodward Institute for securing this impressive grant. With its team of renowned scientists and collaborators, Hauptman-Woodward continues to bolster its image as a renowned international facility for medical research. All of us in Western New York are fortunate to have this world-class center in our community to serve as a catalyst for economic growth and share in the worldwide research effort to fight disease and improve human health. I am proud to represent this valuable research facility and its team of professionals whose vital work is making a difference in saving lives globally.”

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton added, "That the Hauptman-Woodward Research Institute is one of only ten centers nationwide to receive this funding simply reiterates what the Western New York Community already knows -- Hauptman-Woodward is a world renowned facility on the cutting edge of molecular level research. The Institute's success, combined with its ability to attract these kinds of competitive grants is testament to the stellar reputation of the scientists and facilities that make up Buffalo's downtown medical campus."

U.S. Representative Thomas M. Reynolds (R-Clarence) stated, "This grant is further proof that NIH has confidence in the work being spearheaded by Hauptman-Woodward and led by Dr. George DeTitta. The research being conducted right here in Western New York is contributing to a new understanding of life sciences. I'm proud to support efforts that secure the resources necessary for Western New York to be competitive in this emerging field."

Congressman Brian Higgins also praised the grant and the institute, stating, "It is a great privilege to have this distinguished and prominent research institute in Western New York. The results of Hauptman-Woodward studies are used worldwide and could have an immeasurable impact on the combat of hundreds of diseases. The Institute's success will add to Western New York's growth as a critical center for medical research in the United Stats and worldwide. Investments like these help to promote true economic development in our region, and I am proud to see the fruits of this institute's hard work."

" This is another victory for Western New York Life Sciences," Senator Charles E. Schumer said. "It's a great investment for Buffalo and for the whole country, because Hauptman-Woodward's research will be used to develop new life-saving medicines and treatments for diseases that will improve people’s lives. I will continue to fight for these advances, and for this research center, which also gives a real shot in the arm to the Western New York economy.”

This project will assemble a technology development and structure determination pipeline for high throughput structural biology. The emphasis will lie in five distinct areas:
1. The expression and purification of small protein-protein complexes from yeast.
2. The expression and purification of transmembrane proteins from yeast.
3. The identification, expression, and purification of antibodies that target transmembrane proteins from yeast, as aids to their crystallization.
4. The crystallization of protein complexes, transmembrane proteins, transmembrane protein-antibody complexes, and soluble proteins.
5. The cryopreservation of protein crystals.

This center will also serve as a structural biology research resource for the greater biological community, forming a partnership with biologists and structural biologists that will make the high throughput crystallization and cryopreservation pipeline available as a community resource. Since 2000, HWI's high throughput robotic crystallization facility has served the needs of more than 500 structural biologists, conducting more than 7.7 million experiments on over 5000 protein samples. This project will extend that pipeline to include optimization and growth of frozen, mounted, diffraction-quality crystals ready for structural analysis. This will offer the rapid benefits of this technology to a larger biological community.

Hauptman-Woodward researchers working on the project are: Dr. George T. DeTitta, Principal Investigator, Principal Research Scientist and Executive Director & CEO; Principal Research Scientist, Dr. Walter Pangborn; Senior Research Scientists, Dr. Robert H. Blessing and Dr. Charles Weeks; and Research Scientists, Dr. Andrew Gulick, Joseph R. Luft, Dr. Michael Malkowski, Dr. L. Wayne Schultz, Dr. Edward Snell, and Dr. Timothy Umland.

Additional individuals working on project include
• Dr. Eric Phizicky and Dr. Mark Sullivan, Investigators, and Dr. Mark Dumont and Dr. Elizabeth Grayhack, Co-Investigators from the University of Rochester;
• Dr. Sol Gruner, Investigator from Cornell University;
• Dr. Keith O. Hodgson, Investigator and Michael S. Soltis, Senior Research Associate from Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory;
• Dr. Ethan Merritt, Investigator, Dr. Martin Berg, Co-Investigator from the University of Washington;
∑ Dr. William F. Furey, Jr., Investigator and Kakshminarasimhulu Pasupulati, Senior Research Specialist from the University of Pittsburgh; and
• Dr. Igor Jurisica, Investigator from the Ontario Cancer Institute.

Founded in 1956, HWI is an independent, non-profit facility specializing in the area of basic research known as structural biology. Our mission is two-fold; committing ourselves to improving human health by studying the causes of diseases at their basic molecular level and working to educate the scientists of tomorrow. Our president and namesake, Dr. Herbert A. Hauptman, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1985 for his development of the formula known as “direct methods”, where his application of classical mathematics finally resolved an issue that had defeated generations of chemists. For more information visit HWI's web site at www.hwi.buffalo.edu