Recent Accomplishments from Unrestricted Gifts

Unrestricted gifts permit TSRI scientists to achieve landmark disease research results through the purchase of new equipment and the provision of crucial bridge funding – leading to the development of new therapeutics.

Unrestricted donations have been used to provide:

Cutting-Edge Equipment for Scientists

Unrestricted gifts have helped provide cutting-edge mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance equipment for two of our scientists, Dr. John Yates and Dr. Peter Wright.

Mass spectrometry equipment assists in solving critical questions in life sciences and accelerating discovery by facilitating cost-efficient simultaneous screening of a multitude of molecules at unsurpassed speed.  Even though this powerful technology dates back to the turn of the century, in recent years mass spectrometry has undergone something of a revolution with dramatic advances.  Dr. Yates uses it in tandem with other scientists at TSRI to research such diseases as cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, spinal muscular atrophy, schizophrenia, and depression.  Results of his work could lead to new therapies for these diseases as well as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and mad cow disease.  Last year, Dr. Yates was named one of the top 60 chemists of all time by Times Higher Education.

TSRI has one of the biggest and best-equipped nuclear magnetic resonance facilities in the world.  Thanks to unrestricted gifts, Dr. Wright was able to upgrade his equipment even further, broadening his research capabilities.  The upgrade makes experiments possible that could not have previously been done and provides a powerful new approach for studies of protein dynamics and folding.  Dr. Wright’s research on proteins has broken new ground and may result in novel targets for therapeutic intervention and drug design in diseases such as leukemia, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, mad cow disease, and mental retardation.

Bridge Funding for Senior Scientists

Unrestricted gifts have assisted two of our senior scientists, Dr. Paul Russell and Dr. Floyd Romesberg, during critical gaps in funding, stabilizing their important research programs so that they have been able to maintain productivity while external federal and private funding have been temporarily disrupted.

Dr. Russell works in DNA repair, a process critical to cell survival and good health.  He has steadily built a model of how a powerful DNA repair complex works.  His latest discovery provides revolutionary insights into the way the molecular model inside the complex functions – findings that may have implications for treatment of disorders ranging from cancer to cystic fibrosis.  Dr. Russell’s research also involves kidney damage, dementia, and birth defects.

Dr. Romesberg applies his research to develop novel antibiotics and improve human health.  Despite the premature declaration of victory over pathogenic bacteria with antibiotic “wonder drugs”, untreatable infections have remained, and the growing problem of antibiotic resistance is threatening to turn many previously treatable infections into serious medical conditions with potentially deadly outcomes – just as they were before the age of antibiotics.  Antibiotic resistance is a major health problem in the United States.  According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), about 70 percent of bacteria that cause infections in hospitals are resistant to at least one antibiotic, and some are so resistant that no antibiotics are effective, and they must be treated with experimental and potentially toxic drugs. Dr. Romesberg’s research involves inhibiting pathways, so that bacteria cannot evolve and prolonging the potency of existing antibiotics. 

These are just a few ways that unrestricted gifts are achieving breakthroughs and saving lives in critical disease areas.