Annual Report 2001 - the University of Massachusetts Medical School

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Our Genomic Era Writing on this page in the Worcester Foundation’s 2000 Annual Report, I commented that the “completion” of the Human Genome Project was only the first step toward the broader goal of discovering how the precisely coordinated expression of sets of genes can help us understand the lives of cells, as well as ultimately the higher level properties of the human organism, so-called emergent properties such as mood and memory, for example. In the past year the science of genomics has revealed that most cells in the body share a large set of commonly expressed genes, with each type of cell also expressing a set of genes whose operation is unique to that specialized cell. Although this sounds like a new insight, it was explicitly predicted by the embryologist and geneticist Thomas Hunt Morgan in 1934, who presciently stated that “…different batteries of genes come into action as development proceeds.” Thus, the decoding of the complete human DNA sequence is more an analytical advance than an intellectual breakthrough. Yet, conceptual advances are indeed being made. For example, we now know that some genes can undergo a “cut and paste” mode of rearrangement in the body’s cells. This is the mechanism by which antibodies are made, custom-fit to latch onto the reciprocal shape of a protein on an invading virus or other foreign substance entering the body. I strongly suspect this phenomenon of gene rearrangements is also at play in the construction of the brain (though this has not yet been discovered). Rearrangements, at the RNA message level, are also involved in producing the complex protein molecules that glue cells to one another in the body. The total complexity of our body’s proteins is thus likely to considerably exceed that predicted from our sperm and egg-inherited set of genes. This is but one example of how the field of genomics is providing exciting new insights. It also argues that we should be cautious in asserting that we are already in the “post-genomics” era—a point emphatically made by Dr. Francis S. Collins, Director of the National Center for Human Genome Research at NIH in his address at UMass Medical School in October 2001. Many laypersons ask me,“How many genes do we have?” The number was first announced as 30,000 or so, yet I deliberately gave a figure of 70,000 in my report on this page a year ago. Now, a study published this past summer in the journal Genome Biology indeed puts the human gene number at 65,000-75,000. The correct statement is that we really aren’t sure yet. Before closing, I cannot fail to mention the likely possibility that the science of genomics, directed at the DNA of infectious micro-organisms, will be important in the quest of peace-loving peoples of the world to mount regrettably necessary defenses against bioterrorism. The joyful dedication of our new research building shortly after the attacks of September 11 caused me to recall a passionate statement made 130 years ago by the French biologist Louis Pasteur: “Take interest, I beseech you, in those sacred institutions, which we designate under the expressive name of laboratories. Demand that they be adorned; they are the temples of wealth and of the future. There it is that humanity grows, becomes stronger and better. There it learns to read in the works of nature, symbols of progress and of universal harmony, whereas the works of mankind are too often those of fanaticism and destruction.” Thoru Pederson, PhD Vitold Arnett Professor of Cell Biology UMMS Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Pharmacology Director,Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research 28
Making a Gift The Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research welcomes inquiries about making a gift in support of basic research. For additional information about any of the Foundation’s gift programs and their impact on lifesaving research, please contact: Patricia Kelleher Bartram Director of Development or Mary Flynn Myers Director of Major Gifts Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research Four Biotech • 377 Plantation Street • Worcester, MA 01605 • 508-856-1994 Chancellor and Dean University of Massachusetts Medical School Aaron Lazare,MD Chairman of the Board Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research Christopher W. Bramley President Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research John L. Sullivan, MD Director,Office of Research Professor of Pediatrics and Molecular Medicine University of Massachusetts Medical School Director Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research Thoru Pederson, PhD,Vitold Arnett Professor of Cell Biology Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Pharmacology University of Massachusetts Medical School Associate Vice Chancellor for Development University of Massachusetts Medical School Kevin G. Courtney Assistant Vice Chancellor for Development University of Massachusetts Medical School Director of Development Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research Patricia Kelleher Bartram Director of Major Gifts for Biomedical Research Mary Flynn Myers Assistant Director of Major Gifts for Biomedical Research Margaret K. Lansing Major Gifts Officer Julie Rowe-Collins This annual report is produced on behalf of the Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research by the Office of Public Affairs & Publications, University of Massachusetts Medical School. Associate Vice Chancellor for University Relations and Managing Editor Mark L. Shelton Associate Director of Publications and Editor Andrea L. Badrigian Staff Writers Kelly Bishop Lynn C. Borella Mary Beth Dziewietin Design Ermini Marketing & Design Printing Atlantic Graphic Services, Inc. Photography Christopher Navin Larry Stein UMMS Biomedical Media Readers are invited to comment on the contents of this annual report. Please address correspondence to: Editor, 2001 Worcester Foundation Annual Report Office of Public Affairs & Publications UMass Medical School 55 Lake Avenue North Worcester, MA 01655-0002 E-mail: public.affairs@umassmed.edu www.umassmed.edu
Page 1 and 2: W ORCESTER F OUNDA TION for B IOMED
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Page 5 and 6: M E S S A G E F R O M T H E P R E S
Page 7 and 8: Officers Christopher W. Bramley Cha
Page 9 and 10: The University of Massachusetts rec
Page 11 and 12: Major Support for New Scientist Rec
Page 13 and 14: Tariq Rana, PhD Professor, Departme
Page 15 and 16: Donor Supports ‘Remarkable Resear
Page 17 and 18: BRUDNICK INSTITUTE ADVANCES THROUGH
Page 19 and 20: $6.7M NIH GRANT SUPPORTS CANCER RES
Page 21 and 22: Jean A. King, PhD, associate profes
Page 23 and 24: Joan and Richard Freedman I. Robert
Page 25 and 26: Named Endowment Funds The Worcester
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Page 29: Planned Gifts and Bequests Each yea

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