Governor George Pataki, Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver recently announced that Rensselaer has received one of 10 New York State Office of Science, Technology, and Academic Research (NYSTAR) James D. Watson Investigator Program Awards. The $200,000 grant was awarded to Chunyu Wang, assistant professor of biology at Rensselaer.

Professor Wang's research focuses on the application of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to study Alzheimer's disease and other significant problems in neuroscience and aging. NMR spectroscopy provides a powerful modern analytic technique for understanding the structure and function of biological molecules, such as proteins and nucleic acids.

Support from the NYSTAR J.D. Watson Investigator Program will allow Wang's laboratory to investigate a key protein-protein interaction in the development of Alzheimer's using state-of-art NMR equipment at Rensselaer. Wang is seeking a better understanding of the disease's structural mechanisms, and his research may lead to the development of new treatments for Alzheimer's, which is the most common form of dementia in elderly people.

"We applaud Governor Pataki, Senator Bruno, Speaker Silver, and NYSTAR for their dedication to strengthening biotechnology research in New York state, and for their foresight in supporting rising stars like Professor Wang," said Wolf von Maltzahn, acting vice president for research at Rensselaer. "Professor Wang's long-term goal is to find a cure for Alzheimer's. Contributing to a better understanding of complex and common diseases such as Alzheimer's is one of the many areas of vital research under way at Rensselaer's Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies."

Wang is a medical doctor who also holds a doctoral degree in biochemistry and molecular genetics. "Current medications for Alzheimer's primarily treat symptoms of the disease instead of the disease itself. This is partly due to our incomplete understanding as to how a key peptide, amyloid ß peptide, interacts with other molecules in brain cells and causes neuronal dysfunction," said Wang. "Our research seeks to yield a comprehensive understanding of how amyloid ß peptide interacts with an important enzyme, which will lead to the identification of better options for treating the disease."

The James D. Watson Investigator initiative is part of the $225 million Generating Employment through New York State Science (Gen*NY*sis) program. The Watson Program is designed to recognize and support outstanding scientists and engineers who, early in their careers, show potential for leadership and scientific discovery in the field of biotechnology.

Published April 18, 2005