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Julian Chen receives R21 grant from NIH to find potential cures for cancer and telomerase-dysfunction diseases.

Telomerase plays a crucial role in cellular immortality and is expressed in most tumor cells as well as stem cells and germ lines. Mutations in several telomerase genes, e.g. telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT), have been genetically linked to human diseases such as dyskeratosis congenita (DKC) and aplastic anemia (AA) that have symptoms of bone marrow failure. The biological consequences of telomerase deficiency have been studied mostly using cultured human cells or mice as an animal model. Teleost fish, such as zebrafish and medaka fish, have emerged as powerful genetic model systems in the past few decades. They are attractive vertebrate models for biomedical research because of their small size and large number of progeny per generation. Chen's group has successfully generated a mutant fish that contains a mutation in the TERT gene. This is the first telomerase-deficient fish model ever created. The overall goal of this proposed program is to develop and use the fish model for the study of telomeres and telomerase, and their role in DKC and tumorigenesis. The first specific aim of this project will focus on characterization of telomere length phenotype and germ cell defect of the mutant fish. The second specific aim will focus on the role of telomerase deficiency and telomere dysfunction in hematopoiesis and tumorigenesis

NASA picks ASU team, headed by Ariel Anbar for $7 M center

Humans have long pondered the possibility that life exists beyond Earth. The quest for habitable worlds has focused on searching for water, but “following the water” turns out to be too general a criterion. The list of planets and satellites that possess liquid water is growing faster than can be explored. As one of the new NASA Astrobiology Institute teams, Arizona State University researchers intend to boost extraterrestrial exploration to the next stage by refining the criteria that guide the search for life. 

NASA announced Oct. 2 that ASU’s School of Earth and Space Exploration is one of 10 research teams from across the country to be awarded five-year grants, averaging $7 million each. ASU previously operated as an NAI team and was a charter member of the NAI when the program was founded in 1998. The team is centered in the School of Earth and Space Exploration, an academic unit in ASU’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, but also involves several faculty members from other college units including the School of Life Sciences, the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Beyond Center.

The ASU team, under the direction of principal investigator Ariel Anbar, a professor in the School of Earth and Space Exploration and the department of chemistry and biochemistry, attributes much of its recent success to the original ASU NAI team for the positive precedent that it created.

Hao Yan is recognized as one of six faculty "rising" stars by President Crow

Each year, following review of all tenure and promotion cases throughout the university, individuals are selected to represent the group as exemplars. Hao Yan, as previously described has been promoted from assistant professor to full professor with tenure in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, the Biodesign Institute and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

"Professor Yan has produced a rapid and constant stream of innovative ideas and patents, an extreme rate of first-rate publications, impressive new approaches to teaching and training and an astounding rate of winning research funding," says William Petuskey, chair of chemistry and biochemistry. "A large part of his success can be attributed to the rich intellectual and resource environment of the Biodesign Institute."

John Chaput, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and a Biodesign Institute researcher, as well as associate professor Rudy Diaz from the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering, have each received $1.2 million from the new, exciting NIH program. Also involved are Professor Hao Yan (from chemistry/biochemistry and the Biodesign Institute) and Tom Moore, Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry. EUREKA, the acronymn, stands for Exceptional, Unconventional Research Enabling Knowledge Acceleration. "The National Institute of Health's decision to fund these key biomedical research projects not only speaks to the intellectual merits of ASU's outstanding proposals, but also confirms ASU's success in attracting federal investment in bold, high-risk, high-impact research central to our mission," said ASU president Michael Crow.

Three graduate students from chemistry/biochemistry win Science Foundation of Arizona (SFAz) graduate research fellowships (GRFs)

Benjamin Sherman, Wei Wang and Zhao Zhao have just been awarded SFAz graduate research fellowships that are given for up to two consecutive years (up to $40,000 annually) to outstanding graduate students in science, engineering and biomedical research. This is the second year that SFAz is funding the GRF program which is the largest of its kind in the United States.

"The Science Foundation Arizona fellowships have allowed ASU, and other sister institutions in Arizona, to compete nationally and globally for the brightest and best Ph.D. students in the sciences and engineering," says Maria Allison, ASU's vice provost and dean of the Graduate College. "The forward-thinking leaders who have helped build this program for Arizona understand the critical role that graduate students play in building the research engines that power tomorrow's industry and economy."

"In the 21st century, it is all about brain power," adds William Harris, SFAz's president and chief executive officer. "...SFAz has the largest non-federally funded graduate research fellowship program in the United States focusing on science and engineering. That is a brainpower pipeline that creates excellence for our universities and ensures our state's future competitiveness."