Looking for different therapy approach for drug-resistant bacteria
The University of Nebraska Medical Center’s most prolific nanomedicine chemist will be operating labs on two continents thanks to a two-year, $4.5 million “mega-grant” from the Russian government.
Alexander “Sasha” Kabanov, Ph.D., D.Sc., the Parke-Davis Professor in Pharmaceutics and director of the Center for Drug Delivery and Nanomedicine at UNMC, is one of 40 Russian, foreign or expatriate Russian scientists who last year received a new type of grant to bring their expertise to Russian universities.
Dr. Kabanov joins an elite group of grant winners – 20 are Russian citizens (six hold dual citizenship and five permanently reside in the country), and 10 of the foreign scientists are American citizens, four of whom hold dual citizenship with Russia. One winner is a Nobel laureate and another holds a Fields Medal, commonly regarded as math’s Nobel Prize.
The only chemist in the group, Dr. Kabanov will lead one of six projects at Moscow State University (MSU), his alma mater. He will study chemical formulations of enzymes and proteins for bionanomaterials “I am looking for a different approach to therapy for drug-resistant bacteria,” he said.
“This grant is a reflection of Dr. Kabanov’s international prominence in the field and brings international attention to his program at UNMC as well,” said Jennifer Larsen, M.D., associate vice chancellor for clinical research and soon to be vice chancellor for research.
Don Leuenberger, vice chancellor of business and finance, said the grant from Russia recognizes the quality of Dr. Kabanov’s research. “It’s another indication that world-class research is underway at UNMC.”
The 12-billion-rouble (U.S. $428 million) ‘mega-grant’ program is part of Russia’s attempt to strengthen research at its universities and modernize the country’s science and economy at large.
Dr. Kabanov’s laboratory will be in the MSU Department of Chemistry, where he also was a leading research fellow before the fall of the Soviet Union.
“It’s a great honor to be awarded one of these grants,” Dr. Kabanov said. “International collaboration is important and UNMC is getting recognition in the global arena. We have a chance to make a big difference here.”
Dr. Kabanov joined UNMC in 1994 where he established the first academic center in nanomedicine in the United States 10 years later. The Nebraska Center for Drug Delivery and Nanomedicine (CDDN) develops innovative tools for improving drug delivery systems through nanoscale technologies.
Using particles 100,000 times smaller than the head of a pin, nanomedicine is a rapidly growing field of research that may spark a new generation of therapies and diagnostic tools to combat human diseases.
The CDDN includes 33 faculty members who hold more than $34 million in federal research grants and last year generated about 50 percent of all UNMC patent applications.
Dr. Kabanov established the field of “polymer genomics” that investigates effects of polymers and nanomaterials on cellular responses to develop safe and efficient therapeutics. He has more than 200 scientific papers, 100 patents worldwide and his work has been cited more than 9,000 times.
Dr. Kabanov and Leuenberger recently went to Moscow where they signed an agreement with MSU to protect intellectual property developed through this collaboration. The agreement, negotiated by UNeMed, UNMC’s technology transfer arm, also gives MSU the license to use Dr. Kabanov’s technologies that he developed at UNMC and gives UNMC access to enzyme engineering technology available at MSU.
"This is a great challenge," said Dr. Kabanov, who – along with other mega grant recipients – recently met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. "We hope to produce good science and good products in both nations."
Through world-class research and patient care, UNMC generates breakthroughs that make life better for people throughout Nebraska and beyond. Its education programs train more health professionals than any other institution in the state. Learn more at unmc.edu.
