Troy, N.Y. - Robert J. Linhardt, a world-leading carbohydrate chemist, has been appointed a senior constellation chair in biocatalysis and metabolic engineering at Rensselaer.

"Dr. Linhardt is an outstanding scientist who is highly regarded for his intellect and his scholarship," said Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson. "Dr. Linhardt's collaborative spirit, his abilities as a consummate educator, and his visionary research will add a new dimension to the exciting advancements in biotechnology research at Rensselaer."

Linhardt is internationally known for his research on the study of bioactive carbohydrates, particularly the complex polysaccharide heparin. Heparin is a major clinical anticoagulant with more than 500 million doses used worldwide each year. Heparin and related molecules exhibit a large number of newly discovered biological activities and have great therapeutic potential.

Complex Carbohydrates - Leading the Way in Drug Development
Linhardt's research extends far beyond the fundamental paradigms in bioengineering. He has been a leader in developing new and better therapeutic agents, from small molecules to polymeric materials. From his research with Dr. Judah Folkman on the antiangiogenic activity of heparin, to the discovery that low molecular weight heparins act as anti-thrombotic agents, to his present efforts in vaccine development, Linhardt has consistently tackled complex problems that have direct societal benefit.

Linhardt was a co-discoverer, along with Dr. Robert Langer of MIT, of polyanhydrides as drug carriers. This led to the successful clinical application of polyanhydride-based drug delivery agents for the treatment of advanced brain cancer.

"I hope to combine the current strengths in biocatalysis at Rensselaer with its other existing strengths in bioprocessing, polymer chemistry, nanotechnology, and bioimaging," said Linhardt. "I broadly define biocatalysis to encompass the discovery, design, and engineering of cells and enzymes for applications in developing new processes, materials, and analytical techniques. These are areas that are inherently multidisciplinary, and can have a huge impact in bridging the biological and physical sciences with engineering at the molecular level."

Recently, Linhardt has been at the forefront of a "carbohydrate renaissance" where the importance of sugars and polysaccharides in medicinal chemistry, cell physiology, and more recently, proteomics is becoming clearer.

His research focuses on complex carbohydrates. Glycoprotein, proteoglycans, and other glycoconjugates are prepared by fermentation using recombinant technology, extraction from tissues or chemical and enzymatic synthesis. After determining the structure of these molecules, Linhardt studies their biological activity. By establishing a structure-activity relationship, these molecules often become lead compounds for new drug development.

Linhardt was selected for his collaborative research strengths and his work on a variety of biological systems. He begins his tenure at Rensselaer in fall 2003.

Today's announcement underscores Rensselaer's commitment to growth at a time when many universities are reducing or holding the line on new faculty appointments. In the past two years alone, Rensselaer has hired 66 tenured or tenure-track faculty, of which 32 filled newly created positions. Rensselaer's commitment to biotechnology is apparent with the construction of the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, part of a $255 million investment in the South Campus Development Project.

Stars Within a Constellation
At Rensselaer, a constellation is a multidisciplinary team of senior faculty, junior faculty, and graduate students led by one or two outstanding stars in a particular research field of strategic and focal interest to the university. Rensselaer has chosen biocatalysis and metabolic engineering as one of these focal areas. Linhardt will take the lead in structuring the rest of the constellation, including attracting additional high-level faculty researchers.

Biocatalysis and Metabolic Engineering
Rensselaer researchers are exploring and manipulating metabolic pathways to create new bioproducts for use in medicine, agriculture, manufacturing, environmental cleanup, and other fields. In processes that are amazingly similar in plants, bacteria, invertebrates, and human beings, genes express proteins. Many of these proteins act as enzymes, catalysts that control the behavior of cells. Mankind has only begun to tap into a small part of this biocatalytic repertoire, yet a vast array of new bioproducts has already resulted. A significantly larger group of enzymes and metabolic pathways remains untapped.

Rensselaer's growing program in biocatalysis and metabolic engineering draws on the expertise of interdisciplinary teams. The Bioseparations group in the Chemical Engineering Department has won international acclaim for its leadership in the use of both chromatography and membranes to recover proteins from the complex mixtures in which they are produced. Rensselaer's program in integrated electronics contributes facilities and skills to emerging biochip programs, while Rensselaer's new National Science Foundation (NSF) Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center supports a program that combines biomolecules into nanomaterial networks.

Education and Honors
Linhardt is the F. Wendell Miller Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, Medicinal and Natural Products Chemistry and Chemical & Biochemical Engineering at the University of Iowa, where he has spent the past 20 years. For a decade at Iowa he was a member of the Executive Committee of the Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing. He has published more than 300 research papers and holds 35 patents. His research has been extensively funded by government agencies and numerous foundations and corporations.

He has served on the editorial board of top journals such as the Journal of Biological Chemistry, Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology, and the Journal of Carbohydrate Chemistry. He won the 1994 American Chemical Society's Carbohydrate Division's Horace S. Isbell Award for excellence and promise in carbohydrate chemistry.Linhardt received the 1999 Volwiler Research Achievement Award, for outstanding contributions to the field of pharmaceutical science, sponsored by Abbott Pharmaceutical Company and awarded by AACP. This March he will be awarded the American Chemical Society's highest prize in carbohydrate chemistry, the Claude S. Hudson Award. He is a member of professional societies including the American Chemical Society, American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Society for Glycobiology, American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, and American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists. Linhardt has been a consultant to industry and government since 1981.

From 1979-82, Linhardt did his postdoctoral study in chemical engineering at MIT. He earned his Ph.D. (1979) and a master of arts (1977) in organic chemistry at Johns Hopkins University. He earned a bachelor of science in chemistry from Marquette University in 1975.

Contact: Theresa Bourgeois
Phone: (518) 276-2840
E-mail: bourgt@rpi.edu