The Royalty Research fund (RRF) is sponsored by UW’s Office of Research to help faculty establish new research programs. The program is funded from royalty and licensing fee income generated by the UW Technology transfer program. These one-year awards have been offered semi-annually since 1992.
Med Chem Assistant Professor Mike Guttman was recently chosen to receive an RRF award of $36,665 for his project, “Gas Phase Hydrogen/Deuterium Exchange to Distinguish Isomeric Carbohydrates.” Dr. Guttman’s aim is to develop new mass spectrometry techniques for analyzing various sugar structures.
A variety of complex sugar structures cover most of the extra-cellular environment of higher-level organisms. Many of the sugars regulate host-pathogen interactions and modulate the immune system. “We want to understand the detailed structures of the sugars associated with disease onset,” said Guttman, “to find new ways of preventing pathogens from infecting cells in the first place, or detecting and targeting cancer cells.”
The current techniques for doing this are somewhat limited, so Dr. Guttman wants to create a novel analytical tool using recent developments in gas-phase structural analysis in combination with existing glycobiology platforms. “This kind of rapid technology will enable large-scale studies to better understand how various sugar structures regulate the immune response and modulate tumor progression,” said Guttman. “It will also provide a new way to characterize the next generation of biotherapeutics.” He added, “I’m grateful to receive the RRF award that will help us move forward on this project.”
To study with researchers like Dr. Guttman, click on the links for more information about our Graduate Programs in Medicinal Chemistry, Pharmaceutics, Pharmaceutical Outcomes Research and Policy, and Biomedical Regulatory Affairs.