UPRH Biomedical Research Improvement Program

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The general aim of our SCORE project is the upgrade of physical and human resources at the University of Puerto Rico at Humacao (UPRH) in order to increase and improve its biomedical research activity. The following goals are set in pursuing this major aim: (1) to increase the biomedical research capacity at UPRH, (2) to increase the number of natural sciences faculty at UPRH involved in biomedical research and the number of biomedical research collaborations with research-intensive institutions, (3) to increase the number of submitted research grant applications from UPRH to extramural biomedical research agencies and (4) to increase the biomedical research productivity at UPRH. We have initiated the accomplishment of Goal (1) by hiring a full-time technician for the operation and maintenance of our most sophisticated MBRS-funded equipment. This supplemental application responds to Goal (2) through the application to our SCORE project of three new faculty biomedical investigators. One of these investigators will work to find new and more efficient glucose biosensors, using glucose oxidase (GOx) anchored on gold surfaces modified with functionalized thiols (usually two or three carbons long or benzene ring) which will serve for the detection of glucose in blood or tissues. A second project will expand the knowledge of beta-sheet folding of proteins pathway using beta-hairpin as a model. The information gathered in this work will help in the qualitative and quantitative description of the driving force of beta-hairpin folding. These results are of great importance in the recently developed genome area, where protein structure and function play a crucial role in the medical field. A third project is aimed at determining the identity, distribution, and fate of reactive intermediates and products formed in the fortuitous degradation of lipid peroxides. Characterized adducts derived from the developed protocol will provide information useful in modeling lipid peroxidation outcomes associated with tissue damage. It is expected that the development of these projects will improve the possibilities of producing more research proposal applications to other extramural agencies, more research collaborations and an increase in peer reviewed publications with the concomitant recognition of our faculty and students in the international biomedical research community.