TRUSTEES OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY
Grant: $73,583 - National Institutes of Health - Jun. 4, 2009
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Award Description: This Supplement will provide summer research opportunities for four high school (HS) students and four undergraduate students over two summers. Consistent with ARRA, students will gain experience that can launch careers into biomedical research while providing summer employment and accelerating the tempo of the Parent project. The scope of the Parent project is to identify chemical leads that selectively inhibit trypanosome phosphodiesterases, and that have drug-like properties necessary for the compounds to be considered as candidates for use in treating sleeping sickness. Essential properties of such compounds include activity against PDEs from species of trypanosome used for in vivo models as well as the clinical pathogens, selectivity for effects on trypanosomes over effects on human (host) cells, and an ability to efficiently cross the blood brain barrier. Deliverables for award (BU) and subaward (MBL). (1) Year 1-2, at BU: Students will synthesize known novel PDE inhibitor compounds for assessment against TbrPDEB1 and B2. (2) Year 1, at MBL: The students will test ten known human PDE inhibitors will be tested, five by each high school student, for activity in cell-free trypanosome PDE assays, selectivity in human PDE assays, and growth inhibition in blood stage trypanosome cell assays, using previously established protocols. (3) Year 1, at MBL: Students will express TbrPDEs using sequences from the T. brucei gambiense. The coding sequences will be cloned and sequenced, and the catalytic domains subcloned into expression vectors for production in E. coli. Activity of the proteins will be assessed. (4) Year 2, at MBL: The students will test up to 40 novel inhibitor compounds for PDE inhibitory activities in the cell-free trypanosome PDE assays, selectivity in human PDE assays, growth inhibition in blood stage trypanosome cell assays, and selectivity of growth inhibition for trypanosomes versus human cell lines.
Project Description: As defined in Award Description field.
Infrastructure Description: n/a
Jobs Summary: 1.19 Student Researcher (Total jobs reported: 1)
Project Status: More than 50% Completed
This award's data was last updated on Jun. 4, 2009. Help expand these official descriptions using the wiki below.
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