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Sen. Kit Bond speaks at the Nov. 20 Nano Institute's groundbreaking.
Seated, left to right, are MU Chancellor Brady Deaton; Fred
Hawthorne, professor of radiology and Institute director;
Jim Coleman, vice chancellor for research; William Crist,
dean of the School of Medicine; and Robert Churchill, professor
and chair of radiology. Dave Owens photo
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Institute
Poised to Unlock Cancer Secrets
By Christian Basi
Size does matter, but in this case, the smaller
the better. With the groundbreaking of the new University of Missouri-Columbia
International
Institute for Nano and Molecular Medicine, MU scientists will
soon be using nanoparticles, or materials that are 100,000 times
smaller than the width of a human hair, to unlock secrets to some
very large problems.
"This is a new era of medicine - for
the University and the world," said Senator Kit Bond. "The
Institute for Nano and Molecular Medicine is another step in enhancing
the world-renowned research taking place on this campus."
The building, which will cost approximately
$10 million, is slated to open at the end of 2007. It will serve
as a base of operation for uniting a variety of MU researchers
and resources. Fred Hawthorne, professor of radiology, will lead
the research teams at the institute. With the addition of the
building, Mizzou will be the only university in the country with
this type of research facility in addition to a research reactor,
a medical school, a veterinary school, an engineering school and
a life sciences center.
"I still marvel at what I found at the
University of Missouri-Columbia that I have never encountered
anywhere else in the world," Hawthorne said. "The campus
literally has everything, including sincere people who are interested
in collaborating with me. I realized Mizzou would be a place where
I could fulfill my life's work, which is to find a new route for
attacking cancer in a definitive way." 
Experts have commented that MU is ten years
ahead of the curve due to discoveries made in the field of nanoscience
by Kattesh Katti, professor of radiology and biomedical physics,
Raghuraman Kannan, research assistant professor of radiology,
and others. Their discoveries paved the way for the recent opening
of the Nanoparticle Production Core Facility (NPCF), one of the
first on-campus facilities of its kind.
Hawthorne is studying how compounds of the element boron might
be used in cancer diagnosis and therapy including nuclear reactions.
He is striving to create a new cancer therapy based upon the nuclear
reaction of boron atoms present in tumor-containing nanoparticles
with neutrons from the MU
Research Reactor (MURR). Other research that will take place
in the 26,000-square-foot building will include pharmacology,
immunochemistry and medical imaging of all types.
The building will be built adjacent to the
Dalton Cardiovascular
Research Center and across the street from MURR. In addition,
the building is adjacent to the proposed site for the Life
Science Business Incubator.
Above is an artist's rendering
of the $9.4 million International Institute for Nano and
Molecular Medicine, which is scheduled to be completed in
August 2007.
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"MU's record of the fastest growth in
federal research funding among all public institutions in the
Association of American Universities
over the past 10 years is evidence of our highly competitive role
in the national scientific arena," MU Chancellor Brady Deaton
said. "The institute will further enhance our level of participation."
"This is an exciting investment in nanomedicine
and an exciting time to be a scientist at Mizzou," said Jim
Coleman, vice chancellor for research. "We are combining
many of our strengths on this campus to help fight some of the
deadliest diseases in recent history. MU is unique in its ability
to bring together so many different scientists from so many different
fields. We hope this investment will bring about not only many
new scientific collaborations, but also new technology that will
bring hope for cancer patients and new discoveries that will improve
the quality of life for all Missourians."
The National Science
Foundation estimates that the global nanotechnology market
will be worth $1 trillion by 2015. Last year, the U.S. government
allocated more than $1 billion to nanotechnology research.
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Last Update:
March 12, 2007
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