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UPFRONT
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THE UNIVERSITY
Ingenious
by Design
Krishna Kumar, associate professor of chemistry, always
knew his research on protein design had terrific potential.
At Tufts, he heads a research team that is engineering
better proteins—sturdy, durable, and ultimately
more effective. He has long held high hopes that this
research would someday pay off in areas such as improved
drug delivery and antibiotic design.
So it was with surprise and pleasure that this past summer
he received a phone call from Technology Review,
MIT’s magazine of innovation, confirming he’s
right on track.
The magazine, after “combing universities, companies,
national laboratories, and other R&D outfits around
the globe,” selected him as one of the world’s
100 Top Young Innovators from fields such as nanotechnology,
biotechnology, wireless, energy, computing, and medicine.
He was included in the magazine’s special fall issue
that profiled “brilliant young innovators whose
vision and hard work are shaping our future.”
“I am very happy and frankly humbled to be included
in this remarkably talented group of creative individuals
who have all made paradigm-shifting contributions to their
respective fields,” said Kumar, 32. “I think
it really validates our approach to this problem.”
Born in Madras, India, Kumar earned his Ph.D. at Brown
and pursued postdoctoral research at the Scripps Research
Institute in La Jolla, California, before coming to Tufts
in 1998. His Ph.D., he notes, focused on organic chemistry,
but at Scripps, “I really became interested in biological
problems.” His subsequent inquiries at the interface
of chemistry and biology, including studying questions
about the origin of life and evolution, have not gone
without notice. Last year he was one of only seven faculty
in the country to receive the 2003 DuPont Young Professor
Grant; he also received a National Science Foundation
CAREER Award in 2002.
As for Tech Review, that acknowledgment points
to his lab’s inventive approach toward controlling
protein structure. Protein structure is intimately linked
with function, and, by nature, proteins are fragile and
unstable; many protein-based drugs break down and lose
effectiveness before they can work in harsh environments.
For example, peptide hormones for diabetic patients (for
glucose control) lose effectiveness as their three-dimensional
form diminishes and degrades.
Kumar’s research team designs proteins atom by atom,
combining amino acids—the building blocks of proteins—with
unnatural “side chains” to build proteins
with properties not found in nature. For instance, his
group has incorporated fluorocarbons—the same material
found in Teflon—into proteins to make them “non-stick.”
These materials have numerous potential medical uses,
including the design of new antibiotics, high-temperature
catalysts, drug-delivery portals on human cell membranes,
and structural templates for “nanotechnology”—building
consumer goods such as computers on a molecular level
by piecing together individual atoms.
Technology Review credited Kumar and his team
with “creating the future” through research
that is breaking down the barriers that have long prevented
scientists from designing proteins for medical and chemical
applications. “Innovation and technological change
are essential to worldwide economic growth,” said
Robert Buderi, editor in chief. “Now, more than
ever, it’s important to recognize that there is
no one technology driving the next wave of success, but
rather several that, when fused together, will create
another era of significant change for our society.”
Kumar’s team has received one international patent.
Biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies are evaluating
Kumar’s techniques as well.
For now, Kumar is busy enough running a laboratory with
“really talented students.”“Simple,
bold ideas make the biggest impact on how we live and
work in the world around us,” he said, as he dashed
off to teach a class. “And some of these will result
in the big scientific discoveries of the next century.” |
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UNIVERSITY
NEWS
New Head of TUFTS-NEMC Named
Ellen Zane, network president of Partners’ Health
Care System, has been named president and CEO of Tufts-New
England Medical Center (NEMC) and Floating Hospital
for Children. She becomes the first woman to lead Tufts-NEMC
in its 207-year history.
Tufts president Lawrence S. Bacow, who chaired the search
committee, called Zane “one of the nation’s
most skilled and capable healthcare leaders. I can’t
think of a better set of qualifications to lead Tufts-NEMC
and the Floating Hospital than Ellen brings to us. From
remarkable leadership at a community hospital to development
of an integrated healthcare delivery network at one
of the most prominent health care systems in America,
Ellen has it all. Her understanding of the healthcare
marketplace in New England is unparalleled.”
Over the past ten years, Zane was responsible for developing
the Partners’ network of physicians and hospitals
into one of the most successful in the country. Previously,
she served as CEO at Quincy Hospital in Quincy, Massachusetts,
where she oversaw a remarkable financial turnaround.
Before that she was the vice president for professional
services at the Morton Hospital and Medical Center in
Taunton, Massachusetts.
Zane graduated from George Washington University and
earned a master’s from the Catholic University
of America. She holds honorary degrees from Stonehill
College and Curry College.
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| Cars
with a Conscience
In a new partnership with Toyota, Tufts recently welcomed
a fleet of alternative energy vehicles that bring the
university closer to its commitment to reduce greenhouse
gases.
Toyota has donated four electric RAV4 sport utility
vehicles that will be used in the departments of Public
Safety and Mail Services and in a shared vehicle program
called Zipcar. In addition, Toyota also has funded a
part-time research assistant who will work with the
Tufts Climate Initiative (TCI) at the Tufts Institute
for the Environment (TIE) to measure the costs and fuel
savings of the program. The electric vehicles join the
Toyota Prius, a hybrid electric-gasoline car, purchased
by the university several years ago.
Sarah Hammond Creighton, project manager for TCI, said
Tufts is among several universities in the Northeast
to introduce alternative energy and zero-emission vehicles
directly into operations. Using the cars for delivering
mail, she noted, is a good place to start. “This
is an important area for reducing pollution, as electric
vehicles are most effective when cars are idling or
in urban driving conditions,” she said. “Toyota
really wanted to support our efforts to reduce the university’s
greenhouse gas emissions. These vehicles are helping
us to make a visible and practical connection between
driving, the environment, and technology.”
The Toyota partnership includes a collaboration with
Zipcar, the shared vehicle program that provides short-term
access to electric and fuel-efficient cars at a low
cost. Tufts members can rent a Zipcar at a discounted
annual fee of $20 plus hourly or daily charges. “Zipcars
are spread out like ATM machines all over the greater
Boston area,” says Mark Chase, account executive
at Zipcar, who received his M.A. in urban and environmental
policy from Tufts in 1997. “Zipcar helps solve
parking problems in urban areas and provides a way for
people to get around without owning a car. We estimate
that every Zipcar takes up to ten cars off the road.”
Both efforts are part of a larger commitment to reduce
university greenhouse gas emissions through the use
of fuel-efficient cars and by simply reducing a reliance
on owning a car.
In 1999, former Tufts president John DiBiaggio announced
Tufts’ dedication to meeting or exceeding the
Kyoto target for greenhouse gas emissions—reducing
emissions seven percent lower than 1990 levels by 2012.
In 2003, President Lawrence S. Bacow renewed Tufts’
dedication to climate protection by committing the university
to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by ten percent.
For more information, go to www.zipcar.com/tufts
or www.tufts.edu/tci.
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| EXPLORATIONS
Microbiology and National Defense
The newest advances in the nation’s bioterrorism
defenses may come from an unexpected—but important—source:
veterinarians. Funded by the largest research grant
Tufts has ever received, scientists at the School of
Veterinary Medicine will study food- and water-borne
illnesses as part of a new nationwide integrated research
network.
The $25 million government contract supports the study
of ways to detect, identify, and treat diseases terrorists
could use to pollute the nation’s food and water
supply. Tufts will establish one of five national research
locations as part of a seven-year contract from the
National Institutes of Health (NIH). The research will
focus on 13 microorganisms—including salmonella,
E. coli, Cryptosporidium, and the Norwalk virus—that
could be used to infect large numbers of people and
animals.
The award recognizes the important role that veterinarians
play in addressing public health threats, said President
Lawrence S. Bacow. “Nearly 76 million illnesses
and 5,000 deaths every year in the U.S. are due to food-borne
pathogens alone—so our ability to quickly diagnose
and treat food- and water-borne pathogens is of paramount
importance,” he said. “This research will
play a critical role in protecting our country from
bioterrorist threats.”
Tufts also will establish a Microbiology Research Unit
in the new nationwide Food and Waterborne Disease Integrated
Research Network.
Dr. Saul Tzipori, an internationally renowned expert
on microbiology and infectious diseases, will lead the
research initiative. As part of the project, Tufts researchers
will work with University of Massachusetts researchers
to develop the Center of Botulinum Therapies Research
and Development, the first of its kind in the United
States, which will focus on diagnosing and treating
botulism poisoning, one of the most dangerous bioterrorism
threats facing the U.S. and the world today.
Tzipori said that the NIH contract also will help consolidate
Tufts’ plan to establish a food- and waterborne
pathogen research center that includes a regional water
testing facility.
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