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Report of the Scientific Advisory Committee - Dec. 7th 2001
The SAC panel, composed of Profs. Louise Johnson (chairperson), Martino Bolognesi, Gabriele Cruciani, Kristina Djinovic, Doriano Lamba and Andrea Musacchio,
attended a presentation by participants to the CEB, during the morning section.
Presentations were centered on the structural biology, on the computational biology and on functional/molecular biology aspects.
The science presented was of a good level, achieving international standards in all the topics dealt and showing
strength in protein crystallography, molecular and cellular biology and related computational aspects.
The CEB is to be congratulated for bringing together these separate fields of research in a coherent scheme.
The protein crystallography group, led by Dr. Geremia, had an impressive record for the short period of activity,
which started in 1998. The group had been effective in solving structures of different metalloproteins and enzymes;
crystals of human transcobalamin were presented as a challenging project for the future.
The involvement of this protein in vitamin B12 transportation makes this project biologically and medically relevant.
Cellular and molecular biology activities were presented by Drs. Del Sal and Manzini. These presentations
showed that the CEB has potential and skills in these fields, both at the basic and applied levels.
They were addressing major biological problems with potential impact on biomedical research.
Computational biology activities covered diverse range of topics, from catalytic antibodies,
to molecular modeling of enzymes, to combinatorial chemistry, which were relevant for industrial
and pharmaceutical applications.
The SAC noted that although the CEB is composed of researchers from different Universities,
the scientific presentations were from CEB members belonging to the University of Trieste.
Moreover, it was understood that, being this the first presentation to SAC, the topics presented were
referring to the recent/past research activity of the components.
Based on the presentations of the excellent science of the individual groups,
SAC makes the recommendation that in the starting CEB activities there should be close collaboration between
the structure oriented activities and the cellular/molecular biology research lines.
In principle such an improvement would allow the CEB to tackle research programs which are more competitive
and more coherent with the current international trends in structural biology. This could be achieved also
through input of new outside projects. In order to develop these projects SAC recommends that in-house
molecular biology techniques for cloning, protein expression, characterization and purification are expanded.
Concerning the issue of available and future equipment SAC wants to stress the relevance of purchase
or collaborations granting access to all the equipment required for protein characterization, including
mass spectrometry. Attention should also be paid to the developments of computing hardware in support
of the biocrystallographic as well as computational biology activities of the Center.
Given the unique situation of Trieste as site of the Italian synchrotron source, the activities of CEB
should be connected as much as possible to ELETTRA, ideally through a formal agreement for beam time access.
Training of young researchers should be one of the CEB missions. In fact, presentations given to SAC in
the morning by graduate students indicated a very strong graduate student training program. However,
given the small number of graduate studentships available, provisions should be taken to increase as
much as possible access to the graduate courses held by CEB. These must be considered also in relation
to the organization of a school on biocrystallography, to be held in Trieste in the near future.
CEB is a unique Center within the Italian scene and Trieste, together with ELETTRA, offers a unique site
and opportunity for training in biocrystallography.
Concerning funding, SAC noticed that in general terms, despite the availability of significant hardware
facilities at the participating labs, CEB appears to be funded at a subcritical level.
In view of extension of the activities beyond the third year, when the Ministry contribution will end,
it is recommended that CEB start a search for new sources of funding. The identification of research
lines of medical relevance should be regarded as a possible means to achieve this target.
As a final consideration, it is envisaged that CEB activities would benefit substantially
from a closer location of the participating labs. In this respect, the allocation of a building dedicated
to CEB itself can be seen as a synergistic step towards the achievement of excellence, as the research develops.
Louise Johnson
Martino Bolognesi
Gabriele Cruciani
Kristina Djinovic
Doriano Lamba
Andrea Musacchio
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