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Faculty members receive prestigious grants
Dr. Ellis Bell, Gottwald Professor of Chemistry, has been awarded a two-year $314,842 grant from the National Science Foundation, and Dr. John Gupton, professor of chemistry, has received an award of $190,980 from The National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute. Bell’s grant will be used on his research project “The Role of Protein Dynamics in Catalysis and Subunit Cooperativity.” He is studying three enzymes that play central roles in protein, carbohydrate and fat metabolism. The award will provide summer stipends for Bell and undergraduate students involved in the project, both from Richmond and Virginia State University. The grant also provides support for equipment, supplies and travel to professional meetings for the students. The research project is “fully integrated into the education of undergraduates,” Bell said. “Students work on individual research projects, take laboratory courses with the research embedded into the course or take a research-based course for non-science majors.” Students also are involved in designing experiments, conducting research and data analysis, and making presentations. Students beginning in their first year often follow the research for two or three years. They also participate in outreach to area elementary schools. NSF has approved the project for an additional three years of funding, for a five-year total of $675,428 depending upon progress on the project and the availability of funds. Since the beginning of his project in 2001, Gupton has received more than $2 million in grant support for his research on developing organic compounds that show significant promise in treating cancer. His latest grant is a continuation of his NIH Academic Research Enhancement Award and will fund his research until the end of 2007, including summer salary, supplies and travel for Gupton and several undergraduate students. In addition, three chemistry faculty and one biology faculty have received grants from the Thomas F. Jeffress and Kate Miller Jeffress Memorial Trust to fund their summer research. Dr. Jonathan Dattelbaum will receive $30,000 for research on the rational design of fluorescent protein biosensors; Dr. John Warrick will receive $29,000 for “CREB-Binding Protein Modulation in a Drosophilia Model of MJD and the Role of Chaperones;” Dr. Emma Goldman will receive a renewal of $10,000 for her study on the synthesis and mechanisms of organometallic reactions; and Dr. Michael Leopold will receive a renewal of $10,000 for “Biologically Enhanced Metallic Nanoparticles: The Next Dimension of Protein Monolayer Electrochemistry.” |
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