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Professor on front line of bioterror fightGets $1.1M grant to develop botulism anitdoteBy AARON NICODEMUS, Standard-Times staff writer DARTMOUTH -- A biochemistry professor at UMass
Dartmouth has been awarded a $1.1 million grant by the U.S. Army that will
fund research into developing an antidote for botulism, classified as one
of the deadliest known bioterrorism agents. Dr. Bal Ram Singh, who has been studying the
toxic protein for 15 years, was awarded $1.1 million by the U.S. Army
Medical Research and Material Command for a three-year study of "Receptors
of Botulinum Neurotoxins." Dr. Singh
will examine clostridium botulinum, the bacterium that produces the most
toxic protein known to humankind, botulinum neurotoxin
. Because of their
extreme toxicity, botulinum neurotoxins are on the top of the list of
biological warfare threats, classified as Class A agents by the Centers
for Disease Control in Atlanta. Dr.
Singh has been researching botulism for 15 years, 12 of them at UMass
Dartmouth. He said his research team will attempt to determine which
specific nerves in the human body that botulism binds to, and use that
knowledge to create an antidote.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, the botulinum toxin has
already been developed as an aerosol weapon by several countries, and
intentional food contamination is a risk. Botulism poisoning attacks the nervous system,
eventually causing respiratory failure and death, if untreated. Three main
types of poisoning occur: food-borne, usually from improper handling of
canned or commercially prepared food; infant (a rare form); and wound
contamination, typically found in intravenous drug users. Although an antidote to the poison currently
exists, it is cultured in horse serum, which limits supply and shelf-life.
Moreover, the antidote works by destroying the toxin after it has entered
the bloodstream, a point in the disease progression that increases its
seriousness. Dr. Singh's research
will focus on designing antidotes against botulism that target a
particular receptor in the body. Once the receptor is identified, he
predicts that fast-acting antidotes can be chemically synthesized to be
given in tablet form. Dr. Singh is
director of the joint UMass Dartmouth/UMass Lowell doctoral program in
chemistry and UMass Dartmouth's Center for Indic Studies. Dr. Singh has published two books, nearly 100
research articles, has given 200 presentations and has had three patents
filed. In 1997, he was honored as a
Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar. |
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