Cell biology allocation
to fund equipment, staff
By Sandy Johnstone
Of the Emerald
As the needle pokes into the
diabetic's flesh, she heaves a sigh
of relief. Finally, she is able to get
human insulin instead of the cow
or pig insulin that never worked
exactly right.
Human insulin can now be
"grown" by taking the proper
gene and placing it in bacteria,
producing human insulin that is
more effective than that taken
from cows or pigs, medicine's
traditional source of insulin.
Research in molecular biology
made that application possible.
"Science is characterized as a
series of breakthroughs," says
Aaron Novick, chairer of the
biology department.
Now special funding provided
by the Oregon Legislature and
private industry will give the
University the chance to discover
more of these types of
breakthroughs.
Cell biology applies molecular
biology to more complex
creatures, asking questions about
how genes are controlled and
how they are regulated. The cell
biology program will have some
separation from the Institute of
Molecular Biology, but final
details have not yet been worked
out, Novick says.
The University received $497,000
for this academic year as Its share
of the $2.67 million allotted to the
state system during the next two
years for high technology
research. The money will be split
between the computer science
department and the cell biology
program, but no exact breakdown
has yet been made.
The money will be used for
some new staff and equipment,
Novick says. Chemistry Prof. Ed
Herbert will direct the institute for
two years, until he leaves the
University to direct a new institute
at Portland State University.
"We want to get the very best
people available nationally,"
Novick says. "We (the Institute of
Molecular Biology) are ranked
high in the national ratings and
I we are not interested in doing less
well in the future."
Actual research will be sup
ported by other "outside" funds.
"All our people now have
grants, and we will choose people
who will get grants," says Novick.
Aaron Novick
New staff also will teach classes.
Of the Institute of Molecular
Biology's total budget, the new
money only totals about 5
percent.
But the funds are critical in hir
ing new staff and building the pro
gram, Novick says. "It illustrates
how much a relatively small
amount of money can do.
"I have been surprised through
the years when the state has not
given support to the program," he
says. "It is long deserved.
"It is cheering that at a time of
great poverty the state is willing to
do this. It is good for morale that
we do something positive, but we
do not want to do it at the expense
of the rest of the University. There
is no sense in a University that is
excellent in only one area."
Research in cell biology is im
portant both for the knowledge it
provides about human life and for
the applications to medicine,
Novick says.
"We want to simply under
stand," Novick says. "People are
curious and want to understand
who and what we are."
And understanding life at the
fundamental level can lead to
payoffs in the material world,
Novick says.
Through molecular biology,
scientists have learned techniques
to use organisms such as bacteria
to produce substances which are
very useful to people. One exam
ple of this is creating human
insulin.
"The University is a pioneer in
this area," Novick says.
Maranatha Christian Fellowship
Welcomes You To The U of O!
We invite you to attend these upcoming
events:
• Greg Anthony speaking on social and political
issues of our day. Sept. 28,29, at 7:30 p.m.
• Open House Oct. 1, 12:00 - 4:00 p.m.
• Movie Oct. 1, 7:30 p.m. “Chariots of Fire”
• Wednesday Fellowship Meeting, 7:30 p.m.
• Sunday Worship Service, 10:30 a.m.
(All events at Maranatha House, unless indicated otherwise)
MOT7EL fRM
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