|
||||||||||||||||||||
CCRC Milestones by Kathleen Cason |
|
|||||||||||||||||||
1985 Complex Carbohydrate Research Center established by a 16-member research team recruited from the University of Colorado
1985 New class of regulatory molecules (oligosaccharins) reported by CCRC scientists in Scientific American 1987 DOE designates CCRC as National Center for Plant and Microbial Complex Carbohydrate Research
1989 National Institutes of Health designates CCRC as national resource center for biomedical complex carbohydrate research 1989 CCRC moves into new 45,000-sq-ft facility to accommodate its 80 members 1990 New 5,000-sq-ft NIH-funded addition houses computer facilities and 600 MHz NMR spectrometer 1991 Oligosaccharin binding site identified, first step in understanding how these molecules trigger plant defenses
1995 Released GLYCAM — the first comprehensive software for simulating carbohydrates, glycoproteins and carbohydrate- protein complexes 1996 New evidence revealed for role of complex carbohydrate regulation of plant cell wall growth 1997 36,000-sq-ft addition completed and houses one of the first 800 MHz NMR spectrometers 1998 CarbBank — first online database of its kind — allows researchers to share structural information about complex carbohydrates
1999 New details reported for model of the load-bearing structure in growing cell walls 2000 Unique approach developed to synthesize key parts of heparin, a naturally occurring molecule that prevents blood clotting and affects many other biological processes 2000 Molecular architecture of an enzyme that helps cells sort out and destroy misfolded, defective glycoproteins shows how this enzyme works or can be blocked; these results may guide future efforts to design drugs for diseases like emphysema where misfolded proteins accumulate 2001 Normal plant growth found to depend on an unusual carbohydrate (RGII) in cell walls 2001 Understanding how microbes elude host immune responses advanced by a detailed study of a specific enzyme 2001 An enzyme (GnT-V) linked to spread of cancer cells discovered; hunt begins for a GnT-V inhibitor that could prevent or slow cancer cell migration 2003 NIH funds $6.7 million grant for a National Resource Center in Biomedical Glycomics to map all the complex carbohydrates in human stem cell lines; may lead to new diagnostic tests and treatments for diseases like Parkinsons and cancer 2003 200 scientists, students and staff move into a new 140,000-sq-ft facility, that includes a room for the largest ever NMR 2003 NIH designates CCRC as National Resource Center for an Integrated Glycotechnology 2003 New methods using NMR spectroscopy show how proteins "dock" with complex carbohydrates 2003 CCRC's new Computational Glycobiology Center established 2003 First gene for a key enzyme in pectin biosynthesis identified
2003 Major expansion in medical carboydrate science begins
For more information, check out the CCRC Web site at www.ccrc.uga.edu or contact Alan Darvill at adarvill@ccrc.uga.edu and Peter Albersheim at palbersh@ccrc.uga.edu.
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Research
Communications, Office of the VP for Research, UGA
For comments or for information please e-mail the editor: jbp@ovpr.uga.edu To contact the webmaster please email: ovprweb@uga.edu
|
||||||||||||||||||||