CAPABILITIES & TECHNOLOGIES
The CoE has a breadth of life sciences capabilities and technologies with some of the highlights detailed below.
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The Microarray and Genomics Facility at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, home of the researchers who provided BAC libraries for sequencing the human genome, affords investigators a full spectrum of services for parallel analyses of genomes and their expression. Applications of this technology include large scale SNP genotyping (Sequenom MassARRAY), BAC array based Comparative Genomic Hybridization (aCGH), and global gene expression profiling (CodeLink and cDNA arrays). Variations of these applications can be utilized to: detect and map chromosomal aberrations and SNPs, profile gene expression patterns, identify differences between two populations of DNA or RNA (ie. tumor vs normal, transfected vs. untransfected cell populations), determine the effect of therapeutic agents on the genome and their effect on gene expression, and determine the effect of genetic alterations on gene expression patterns in transgenic and knockout mice. The facility also maintains and provides a screening and clone characterization service for fifteen large insert genomic BAC/PAC libraries for human, mouse, rat, and S. Pombe. In addition, investigators with high throughput projects are supported by the robotics infrastructure within the facility.
The Center for Computational Research (CCR) is a leading academic supercomputing facility that maintains a high-performance computing environment, high-end visualization laboratories, and support staff with expertise in scientific computing, software engineering, visualization, advanced database design, and networking. The mission of CCR is to (1) enable research and scholarship, (2) provide education, outreach, and training, and (3) effect technology transfer and economic development in areas that require high-end computing, storage, networking, and visualization. The Center’s extensive computing facilities include a 2000 processor Dell P4 (64-bit) Linux cluster, and a 64 processor shared memory SGI Altix. The Center also maintains a 25 Tbyte EMC SAN. The computer visualization laboratory features a tiled display wall, a VisDuo passive stereo system, and an SGI Onyx3 Infinite Reality4 graphics computer. Based on aggregate compute capacity, CCR is one of the most powerful academic supercomputing sites in the U.S., with more than 13 Tflops of peak performance.
Toshiba Stroke Research Center conducts research related to the prevention and treatment of vascular disease through minimally invasive modalities, under the leadership of world renowned neurosurgeons and scientists. The Center has the most advanced equipment to develop new endovascular surgery techniques. Through its clinical facilities, innovations emerging from the center are quickly translated into clinical practice.
The Jacobs Neurological Institute (JNI) , founded upon the work of the inventor of beta-interferon therapy for multiple sclerosis, is a preeminent team of neurologists and other health care providers caring for patients with neurological disorders. The mission of JNI is to lessen the burden of neurological disease through the three pronged strategy of focused research, development of advanced patient-centered care programs and principal-centered teaching. The Jacobs Neurological Institute is synonymous with the Department of Neurology at SUNY Buffalo. The JNI has activities at five hospitals, both campuses of the University at Buffalo and 2 outpatient centers in Buffalo, New York. Over 25,000 patients per year from all over the world are treated at the JNI’s multiple clinical sites. Furthermore, more than 100 medical students, neurology residents, and neurology fellows are trained here each year to be experts in compassionate clinical care and evidence-based medicine in the treatment of neurological diseases.
Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI), founded in 1898, is the nation's first cancer research, treatment and education center and is the only National Cancer Institute designated comprehensive care center in Upstate New York. From its inception, RPCI's mission has been cancer research and treatment. Since then, groundbreaking research by RPCI scientists has led to greater understanding of the nature of cancer and to major advances in cancer diagnosis and treatment that are now in use worldwide. RPCI instituted the nation's first chemotherapy program, pioneered studies on the relationship between smoking and lung cancer and developed photodynamic therapy (PDT) and the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test. A comprehensive cancer genetics program, now under development at RPCI, will rival the world's leading programs in that field. The Institute also made significant contributions to the landmark human genome project. RPCI's Center for Pharmacology and Therapeutics is one of the few centers in the nation capable of all phases of drug development, from the conceptual stage through manufacturing and testing. In 2004, RPCI's strong basic and clinical research programs attracted major research grants and contracts totaling more than $75 million. The Institute has sponsored or collaborated on more than 350 clinical trials of promising new cancer treatments. As a CoE research partner, the Roswell Park Center for Pharmacology and Genetics is co-located in the Buffalo Life Sciences Complex.
An ontology is a computational representation of the types of entities and relations existing within a given domain of reality. Increasingly, ontologies such as the Gene Ontology are being used to support exchange and reuse of data and information in all domains of biomedical informatics. The University at Buffalo is a world leader in ontology research and is home to the National Center for Ontological Research and to the Ontology Best Practices core of the National Center for Biomedical Ontology. The COE's Ontology Research Group (ORG) is engaged in fundamental and applied research and software development in the domain of biomedical ontology, with a special focus on electronic health records and the management of clinical data.
The Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute (HWI) is an independent, non-profit, biomedical research partner of the CoE. For almost half a century, HWI scientists have been committed to improving human health through study, at a molecular level, of the causes and potential cures of many diseases. In contrast to clinical research, the focus of HWI’s basic research is to determine the structures of individual substances such as proteins that play a role in the development of specific diseases. This research explores questions, such as: What is the three-dimensional shape of a particular protein molecule? What structural alterations lead to the development of disease? Working under the leadership of Nobel-Laureate Herbert Hauptman, HWI scientists use the techniques of molecular biology, biochemistry, and crystallography to answer these questions. The results of their investigations provide the starting point for better drug design. In addition, other research on-going at HWI seeks to improve the methods of crystallization and data analysis used for molecular structure determination by scientists worldwide.
News
Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus to Revamp Trico Site
07/19/2008 - BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Armed with a $4.5 million cash transfusion, the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus is pushing ahead with a key physical expansion. Patrick Whelan, BNMC chief operating officer, said funding approved last week by the Empire State Development Corp. will aid a $12 million effort to turn a portion of the former Trico windshield wiper plant into a high-tech innovation center...[Read On...]
Quantum Rod System May Safely 'Sneak' Drugs, Diagnostics into Brain
07/16/2008 - BUFFALO, N.Y. --
A unique nanoparticle system developed by University at Buffalo scientists takes advantage of the versatility of bioconjugated quantum rods to ferry novel diagnostic and therapeutic agents across the blood-brain barrier, according to recent in vitro findings. Described in a paper published in Bioconjugate Chemistry, the system uses the rod-shaped semiconductor nanoparticles that are bioconjugated, or coupled, with biomolecules capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier...[Read On...]
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Events
September 23, 2008 - MedTech08 Biosciences Summit
Growing, Changing, Booming: Adapting healthcare to the needs of an aging population. Join us at The Lodge in Skaneateles NY for this exciting daylong event packed with industry leaders sharing their strategies for successfully adapting to the aging boomer demographic. To learn more and register, Click here
October 27-28, 2008 - AACR Centennial Symposium
Roswell Park Cancer Institute is hosting the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Centennial Symposium, entitled “The Future of Cancer Research: Science and Patient Impact”, this fall. To learn more and register, Click here.
To view the complete list of events and event details, please visit our Events page
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