Project Grant S15OD039775

HELIUM RECOVERY SYSTEM - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT NIH-FUNDED PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, BALTIMORE (UMB) REQUEST FUNDS FOR A STATE-OF- THE-ART HELIUM RECOVERY SYSTEM TO BE INSTALLED WITHIN THE UMB NMR CORE FACILITY TO ADVANCE THEIR NIH FUNDED NMR RESEARCH. INTEGRATION OF A HELIUM RECOVERY SYSTEM WOULD BE BENEFICIAL TO THE UMB SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY BY (I) PROVIDING A SIGNIFICANT COST SAVING MEASURE, ALLOWING FOR THE REDUCTION IN NMR USAGE FEES TO OUR NIH- FUNDED INVESTIGATORS, MAKING NMR DATA COLLECTION FEASIBLE TO BOTH AN INCREASED NUMBER OF SCIENTISTS AND ENABLING OUR CURRENT USERS TO EXPAND THEIR NMR-FOCUSED RESEARCH, (II) PROTECTING OUR THREE NIH-FUNDED NMR SPECTROMETERS FROM FUTURE LIQUID HELIUM SHORTAGES, WHICH PUT THEM AT RISK OF FORCED DECOMMISSION, AND (III) SUPPORTING THE UNIVERSITY'S "GREEN INITIATIVE" BY GREATLY REDUCING OUR CONTRIBUTION TO REDUCTION OF AN EXTREMELY LIMITED PLANETARY RESOURCE, WHILE ALSO REDUCING GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS. THIS IMPROVEMENT WILL PROVIDE STABILITY FOR NOT ONLY THE UMB NMR CORE FACILITY, BUT BY EXTENSION TO THE ENTIRE UMB STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY MISSION. AS PART OF THE STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY SECTIONS WITHIN BOTH THE GREENEBAUM COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CENTER (GCCC) AND THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND CENTER FOR BIOMOLECULAR THERAPEUTICS (CBT), OUR GOAL IS TO PROVIDE A "TOP-DOWN" STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY APPROACH THAT INCLUDES CRYOEM, X-RAY CRYSTALLOGRAPHY AND NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE (NMR) TO ACCOMPLISH THE MISSION OF FACILITATING STRUCTURE-BASED DRUG DESIGN FOR ALL INVESTIGATORS AND TO USE ALL AVAILABLE TECHNOLOGIES TO COMPLEMENTARILY AND COLLECTIVELY PROVIDE GUIDANCE FOR BASIC SCIENCE DISCOVERIES AND STRUCTURE-BASED DRUG DESIGN EFFORTS. THE USERS OF THE UMB NMR CENTER INCLUDE FACULTY MEMBERS FROM THE UMB SCHOOL OF MEDICINE (SOM), THE UMB SCHOOL OF PHARMACY (SOP), THE GCCC, THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND CBT, USERS FROM OTHER UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND CAMPUSES (UMBC, UMCP), AND USERS FROM OTHER UNIVERSITIES (JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY) AND PRIVATE COMPANIES. THE MAJOR ONGOING NIH-FUNDED PROJECTS THAT ARE HIGHLIGHTED IN THIS PROPOSAL ARE: 1. DR. ALEX DROHAT, MECHANISMS OF BER IN GENOMIC INTEGRITY AND EPIGENETIC REGULATION; 2. DRS. FILIPPO MANCIA/DAVID WEBER (PI), STRUCTURAL BASIS OF RECEPTOR-MEDIATED CELLULAR VITAMIN A UPTAKE; 3. DRS. FRANCE CARRIER/DAVID WEBER (PI), FIRST IN CLASS SMALL MOLECULES TO SIMULTANEOUSLY INHIBIT PROTEIN TRANSLATION AND AN IMMUNE CHECKPOINT IN CANCERS; AND 4. DR. AIKATERINI KONTROGIANNI-KONSTANTOPOULOS, INVESTIGATING THE MOLECULAR PATHOGENESIS OF A NOVEL MYBPC1 DUPLICATION MUTATION LINKED TO MYOPATHY WITH TREMOR. IN ADDITION, 8 OTHER NIH-FUNDED PROJECTS CURRENTLY HAVE AN ESSENTIAL NEED FOR CONTINUED USE OF THE UMB NMR CORE FACILITY, AND THEY ARE LISTED IN A SUPPLEMENTARY TABLE (SEE ATTACHED TABLE 1).