Houston Business Journal, Oct. 11, 2008 This article is about UTMB receiving a five-year, $10.9 million contract from NIH to establish the Clinical Proteomics Center for Infectious Diseases and Biodefense.
Researchers at the center will analyze human blood and other tissue samples from completed or ongoing clinical studies with the aim of discovering proteins that could serve as biomarkers of infectious disease. Identifying new biomarkers that are present in infected people will help researchers understand how microbes cause disease, which could guide development of diagnostics, therapies or vaccines. "We are very excited about this opportunity to build on our extensive proteomics expertise and translate these technologies to better diagnose and manage infectious diseases," said Dr. Allan Brasier, the center's principal investigator. The article has been picked up by several news outlets across the country, including the San Francisco Business Times, the Philadelphia Business Journal and the Condé Nast Portfolio.