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EXCELLENCE IN MEDICAL
RESEARCH
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By
Jim Baer
Thanks to the vision of Rev. Lawrence Biondi, S.J., president
of Saint Louis University, and a lifetime commitment to medical
research by Edward A. Doisy, Ph.D., a highly skilled group of
biomedical researchers will move into a state-of-the-art $67
million research center now under construction at the corner
of Chouteau and Grand avenues at SLU Medical Center next summer.
The project is part of an $80.5 million upgrade of SLU research
facilities.
On June 9, Fr. Biondi announced a $30 million naming-rights’
grant from the Doisy family during a special topping-out celebration.
Doisy is a former SLU professor who won the Nobel Prize for
his work in identifying the chemical nature of Vitamin K.
Imagine the possibilities. Fifty years from now, thanks to research
conducted at the new Edward A. Doisy Research Center at Saint
Louis University, we could have new and revolutionary treatments
for cancer, a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, or an end to heart
disease as we know it today.
The goal of scientists and medical researchers at Saint Louis
University is to turn these dreams into reality. Patricia L.
Monteleone, M.D., Dean of SLU School of Medicine, can see the
possibilities as researchers focus on five core areas: cancer,
liver disease, heart/lung disease, aging and brain disease,
and vaccine development for a variety of infectious diseases.
“The new Doisy Research Center, with its dedicated laboratory
space, leading-edge technology and entrepreneurial environment,
will be a powerful recruitment tool for continuing to attract
a world-class faculty who are working in these areas.”
Jennifer Lodge, Associate Dean for Research at Saint Louis University
School of Medicine, said the new building will come online at
a time when biomedical research at the University is flourishing.
During fiscal year 2005, Saint Louis University Medical Center
experienced a record year in funds awarded through grants, contracts
and subcontracts. SLU medical center researchers received $72.7
million, compared to $34.1 million 10 years ago. Lodge says
she wants the university to continue this trend. “Our goal is
to grow our status as a serious national player in the type
of medical research that can really improve the quality of life
and health of all people,” says Lodge.
Lodge outlined for Commerce how the facility will be organized
and where major players will set up shop in the 10-story Doisy
Center.
The street level (first floor) will be used for clinical research.
Patients will come for clinical vaccine trials for studies involving
infectious diseases such as influenza, herpes, hepatitis C,
tuberculosis and HIV. “These potential new vaccines could have
a huge impact in preventing disease on a global scale,” she
says.
All eight research floors of the 10-story complex will feed
into the clinical trial floor on the main level. The ninth floor
will have ample conference and meeting space, including an outdoor
deck. And the center will connect via a covered walkway to the
south end of Saint Louis University School of Medicine, where
additional research facilities and training space are located.
Each lab will have five to six workers, and there will be 80
modules in the building, totaling a staff around 400.
“There will be a lot of synergy between these research teams,”
Lodge says. “Researchers working on similar problems but who
had been separated by several city blocks and spoke by telephone
and email will be working side-by-side in the labs. We want
to develop a collaboration that is second to none.”
Currently, the University rents some lab space at Tenet’s Saint
Louis University Hospital. These research teams will move to
the new building. “We are trying to cluster people by research
interests. We’ve been recruiting talented researchers in our
five core areas of research, and we have 11 new research teams
coming online over the next 10 years to enhance this research,”
she says. “This is all part of the overall vision of Father
Biondi.”
Floor by floor, from top to bottom, this isa peek at just some
of the research and researchers who will be housed at Doisy
Center: 8th Floor
This floor will focus on basic research in vaccine development.
Daniel F. Hoft, M.D., professor of internal medicine, will do
core research in immuno-biology, including the immune response
to both parasites and bacteria. Also on this floor will be basic
research on a variety of viral infectious diseases, a program
led by Robert B. Belshe, M.D., director of SLU’s Center for
Vaccine Development.
7th Floor
This floor will focus on infectious diseases. Mark Buller, Ph.D,
will continue to work with pox viruses and developing new anti-virals
for use in the fight against bio-terrorism. “These will be highly
secured labs, and workers and the public will be well protected
on these floors,” Lodge says. Lodge pointed out that the National
Institute of Health (NIH) has made a generous grant for the
vaccine development and anti-bioterrorist research, and these
teams are looking for additional funding from NASA. Also on
the seventh floor will be William Wold, Ph.D., Chairman of the
Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, who researches
how viruses can be used as delivery mechanisms to cure diseases,
including potential new ways of using “adenoviruses” to fight
cancer tumors.
Wold says the new building will make a big difference in the
potentially life- saving research conducted by University researchers.
“The new Doisy Center will enable the expansion of our internationally
recognized research programs in viral pathogenesis, bio-defense
and vaccine development,” Wold says.
6th Floor
The theme for this floor will be treatment of infectious diseases.
John Corbett, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry and molecular
biology, who works mostly with Type 1 diabetes, is searching
for “the link with viral infections,” according to Lodge.
Sharing this floor will be G. Chinnadurai, Ph.D., professor
of molecular virology, who has done remarkable research with
signal transduction, finding pathways as they relate to viral
infections and the treatment of cancer.
5th Floor
William S. Sly, M.D., Chairman of the Department of Biochemistry
and Molecular Biology, will continue his work with genetic diseases.
Sly is hopeful of finding additional funding when the new facility
opens. “It should help SLU researchers compete for federal and
private funding, which is increasingly earmarked for collaborative
research,” says Dr. Sly.
Also on the fifth floor, Robert Fleming, M.D., Associate Professor
of Pediatrics, will continue working with genetic diseases.
4th Floor
Here Dale Dorsett, Ph.D, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular
Microbiology, will be working on basic gene expression. His
experiments with fruit flies have moved us closer to finding
the cure for genetic diseases caused by these airborne pests.
Dorsett will be on the same floor with Ali Shilatifard, Ph.D.,
a biochemist who has drawn national renown for his leukemia
research and how proteins can be involved with cures for leukemia
and cancer.
3rd Floor
William Banks, M.D., professor of internal medicine and pharmacological
and physiological science, who is currently stationed at the
nearby Veterans’ Hospital, will further his understanding of
the blood brain barrier and its relationship to diseases of
the brain. He’s working to understand how the blood brain barrier
normally works so he can apply that knowledge to treat diseases
such as Alzheimer’s disease, obesity, alcoholism and brain cancer.
2nd Floor
This will house Saint Louis University Liver Center, headed
by Bruce Bacon, M.D., who works primarily on the effects of
viruses on the liver, along with Adrian M. Di Bisceglie, M.D.,
Acting Chairman of Internal Medicine and a researcher who works
primarily with hepatitis viruses affecting the liver.
Economies of scale will allow several high-end core machines
to be shared by all building researchers. The shared and expensive
research equipment includes a Confocal Imaging Facility (allowing
for three dimensional microscope imaging) a Microarray Facility
(gene chips to look at a variety of genes simultaneously), a
Flow Cytometry facility and a Proteomic facility to analyze
proteins. The center will help researchers survey and rundown
useful protein building blocks.
Lodge is eager to move in and let the work begin. “No two days
are ever the same for scientists and researchers. Our rewards
come when we write and share and publish our data,” she says
with overwhelming pride. “Saint Louis University scientists
and physicians are on the cutting edge of greatness in the field
of medical research.”
August of 2007 cannot come soon enough at Saint Louis University,
where excellence in medical research is a major byproduct of
the institution.
For additional information on the BioBelt, please visit
the St. Louis Regional Chamber & Growth Association (RCGA)
website. http://www.gotostlouis.org./x1734.xml
| Dr.
Edward A. Doisy’s Scientific Legacy |
The Edward
A. Doisy Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
was founded in 1923 by Edward A. Doisy, Ph.D. Dr. Doisy’s
legacy to the department is a tradition of dedication and
excellence in science. He served the university for five
decades. In 1929, Dr. Doisy was the first to isolate and
chemically characterize a steroid sex hormone, opening up
the entire field of steroid hormones for chemical and medical
investigation.
In 1943, Dr. Doisy was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology
of Medicine for his work on determining the chemical nature
of vitamin K, an essential component in blood coagulation.
Dr. Doisy reassigned much of the income derived from his
research to the medical school, which annually provides
millions of dollars to research and teaching infrastructure.
He retired from the university in 1965.
The Doisy family committed a total of $30 million for construction
of this state-of-the-art biomedical research building.
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