In this issue:  

James Paulson on Functional Genomics ( 2008 Barnett Lectures)
Biogenerics 2008 Conference
Saul Kurlat Joins Strategic Advisory Board
Dan Levangie Joins Strategic Advisory Board
Barnett Institute Establishes Science Advisory Board
Peter Barrett Appointed Adjunct Professor
The 2007 Hoehn Lectures, on "Biogenerics"
Rob Garnick appointed Adjunct Professor
Graham Jones appointed Associate Director
New Project to Study Role of Homocysteine in Autism
Barry Karger to Receive Csaba Horvath Medal
Ben Cravatt Presents Activity-Based Protein Profiling (Barnett Lecture)
Barnett Institute Awards Ceremony
Barnett Institute to host Biogenerics Conference
Alliance of Glycobiologists for Detection of Cancer and Cancer Risk
Institute Retreat Symposium
Alumni spotlights:  Beverly Brenner and Emanuel Carrilho
Prof. Karger to Receive Bergman Medal
Institute Receives Canary Foundation Award
Prof. Karger Elected to Hungarian Academy of Sciences

---

 

James Paulson presents "Functional Glycomics"
  (The 2008 Barnett Lectures)
"Life is sugar-coded": glycans decorate the surface of cells with unique molecular signatures that play critical roles in their communications.  The information in this sugar "code" is read by glycan binding proteins; the paradigms of this interaction are central to innate and adaptive immunity, and evident in the aberrant phenotypes of cancer cells.  The emerging revelations of the biological pathways mediated by glycans is driving the rapid development of analytical and informatic tools for glycan analysis. (photo gallery) (10/2/08)

 

 

Biogenerics2008, a conference on the scientific and regulatory issues surrounding the introduction of protein pharmaceuticals made by generic manufacturers, was hosted by the Barnett Institute  on March 2-4 at the Boston Copley Marriott.  The conference brought together decision-making representatives from the regulatory agencies of the US, Europe, Japan and Canada, with senior management of both the biotechnology and generics industries, and leading academic laboratories.  Panel discussions followed sessions on Analytical, Manufacturing, Immunogenicity, and Regulatory issues.  (program)

From left: Charles DiLiberti (Barr Laboratories), Mary Alice Hefford (Health Canada), Amy Rosenberg (US FDA), Robert Garnick (Genentech), David Drake (Novartis), Alison Lawton (Genzyme).  

Barnett Institute Establishes Science Advisory Board
The Advisory Board decided to next meet in two sessions: Strategic and Scientific. The scientific board will concentrate on the technical and research opportunities for Institute development. The new members of the Science Advisory Board are: Dr. Steven Carr of the Broad Institute, Prof. Cathy Costello of Boston University School of Medicine; Prof. John Essigmann of MIT; Dr. James Green, Senior Vice President at Biogen Idec; Dr. Josh LaBaer of Harvard Medical School, and Dr. Dennis Sgroi of Harvard Medical School. We are honored that such an accomplished group of individuals has agreed to serve on the Board.  (roster)

Dr. Karger with new Advisory Board members Laurie Werner and Eliot Barnett, 
children of Louis and Madlyn Barnett.  

Saul Kurlat Joins Advisory Board
Saul Kurlat has accepted an invitation to join the Barnett Institute Advisory Board. Saul is an alumnus of Northeastern University, receiving an MS degree in Engineering Management in 1962.  Currently, he serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of Northeastern’s Center for Sub-Surface Imaging and Sensing Systems, is a Visiting Distinguished Professor of Engineering Leadership in the College of Engineering, and was asked by President Aoun to advise him how the life sciences could be strengthened at Northeastern .. (more)  (1/29/2008)

Dan Levangie Joins Advisory Board
Dan Levangie, Director of Hologic, as well as Ev3, Minneapolis, MN, and Dune Medical, Ltd, Caesaria, IL, .has agreed to join the Advisory Board of the Barnett Institute.  Dan received his B.S. degree in Pharmacy from Northeastern University in 1973; he rose to Regional Sales Manager of the Pharmaceutical Products at Abbott Labs before joining Cytyc Corporation in 1992.  Recently, as President, Cytyc Surgical Products Division, Dan supported a very successful collaboration with the Barnett Institute which discovered diagnostic protein biomarkers to augment the cytological assay of the Pap smear.   Dan's broad and extensive experience in the health/diagnostic industry will be a wonderful addition to the Board.  (more) (1/11/2008).

Peter Barrett Appointed Adjunct Professor of Barnett Institute  
Dr. Barrett is currently a Senior Partner for Life Sciences at Atlas Ventures, and Vice Chairman of Barnett Institute Advisory Board.  Previously, Peter was co-founder with Craig Venter of Celera ... (more).  

The 2007 Hoehn Lectures, on "Biogenerics:  The Issues and the Science" were held on November 27'th.   Dr. Rob Garnick, Senior Vice President, Genentech, presented The Biogeneric Dilemma - A Global Perspective.  Neil Kelleher, Associate Professor of Chemistry at the University of Illinois, spoke on The Evolving Role of Tandem Mass Spectrometry in Contemporary Protein Science.  
(more on  Garnick   Kelleher   Hoehn  Photo Gallery).

Dr. Karger, Neil Kelleher, Rob Garnick, and Dieter Hoehn. (photo by Craig Bailey).

Rob Garnick appointed Adjunct Professor of Barnett Institute  (12/6/2007)
Dr. Garnick is Senior Vice President of Regulatory, Quality and Compliance at Genentech.  He is a loyal alumnus who serves on the Advisory Board of the Barnett Institute, and has especially distinguished himself in bringing 18 protein therapeutic products to market. (more)

Graham Jones appointed Associate Director of Barnett Institute  (12/5/2007)   Previously a Faculty Fellow,  Prof. Jones will play an expanded role assisting the Institute in our outreach programs to industry and the hospitals, as we grow in size and reputation.  Graham is also Chairman of the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology and a Special Assistant to the Provost.  (more)

 

New Project to Study Role of Homocysteine in Autism.  Professor Zhaohui Sunny Zhou, with Richard Deth of Pharmacology, has received a grant from the Autism Research Institute to investigate the role of homocysteine thiolactone in autism. This interdisciplinary team is implementing proteomic techniques to detect and characterize proteins that are modified by homocysteine thiolactone, and investigate their role in autism.  (more)  (7 November, 2007)

Barry  Karger to Receive Csaba Horvath Medal 
(29 October, 2007)   The Board of Directors of the Connecticut Separation Science Council (CSSC) and the Horvath Laboratory of Bioseparation Sciences, at the Leopold-Franzens University Innsbruck, Austria, announced today that Dr. Karger has been nominated as the next recipient of the Csaba Horváth Medal Award of the Connecticut Separation Science Council. He will receive this award during the 8th Csaba Horvath Medal Award Symposium to be held on April 14 - 15, 2008 in Innsbruck, Austria.

Ben Cravatt  Presents Activity-Based Protein Profiling (The Twenty-Sixth Annual Barnett Lectureship).  Dr. Cravatt has pioneered the field of Activity-Based Protein Profiling (ABPP) which uses active-site-directed chemical probes to determine the functional states of large numbers of enzymes in the whole proteome, together with analogous metabolomic methods for discovery metabolite profiling (DMP).  The lectures were followed by a reception and dinner in honor of Dr. Cravatt and his accomplishments.   More Information      Photo Gallery

 Barnett Institute Awards Ceremony
Students and research faculty were honored for major achievements over the recent year.  Fiscal Officer Bill O'Neill was recognized for exceptional diligence.  Ruthann Stiles of the Provost's office received the External Service Award.  The ceremonies were opened this year with presentations from distinguished alumni Marek Minarik and Emanuel Carrilho.    Full story with pictures.    photo gallery

Barnett Institute to host Biogenerics Conference
By the year 2010, $20 billion worth of protein pharmaceuticals will be off patent and in a market open to generic manufacturers.  Subtle changes, such as in glycosylation or formulation, may show dramatic effects, or no effect, on efficacy and safety. The scientific and regulatory issues surrounding biogenerics (biosimilars or follow-on biologicals) are some of the most difficult since biotechnology was established.  Biogenerics 2008 is bringing the highest levels in industry and regulatory leadership into an open discussion and wide-ranging debate.    Biogenerics 2008 site

Alliance of Glycobiologists for Detection of Cancer and Cancer Risk.
Prof. Hancock is co-chair of the coordination unit of the alliance.  This is an exciting time for glycomics, as a wide array of breakthrough technologies and methods are emerging.  The Alliance is an NCI-funded program to accelerate communication, collaboration and application of these new tools.  The Barnett Institute has contributed MLAC for isolating glycoproteins and ERPA for comprehensive characterization of the glycans in large proteins.    (more information) (CRISP)

Institute Retreat Symposium 
The Institute retreat this year emphasized and strengthened our interactions with affiliated and collaborating laboratories.  In addition to the Barnett Institute Fellows, the day-long event included presentations by colleagues Hanno Steen of  Children's Hospital, Joseph Zaia of Boston University Medical Center, Rohin Mhatre, Director of Bioprocess Development at Biogen-Idec, and  Igor Kaltashov from UMASS Amherst.  

 

Beverly Brenner returns to visit;  Emanuel Carrilho on sabbatical in Boston
(see Alumni News)

Beverly Brenner at luncheon with Jana Volf and Tomas Rejtar

Emanuel Carrilho with Elma and Lorena

Prof. Karger to Receive Bergman Medal
Barry Karger, Director of the Barnett Institute, has been selected to receive the 2008 Torbern Bergman Medal from the Analytical Division of the Swedish Chemical Society. This is one of the most prestigious international awards in the field of analytical chemistry and is offered only every other year. Barry will receive the medal at a special symposium in his honor in Gothenburg, Sweden next June. This award brings more acclaim to the Barnett Institute and continues our growth as a major intellectual research center.  

Institute Receives Canary Foundation Award
In June 2007, the experimental bioinformatics group at the Barnett Institute received a "Bioinformatics Platform Dissemination" Award from the Canary Foundation to adopt a Computational Proteomics Analysis System (CPAS).  (more)

Prof Karger Elected to Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Prof. Karger was recently elected an Honorary Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.  While membership in the Hungarian Academy is generally restricted to Hungarian citizens, in special cases scholars or scientists active in a foreign country may be elected to become honorary members of the academy if they pursue their field on an internationally recognized level, and their achievements are worthy of the special esteem of Hungarian scientific life.