Learn about career opportunities with Southern Research »
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (April 11, 2006) - Southern Research Institute hosted a two-day meeting for life scientists from all over the country April 10-11 to discuss progress being made by the National Institute of Health's (NIH) Molecular Libraries Screening Center Network (MLSCN) in the discovery of new drugs.
In June 2005, the NIH announced $88.9 million in grant awards to establish this collaborative research network using robotic, high-throughput screening methods to identify small molecules as tools to study physiologic and disease processes. Southern Research received an $11.6 million award to establish a screening center to support this initiative for multidisciplinary medical research.
"It's an honor for us to host our scientific colleagues here in Birmingham," said John A. "Jack" Secrist, III, Ph.D., vice president of the Drug Discovery Division at Southern Research. "The MLSCN program holds great promise as a way to expedite the discovery of new drugs to treat and prevent human disease, and we at Southern Research are very glad to do our part in this effort."
The MLSCN program is part of the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research initiative, an interdisciplinary effort that aims to accelerate medical discovery and application of research into effective prevention strategies and new treatments.
Thomas R. Insel, M.D., director of the National Institute for Mental Health, served as the guest speaker at a reception held April 10, celebrating the designation of Southern Research's Center in Birmingham.
"The MLSCN will enable the academic community to access resources that would be unavailable otherwise," said Insel during his presentation, titled "From Small Molecules to Medications."
In her remarks, Dr. Carol Z. Garrison, president of The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and chair of the Southern Research Board of Directors, cited Southern Research's use of cutting-edge technology and expertise in drug discovery as elements of the organization's successful selection to the MLSCN program.
Southern Research, with an established track record of having discovered six of the FDA-approved anti-cancer drugs on the market, received a three-year, $11.6 million award last year to operate the Southern Research Molecular Libraries Screening Center (SRMLSC). Gary A. Piazza, Ph.D., a pharmacologist, is the director of the SRMLSC and principal investigator of lead biological studies, while Joseph A. Maddry, Ph.D., a medicinal chemist, leads the chemistry and informatics effort. Both Piazza and Maddry are senior scientists in the renowned Drug Discovery and Development Divisions at Southern Research.
"This program marks a new era in drug discovery in Birmingham," said Piazza.
Southern Research will use state-of-the-art robotic equipment to screen hundreds of thousands of compounds, contributing to an expanding database of information available to researchers to explore chemical and biological relationships.
Other institutions who are members of the MLSCN include the NIH; Columbia University Medical Center, New York, N.Y.; Emory University, Atlanta, Ga.; The Burnham Institute, La Jolla, Calif.; The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, Calif.; The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, Albuquerque, N.M.; University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa.; The University of Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh, Pa., and Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn.
ABOUT SOUTHERN RESEARCH
Southern Research is a not-for-profit organization that conducts scientific research at facilities in Alabama, Florida, Maryland and North Carolina. Southern Research provides contract research in the fields of preclinical drug discovery and development, advanced engineering, and environmental and energy-related research. Southern Research discovered six of the FDA-approved anti-cancer drugs on the market, and currently has four additional drugs in clinical trials. This year, the scientists and engineers of Southern Research celebrate the organization's 65th Anniversary of legendary discoveries and leading innovation.
Media Contact:
Sharon Pardue, Southern Research Institute, 205-581-2577, pardue@sri.org
Tommy Palladino, Panorama PR, 205-328-9334, 205-253-3455, tommy@prview.com