"We understand at a broad level how disease comes about, but at the cellular level our understanding is still pretty poor," Blanke said. Although there are literally hundreds of infectious diseases, relatively few vaccines are available. "I was shocked when I learned that. I thought there would be many more than those that exist." He has been working to change that by deciphering bacterial diseases' work at the most minute level, that is, how bacterial and human cells use molecules to conduct intimate conversations with each other. With that knowledge, he can determine the cracks in the armor of a particular agent in this case, anthrax.
Initially, the Blanke Lab will be the only laboratory at UH directly participating in the RCE program, but the biochemist predicts that the ongoing research would expand, increasing interaction among UH faculty members and between the university and the Texas Medical Center.
"UH is uniquely positioned to capitalize on this going forward because of our existing resources in cell and molecular biology, in chemical biology, in engineering and in the material sciences," he said.
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Contact: Lisa Merkl
lkmerkl@uh.edu
713-743-8192
University of Houston
2-Oct-2003