DETROIT – Wayne State University has awarded nearly $2.4 million in investments in four programs, including seed grants for interdisciplinary research in Computational Biology ? part of WSU?s efforts to develop an institutional Clinical and Translational Science Award proposal for the National Institutes of Health.
The program, now in its fifth year, was divided into four sub-programs this year. The sub-programs included:
Funding for the Center for Urban and African American Health (CUUAH) (completing a three-year commitment);
Seed grants for projects in the Arts, creative arts research, or research that engages the arts in carrying out the university?s urban research mission (the first year of a three-year commitment);
Seed grants for research in the Social Sciences and Humanities that address issues affecting women and girls (the first year of a three-year commitment);
Seed grants for interdisciplinary research in Computational Biology;<./p>
All awarded projects are expected to lay the foundation for further study beyond the award end date and will result in external funding appropriate for the field of study. Each program will culminate in a national conference to be held on the Wayne State University campus in order to share the research resulting from this program and ignite further collaboration and generation of ideas.
Computational Biology:
NeMo: A Network Modeling Server for Biological Pathway Analysis – $245,648
Alan Dombkowski, Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Hasan Jamil, Computer Science
Paul Stemmer, Institute of Environmental Health Sciences;
Raymond Novak, Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
This project will develop a network modeling system comprised of a high-throughput genomic and proteomic database and associated computational tools to enable predictions of cellular networks, used for capturing data and models for one of the most important signaling pathways in biomedical research: PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway.
Computation Approaches to Identify Human Disease Genes – $177,669
Russell Finley, Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics
Farshad Fotouhi, Computer Science;
Gerard Tromp, Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics
Hasan Jamil, Computer Science;
Derek Wildman, Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics
Research Enhancement Program
This project will develop and use computational approaches to identify genes involved in human diseases, an important step in understanding pathogenic
mechanisms and developing effective diagnostics, treatments and preventive measures.
A Computational Enzymology Initiative at Wayne State University – $231,475
Domenico Gatti, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Brian Edwards, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
H. Bernard Schlegel, Chemistry
This project will develop a strong research and educational program in Computational Enzymology, focused on the use of quantum mechanics, molecular mechanics methods and normal mode analysis to elucidate catalytic mechanism of enzymes starting from the knowledge of their atomic structures.
A Multidisciplinary Strategy to Identify Matrix Attachment Regions (MARS) – $217,259
Stephen Krawetz, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics, Institute for Scientific Computing
Randall Armant, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Anatomy and Cell Biology
Henry Heng, Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics
Shiyong Lu, Computer Science
This project will bring together wet-bench and in silico strategies and technologies to understand nuclear organization and genomic regulation.
A Computational Model of Human Epilepsy – $292,609
Jeffrey Loeb, Neurology, Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics
Aashit Shah, Neurology;
Craig Watson, Neurology;
Darren Fuerst, Neurology;
Matthew Galloway, Psychiatry and Anesthesiology;
Jiani Hu, Radiology;
Sandeep Mittal, Neurosurgery;
Shiyong Lu, Computer Science;
Jing Hua, Computer Science;
Farshad Fatouhi, Computer Science
This project will develop a bioinformatics workflow for human epilepsy, focusing on one of the most complex human diseases in the most complex human tissue the brain.
Research Enhancement Program
Engineering Computational Simulation of Membrane Fusion at the Atomic Level – $333,423
Charles Manke, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science;
Bhanu Jena, Physiology;
Jeffrey Potoff, Chemical Engineering and Material Science
This project aims to understand membrane fusion at the atomic level in real time that will provide a fundamental understanding of membrane fusion in cells, which will lead to an understanding of basic physiological processes such as neurotransmission, digestion and hormone secretion, and enable the design and development of biosensors, drugs and drug delivery systems.
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