Grants
Unraveling Leukemia
This article was originally published in the November 2004 issue of CLASnotes.
More than 33,000 people in the United States are expected to be diagnosed with leukemia this year, and once stricken with the malignant cancer of the bone marrow and blood, patients, on average, have only about five years to live. Chemistry Professor Nigel Richards and his colleagues in the College of Medicine have received a grant from the National Institutes of Health to lay the groundwork for the development of new methods of diagnosing and treating the disease.
“If you get leukemia, the treatment has really been fairly standard over the last 40 years,” Richards says. “What physicians do is give you anti-leukemia drugs and inject an enzyme into you that breaks down asparagine in the blood. By removing asparagine in the blood, the leukemia cells appear to be more sensitive to treatment with the drugs. The problem is that the enzyme injected into the blood causes an immune response—giving rise to severe side effects. In the event that the initial treatment does not fully cure the leukemia, it begins again, and is then very likely to be resistant against renewed treatment.”
“We would like to find out what happens
to the [leukemia] cell when it becomes drug resistant.”
—Nigel Richards
Richards and fellow researchers Stephen Hunger, associate professor of pediatrics, and Michael Kilberg, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, have been awarded $100,000 a year for two years to explore a hypothesis they have developed for better treating drug resistant leukemia. More specifically, the researchers will examine an enzyme called asparagine synthetase and the onset of drug resistance in leukemia cells. Using proteomics methods—a new science of coding human proteins revealed through the Human Genome Project—they hope not only to develop new methods for diagnosis but also to unravel the biological processes that cause human cells to become resistant to the drugs oncologists use to treat leukemia.
Through his prior research, Kilberg has discovered that patients become drug resistant because leukemia cells at some point start producing an enzyme called asparagine synthesize, which makes asparagine inside the cells. It is unknown why this increase in the enzyme makes leukemia cells resistant to drugs, and this is the question Richards hopes the team’s research will answer. “We would like to find out what happens to the cell when it becomes drug resistant,” he says. “How does that even work—how does increasing one enzyme cause a cell to go from drug sensitive to drug resistant? That is an amazing thing—just one cellular event can result in a situation whereby we can no longer treat the disease.”
Richards, who has taught at UF since 1991, received a PhD from Cambridge University in England in 1984. In addition to this new project, he has long-term grant funding from the NIH for his studies of enzymes that have potential clinical use in treating and preventing kidney stone formation and related diseases.
—Buffy Lockette
Grants through the Division of Sponsored Research
August 2004: Total $6,537,996 |
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FALSETTI A B |
ANTHROPOLOGY |
COUNTY OF ONONDAGA, NY |
$163 |
ONONDAGA COUNTY FORENSICS CASEWORK |
|
GLADWIN C H MORERA M D |
ANTHROPOLOGY |
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$12,000 |
DISSERTATION RESEARCH: DOES OFF-FARM WORK ENCOURAGE OR DISCOURAGE SOIL-FERTILITY ENHANCEMENT...WESTERN KENYA |
|
MOSELEY M E WILLIAMS P R |
ANTHROPOLOGY |
NATL FDTN ON ARTS & HUMANITIES NATL ENDOW FOR THE HUMANITIES |
$16,770 |
RITUAL FETING AND RELIGIOUS CONVERSION IN AN ANCIENT NATIVE AMERICAN EMPIRE |
|
OLIVER SMITH A R DE LA PENA A |
ANTHROPOLOGY |
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$11,300 |
THE INEQUALITY OF SOCIAL CAPITAL: A COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF SOCIAL CAPITAL MEASURES IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT |
|
GE J |
ASTRONOMY |
CALIFORNIA INST OF TECHNOLOGY JET PROPULSION LABORATORY |
$94,406 |
AN INSTRUMENT FOR HIGH PRECISION MULTI-OBJECT DOPPLER SURVEYS FOR EXTRA-SOLAR PLANETS |
|
GE J |
ASTRONOMY |
CALIFORNIA INST OF TECHNOLOGY JET PROPULSION LABORATORY |
$1,313 |
REQUEST FOR AN OPTICAL BENCH TRANSFER AND SETUP OF A TESTBEDFOR EVALUATING THE SINGLE MODE FIBER BUNDLE |
|
GE J |
ASTRONOMY |
CALIFORNIA INST OF TECHNOLOGY JET PROPULSION LABORATORY |
$95,862 |
A HIGH THROUGHPUT INTERFEROMETER METHOD FOR MEASURING DOPPLER RADIAL VELOCITY |
|
TELESCO C M |
ASTRONOMY |
NASA GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH PRGM |
$24,000 |
HIGH RESOLUTION MID-INFRARED IMAGING OF TRANSITIONAL HERBIG STARS: GEOMETRICAL DISTRIBUTION OF CIRCUMSTELLAR |
|
SOLTIS D E |
BOTANY |
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$520,555 |
ATOL:COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH:RESOLVING THE TRUNK OF THE ANGIOSPERM TREE AND TWELVE OF ITS THORNIEST BRANCHES |
|
BENNER S A BRADLEY M E |
CHEMISTRY |
NATL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH |
$44,042 |
SYSTEM BIOLOGY OF THE HUMAN SULTIA GENES |
|
BENNER S A |
CHEMISTRY |
NATL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NIGMS - GENERAL MEDICAL SCI |
$258,000 |
TARGET ASSISTED COMBINATORIAL SYNTHESIS |
|
CHRISTOU G |
CHEMISTRY |
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$215,220 |
TRANSITION METAL CLUSTERS AS SINGLE-MOLECULE MAGNETS |
|
DURAN R S |
CHEMISTRY |
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$144,333 |
RENEWAL OF DEVELOPING AN ACTIVE AND DIVERSE UNDERGRADUATE CHEMISTRY RESEARCH PROGRAM |
|
EYLER J R |
CHEMISTRY |
NATL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NIGMS - GENERAL MEDICAL SCI |
$28,500 |
TARGET ASSISTED COMBINATORIAL SYNTHESIS |
|
KATRITZKY A R |
CHEMISTRY |
MULTIPLE COMPANIES |
$1,375 |
SOFTWARE RESEARCH SUPPORT |
|
KATRITZKY A R |
CHEMISTRY |
MULTIPLE COMPANIES |
$4,375 |
SOFTWARE RESEARCH SUPPORT |
|
KATRITZKY A R |
CHEMISTRY |
MULTIPLE COMPANIES |
$272 |
MILES COMPOUND CONTRACT |
|
KATRITZKY A R |
CHEMISTRY |
MULTIPLE COMPANIES |
$654 |
MILES COMPOUND CONTRACT |
|
KATRITZKY A R |
CHEMISTRY |
MULTIPLE COMPANIES |
$1,263 |
MILES COMPOUND CONTRACT |
|
KATRITZKY A R |
CHEMISTRY |
MULTIPLE COMPANIES |
$6,545 |
MILES COMPOUND CONTRACT |
|
KATRITZKY A R |
CHEMISTRY |
MULTIPLE COMPANIES |
$722 |
MILES COMPOUND CONTRACT |
|
KATRITZKY A R |
CHEMISTRY |
MULTIPLE COMPANIES |
$4,654 |
MILES COMPOUND CONTRACT |
|
KATRITZKY A R |
CHEMISTRY |
MULTIPLE COMPANIES |
$300 |
MILES COMPOUND CONTRACT |
|
KATRITZKY A R |
CHEMISTRY |
EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION RESEARCH & ENGINEERING COMPANY |
$6,126 |
JOINT RESEARCH INTO CHEMICAL ASPECTS OF PETROLEUM |
|
KATRITZKY A R |
CHEMISTRY |
MULTIPLE COMPANIES |
$2,100 |
MILES COMPOUND CONTRACT |
|
OMENETTO N |
CHEMISTRY |
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV |
$2,375 |
EDITORSHIP WITH ELSEVIER SCIENCE |
|
RICHARDSON D E |
CHEMISTRY |
U S ARMY |
$13,870 |
DEVELOPMENT OF BICARBONATE-ACTIVATED PEROXIDE AS A CHEMICAL ANDBIOLOGICAL WARFARE AGENT DECONTAMINANT |
|
RICHARDSON D E |
CHEMISTRY |
U S ARMY |
$8,990 |
DEVELOPMENT OF BICARBONATE-ACTIVATED PEROXIDE AS A CHEMICAL ANDBIOLOGICAL WARFARE AGENT DECONTAMINANT |
|
WAGENER K B |
CHEMISTRY |
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA |
$20,000 |
FSGC: REGULAR POLYETHYLENE CARBOXYLATE IONOMERS |
|
SAPIENZA C M PEARSON E J |
COMM PROCESS & DISORDERS |
NATL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NIDCD - DEAFNESS & COMM DISORD |
$28,662 |
RUTH L. KIRSCHSTEIN NATL RESEARCH SERVICE AWARD INDIVIDUAL FELLOWSHIP APPLICATION: COMBINED MODALITY TREATMENT OF ADSD |
|
HENRETTA J C |
CTR FOR GERONTOLOGICAL STUD |
UNIV OF MICHIGAN |
$29,827 |
HEALTH AND RETIREMENT STUDY |
|
MARTIN J B |
GEOLOGY |
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$336,214 |
COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: ARE CARBON FLUXES FROM MARINE SEDIMENTS ENHANCED BY SUBMARINE GROUND WATER DISCHARGE? |
|
PERFIT M R |
GEOLOGY |
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$58,639 |
TECTONOMAGMATIC CYCLES AND THE FORMATION OF OCEANIC CRUST ATTHE CLEFT SEGMENT OF THE JUAN DE FUCA RIDGE |
|
TRICKEY S B |
INST FOR THEORY & COMPUTATION |
U S ARMY |
$3,000 |
SUPPLEMENTAL REQUEST TO THE 2004 SANIBEL SYMPOSIUM |
|
GOPALAKRISHNAN J |
MATHEMATICS |
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$173,749 |
IMPROVING MIXED METHODS BY HYBRIDIZATION AND MULTIGRID TECHNIQUES |
|
AVERY P R |
PHYSICS |
S E UNIVERSITY RESEARCH ASSN |
$1,926 |
DEVELOPMENT OF A PROTOTYPE SURA-SCOOP MODELING GRID |
|
AVERY P R MITSELMAKHER G |
PHYSICS |
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$2,372,003 |
ITR: THE GRIPHYN PROJECT: TOWARDS PETASCALE VIRTUAL-DATA GRIDS |
|
DUFTY J W |
PHYSICS |
U S DEPT OF ENERGY |
$64,276 |
TIME DEPENDENT HARTREE-FOCK THEORY: GATEWAY TO NONEQUILIBRIUM PLASMA PHYSICS |
|
HEBARD A F TANNER D B |
PHYSICS |
RAYTHEON COMPANY |
$49,100 |
SURFACE PLASMON COUPLING FOR ENHANCED TRANSMISSION IN DIFFRACTIVE OPTICS |
|
HILL S O |
PHYSICS |
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$212,333 |
DEVELOPMENT OF A TRANSIENT SPECTROMETER FOR EDUCATION AND RESEARCH INTO QUANTUM COHERENCE IN MOLECULAR NANOMAGNETS |
|
RINZLER A G |
PHYSICS |
LOCKHEED MARTIN |
$26,207 |
METHODS OF SINGLE-WALL CARBON NANOTUBE PURIFICATION AND TRANSPARENT FILM PRODUCTION |
|
KREPPEL A D |
POLITICAL SCIENCE |
U S DEPT OF EDUCATION |
$0 |
PROPOSAL TO ESTABLISH A TITLE VI NRC/FLAS CTR FOR EUROPEAN STUDIES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA |
|
KREPPEL A D |
POLITICAL SCIENCE |
U S DEPT OF EDUCATION |
$239,518 |
PROPOSAL TO ESTABLISH A TITLE VI NRC/FLAS CTR FOR EUROPEAN STUDIES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA |
|
HACKENBERG T D |
PSYCHOLOGY |
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$335,793 |
CROSS SPECIES ANALYSIS OF ADAPTIVE CHOICE |
|
IWATA B A |
PSYCHOLOGY |
DEPT OF CHILDREN & FAMILIES |
$186,722 |
FLORIDA CENTER FOR SELF-INJURY |
|
MORADI B |
PSYCHOLOGY |
NATL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NIMH - MENTAL HEALTH |
$89,586 |
EXAMINING MINORITY STRESS & MENTAL HEALTH |
|
SHEPPERD J A |
PSYCHOLOGY |
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA |
$7,378 |
A PILOT TEST OF THE ADOLESCENT INVULNERABILITY HYPOTHESIS |
|
SORKIN R D |
PSYCHOLOGY |
U S AIR FORCE AFOSR |
$227,260 |
INTERGOVERNMENTAL PERSONNEL ACT (IPA) ASSIGNMENT FOR DR. ROBERT SORKIN |
|
NARAYANAN V R |
RELIGION |
AM COUNCIL OF LEARNED SOCIETIE |
$50,000 |
CHURNING THE OCEAN OF STORY: RETELLING NARRATIVES OF HINDUISM IN CAMBODIA AND INDIA |
|
HENRETTA J C |
SOCIOLOGY |
NATL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NIA - NATL INSTITUTE ON AGING |
$227,860 |
FAMILY CULTURE AND INTERGENERATIONAL ALLOCATIONS |
|
CASELLA G |
STATISTICS |
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$189,198 |
CLUSTER ANALYSIS, PREDICTIVE DISTRIBUTIONS, AND STOCHASTIC SEARCH ALGORITHMS |
PIQUERO A R |
STUDY OF LAW AND CRIMINOLOGY |
U S DEPT OF JUSTICE |
$28,999 |
OFFENDER CHARACTERISTICS, OFFENSE MIX,AND ESCALATION IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE |
CHAPMAN C A POULSEN J R |
ZOOLOGY |
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGCY |
$12,381 |
SYNERGISTIC EFFECTS OF HUNTING AND LOGGING ON ANIMAL ABUNDANCE, SEED DISPERSAL, AND FOREST REGENERATION |
GUILLETTE JR L J |
ZOOLOGY |
U F FOUNDATION |
$25,000 |
NITRATES IN THE ENVIRONMENT |
LEVEY D J |
ZOOLOGY |
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGCY |
$12,280 |
EFFECT OF LOGGING ON MECHANISMS THAT LIMIT THE RECRUITMENT OF TROPICAL TREE SPECIES: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE MAINTENANCE |
ST MARY C M |
ZOOLOGY |
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$10,000 |
DISSERATION RESEARCH: COMPONENTS OF PARENT AND OFFSPRING FITNESS AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON PARENTAL CARE EVOLUTION |
September 2004: Total $2,125,060 |
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BURNS A F |
ANTHROPOLOGY |
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$2,000 |
GRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM - COST OF EDUCATION ALLOWANCE |
EIKENBERRY S S |
ASTRONOMY |
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$110,365 |
GRADUATE STUDENT PARTICIPATION AND OPTICS UPGRADES FOR THE CANARIAS INFRERED CAMERA EXPERIMENT |
GE J |
ASTRONOMY |
CALIFORNIA INST OF TECHNOLOGY JET PROPULSION LABORATORY |
$127,431 |
DEVELOPMENT OF EXTREMELY COHERENT SINGLE MODE FIBER OPTIC ARRAYS FOR TPS VISIBLE NULLING INTERFEROMETER |
DOLBIER JR W R SEGAL C |
CHEMISTRY |
NEW ERA TECHNOLOGIES |
$99,018 |
DEVELOPMENT OF SYNTHESIS & LARGE SCALE PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGYFOR ULTRAHIGH ENERGY AND DENSITY FLUORO-ORGANIC COMPUNDS |
KATRITZKY A R |
CHEMISTRY |
MULTIPLE COMPANIES |
$8,338 |
MILES COMPOUND CONTRACT |
KATRITZKY A R |
CHEMISTRY |
MULTIPLE COMPANIES |
$493 |
MILES COMPOUND CONTRACT |
KATRITZKY A R |
CHEMISTRY |
MULTIPLE COMPANIES |
$285 |
MILES COMPOUND CONTRACT |
REYNOLDS J R |
CHEMISTRY |
EIC LABORATORIES INC |
$32,182 |
HIGH MOBILITY SOLID STATE DSSC MATERIALS |
REYNOLDS J R |
CHEMISTRY |
EASTMAN CHEMICAL COMPANY |
$10,000 |
EASTMAN CHEMICAL COMPANY FELLOWSHIP |
REYNOLDS J R |
CHEMISTRY |
VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY |
$89,253 |
ADVANCED CARBON NANOTECHNOLOGY CONSORTIUM: DISPLAYS AND DETECTORS |
SCHANZE K S |
CHEMISTRY |
VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY |
$87,965 |
ADVANCED CARBON NANOTECHNOLOGY CONSORTIUM: DISPLAYS AND DETECTORS |
SCHANZE K S |
CHEMISTRY |
S3 INC |
$5,691 |
LPC TESTING AT UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA |
SCOTT M J |
CHEMISTRY |
U S DEPT OF ENERGY |
$177,569 |
ADVANCED EXTRACTION METHODS FOR ACTINIDE/LANTHANIDE SEPARATIONS |
STEWART J D |
CHEMISTRY |
BIOCATALYTICS INC |
$38,302 |
OPTIMIZING ESCHERICHIA COLI FOR CARBONYL REDUCTION |
WINEFORDNER J D |
CHEMISTRY |
U S DEPT OF ENERGY CHICAGO OPERATIONS OFFICE |
$22,500 |
ATOMIC EMISSION, ABSORPTION AND FLUORESCENCE IN THE LASER INDUCED PLASMA - SUPPLEMENTAL REQUEST |
WINEFORDNER J D SMITH B W |
CHEMISTRY |
AERODYNE RESEARCH INC |
$42,225 |
HAND-HELD PHYTOREMEDIATION MONITOR PHASE 1 |
YOST R A |
CHEMISTRY |
NATL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NIEHS - ENVIRO HEALTH SCIENCES |
$14,040 |
DICHLOROACETATE KINETICS, METABOLISM AND TOXICOLOGY |
ALLADI K |
MATHEMATICS |
MISCELLANEOUS DONORS |
$1,600 |
SUPPORT OF RESEARCH & EDUCATION IN APPLIED MATHEMATICS |
GARVAN F G |
MATHEMATICS |
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$15,000 |
SPECIAL YEAR IN NUMBER THEORY AND COMBINATORICS 2004-2005 |
GARVAN F G |
MATHEMATICS |
NATL SECURITY AGENCY |
$10,000 |
ADDITIVE NUMBER THEORY CONFERENCE & ARITHMETIC GEOMETERY CONFERENCE |
RUDYAK Y B |
MATHEMATICS |
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$103,255 |
TOPOLOGICAL METHODS IN ANALYSIS AND GEOMETRY |
BUCHLER J R |
PHYSICS |
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$31,610 |
INTERNATIONAL: OBSERVATIONAL AND MODELING STUDY OF THE PULSA TING AGB STARS |
CHAN H |
PHYSICS |
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$157,883 |
ACQUISTION OF A SCANNING PROBE MICROSCOPE FOR INVESTIGATING FUNDAMENTAL INTERACTIONS BETWEEN SURFACES & STUDENT TRAINING |
CHENG H P |
PHYSICS |
U S DEPT OF ENERGY CHICAGO OPERATIONS OFFICE |
$323,877 |
MOLEDULAR- AND NANO-WIRES: PROPERTIES AND CONTROL |
HIRSCHFELD P J |
PHYSICS |
U S NAVY |
$1,969 |
THEORY OF DEFECTS IN CUPRATE SUPERCONDUCTORS |
MITSELMAKHER G KORYTOV A |
PHYSICS |
FERMILAB |
$212,491 |
ENDCAP MUON SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT FOR THE CMS PROJECT FY 2004 |
TANNER D B |
PHYSICS |
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$62,313 |
INFRARED STUDIES OF CUPRATE SUPERCONDUCTORS |
KREPPEL A D |
POLITICAL SCIENCE |
EUROPEAN UNION |
$68,739 |
THE EUROPEAN UNION IN THE 21ST CENTURY: A TARGETED OUTREACH PROGRAM |
BRANCH M N YOON J H |
PSYCHOLOGY |
NATL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NIDA - NATL INST ON DRUG ABUSE |
$28,892 |
THE EFFECTS OF COCAINE ON EATING IN PIGEONS |
MORADI B |
PSYCHOLOGY |
NATL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NIMH - MENTAL HEALTH |
$38,334 |
REU SUPPLEMENT FOR CRISTINA RISCO EXAMINING MINORITY STRESS & MENTAL HEALTH |
SPECTOR A C DOTSON C D |
PSYCHOLOGY |
NATL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NIDCD - DEAFNESS & COMM DISORD |
$28,253 |
MINORITY PREDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM |
SPECTOR A C GROBE C L |
PSYCHOLOGY |
NATL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH |
$28,253 |
TASTE WORKING MEMORY & DISCRIMINATION: A NEW METHOD |
VOLLMER T R |
PSYCHOLOGY |
DEPT OF CHILDREN & FAMILIES |
$56,528 |
SEGUIN BEHAVIORAL SERVICESQ |
EVANS D H |
ZOOLOGY |
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$2,000 |
INSTITUTIONAL ALLOWANCE: GRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM ALLOWANCE |
LEVEY D J |
ZOOLOGY |
U S DEPT OF AGRICULTURE FOREST SERVICE |
$86,406 |
LONG-TERM MONITORING OF FLESHY FRUIT AND HARD MAST PRODUCTIO N AND SEASONAL BIRD DISTRIBUTION AT THE SAVANNAH |
Photo:
Jane Dominguez
