Partnership
Formed with New Biotechnology Company
The WVU Research Corporation has signed an agreement with Protea
Biosciences Inc., a new, Morgantown-based biotechnology company,
to develop and commercialize discoveries made in the WVU Core
Proteomics Laboratory.
"Not only does this provide for substantial investment by the company for WVU-based biomedical research," said John Weete, president of the WVU Research Corporation, "but it also works to build the first Morgantown-based biotechnology company, assuring that the fruits of our investments will benefit our local economy, and laying the foundation for the creation of new, high-value jobs in our community."
Proteomics, a new area of biotechnology research, rapidly identifies proteins in human cells—estimated to number from 500,000 to one million—providing new potential targets for drug development in cancer and other human diseases.
The laboratory is headed by Dan Flynn, M.D., associate director of the basic research program at the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center. The initial disease focus is cancer, Flynn said. "It is hoped that proteomics will allow us to customize cancer treatment toward an individual by permitting physicians to design treatment strategies that are specific to each individual cancer patient," he said.
Stephen Turner, chairman and CEO of Protea Biosciences, said WVU has done "an extraordinary job" building a strong health sciences research base. "WVU's proteomics technology program fits well with our company's mission. In addition, we believe Morgantown is an excellent location for our company, combining a high quality of living with a growing scientific community."
WVU researchers already have identified a cellular protein signaling target, known as AFAP-110, that helps control the ability of cells to change shape, inhibiting their growth and the spread of the cancerous cells.
This is only the first of a growing number of potential drug targets that can be discovered at the new proteomics laboratory, Turner noted. The company will start with a staff of about 12, he said, but hopes to create about 120 jobs by the end of its third year.
Studying Intelligence
in Older Adults
Does intelligence decline with age? That question, being debated
among psychologists worldwide, is the focus of a study by Assistant
Professor of Psychology Julie Hicks Patrick. Patrick has received
$73,000 from the National Institutes of Health to perform the
study.
"The changes that may accompany getting older don't necessarily mean that older adults can't perform well in their daily lives," Patrick said. "The study examines the ways in which older adults apply their cognitive abilities to deal with the kinds of problems and decisions we all face."
Psychologists use two major terms to identify different forms of intelligence. Fluid intelligence is tied to biology and deals with an individual's ability to make on-the-spot decisions that are not dependent on experience. Crystallized intelligence is the amount of information a person has absorbed and accumulated over time.
"Most research shows that crystallized abilities remain pretty high in old age, but that fluid abilities decline," Patrick said. "However, as we age, the two become more integrated, so that older adults can still perform well-especially in an area in which they are interested or an expert. Being able to use information to solve problems or make decisions is one of those skills that draws from both fluid and crystallized intelligence."
In Patrick's study, older adults combine fluid and crystallized abilities to make decisions based on information provided to them.
Research Aims
to Improve Health Care in Appalachia
The health of people living in the 13-state Appalachian region,
which stretches from New York to Mississippi, is the subject
of a major new study at WVU.
Joel Halverson, director of the WVU Office of Social Environment and Health Research and lead researcher for the project, is creating a database to track details on mortality in the Appalachian region, where cancer, heart disease, and infant mortality rates have historically been high. The study focuses primarily on linking disparities in health outcomes with socio-economic conditions and access to medical care.
Halverson said the results of the study are expected to assist policymakers and regional public health practitioners in identifying priorities for health surveillance, research, and health-care spending to improve the delivery of health services. The study will be completed in November.
According to officials for the Appalachian Regional Commission, more than 30 years have passed since comparable studies were done to analyze disparities in health status and health care in the entire Appalachian region.