New tools for exploiting the genome revolution as York pioneers analytical science
Posted on 15 February 2001
The University, led by the Department of Chemistry, came top in a national competition for a new Chair in Analytical Science. The team will be funded by the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, together with £1.4 million from industrial partners who share the University's confidence that the research methods developed will benefit them too.
"We are currently learning a great deal about genes through the various genome projects," said Dr David Goodall of the University's Chemistry Department. "We're now entering the post-genomic era and moving into proteomics, where the key challenges are to identify the proteins made by the genes. The way in which proteins behave and are modified in the cell affects the body's response to disease and the efficacy of drugs.
"Clearly we need a much better understanding of the whole cell, and a holistic view of how the genes, proteins and small molecules interact with each other."
"What we plan to achieve with this team is the development of tools and techniques which will help other scientists understand protein functions in areas ranging from plant growth to bladder cancer, and help identify the proteins and small molecules to be used as markers for disease."
These developments could lead to the formation of a number of spin-off companies as the real-life applications of these techniques become apparent. "We also hope that larger companies may wish to relocate to York in order to tap into the expertise that we will establish in this area of science," says Dr Goodall.
New members of the research team, which will build on work in Analytical Science undertaken by Dr Goodall and his colleagues, will comprise initially a Research Professor, a lecturer and an experimental officer in the Department of Chemistry. The team will work particularly closely with the Structural Biology Laboratory and teams in Computer Science and Biology.
Genomics and proteomics projects generate huge amounts of data, and the ability to find patterns and extract meaningful information, for example to differentiate healthy and diseased cells, is a major challenge. Such pattern recognition and 'data mining' become computer science problems, and York's machine learning and advanced computer architectures groups already work with pharmaceutical companies to find relationships and meaning in biological data. "So much money and effort is spent in testing the effectiveness of drugs, that even a slight increase in the targeting of drugs can save millions of pounds," says Professor Alan Burns, Head of the Department of Computer Science at York.
The new team's collaboration with scientists in Biology will include work on novel agricultural products, understanding the development and progression of cancer, and work on new vaccines to combat tropical disease which has the potential of major benefits for the developing world.
Professor Robin Perutz, Head of the Department of Chemistry, highlighted the importance of this project: "It demonstrates our ability to win in the face of competition from other first-rate universities. Our project represents a major new direction for the University, and marks outstanding cooperation between three Departments to develop new fundamental science and applications in the post-genomic era."
Notes to editors:
- Industrial partners in this project include GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer Global R & D, AstraZeneca, Merck Sharp and Dohme, Syngenta, Smith & Nephew, Nestlé Product Technology Centre York, Waters/Micromass, Thermo Finnigan and Beckman Coulter.
- The Department of Chemistry at York has 45 members of academic staff, 400 undergraduates, 140 graduate students and 80 research fellows. It generates around £4 million in research income each year.