TCNP Portal

Fluorescent Probes and Imaging for Networks and Pathways
http://www.mbic.cmu.edu/home.html

Carnegie-Mellon University / University of Pittsburgh
Carnegie Mellon University
4400 Fifth Avenue
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213

Principal Investigator

Alan Waggoner, PhD
Phone: 412-268-3461
Fax: 412-268-6571

Abstract

Mellon Pitts Corporation proposes to form a nationally visible and responsive center focused on fluorescent probe and imaging technologies for investigating pathways and networks in real time and at high resolution in living cells. The proposed Center will be formed by combining the experience and infrastructure of two already existing Centers in Pittsburgh. The research component of the Center will create a powerful toolbox of intracellular fluorescent labels and biosensors that can be used to study many, if not all, the proteins in pathways and networks of living cells. The strong fluorescent probe development program blends genetics, protein structure, nucleic acid structure and fluorescent dye chemistry. The probes we propose to generate will be genetically expressible so that exogenous macromolecules will not have to be transported into the living cells to be studied. Four "Driving Biology Projects" are to be part of the overall Center program in addition to the Technology Development Core. These projects are located at the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, and Berkeley. Their responsibility is to assist the new center in identifying the optimal technologies for development and for providing crucial feedback regarding the utility of the technologies. Imaging and informatics technologies are integrated with the new fluorescent probe technologies so that these combined tools will help cell biologists obtain large amounts of spatial and temporal information about pathways in living cells. Included in the proposal are programs for making the fluorescent probe and imaging technologies robust so that they can be provided to a wide range of cell biologists in academic research, pharmaceutical drug discovery, and biotechnology and to disseminate these technologies and provide training.

Staff

Driving Biology Project	Dr. Ehud Isacoff University of California, Berkeley Molecular and Cell Biology 142 LSA, Mail Code # 3200 Berkeley, CA 94720 Phone: 510.642.9853 Fax: 510.643.6791	Dr. John S. Lazo Director, Drug Discovery Institute University of Pittsburgh Biomedical Science Tower 3, Suite 1032 3501 Fifth Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15260 Phone: 412.648.9200 Fax: 412.648.9009
	Garry P. Nolan, Ph.D. , Director Stanford NHLBI Proteomics Ctr Department of Microbiology and Immunology 269 Campus Drive, CCSR 3205 Stanford University School of Medicine Stanford, CA 94305-5175 Phone: 650-725-7002 Fax: 650-723-2383	Dr. Brooke McCartney Carnegie Mellon University Mellon Institute 4400 Fifth Avenue, Room 634 Pittsburgh PA 15213 Phone: 412-268-9820 Fax: 412-268-7129
Fluoroescent Biosensor Development	Dr. Jonathan Jarvik Carnegie Mellon University Mellon Institute 4400 Fifth Avenue, Room 261 Pittsburgh PA 15213 Fax: 412.268.7129	Dr. William Brown Carnegie Mellon University Mellon Institute 4400 Fifth Avenue, Room 629B Pittsburgh PA 15213 Phone: 412-268-3416 Fax: 412-268-7129
	Dr. Gordon Rule Carnegie Mellon University Mellon Institute 4400 Fifth Avenue, Room 751 Pittsburgh PA 15213 Phone: 412-268-1839 Fax: 412-268-7129	Dr. Peter Berget Carnegie Mellon University Mellon Institute 4400 Fifth Avenue, Room 246A Pittsburgh PA 15213 Phone: 412-268-5648 Fax: 412-268-7129
	Dr. Elizabeth Jones Carnegie Mellon University Mellon Institute 4400 Fifth Avenue, Room 200B Pittsburgh PA 15213 Phone 412-268-5047 Fax: 412-268-1811	Dr. Bruce Armitage Carnegie Mellon University Mellon Institute 4400 Fifth Avenue, Room 722 Pittsburgh PA 15213 Phone: 412-268-4196 Fax: 412-268-7129
Imaging Program	Simon C. Watkins, PhD FRC Path Co-Director Professor, Cell Biology and Physiology and Immunology Director Graduate Program in Cell Biology and Physiology Vice Chair, Cell Biology and Physiology Director Center for Biologic Imaging BSTS 225 University of Pittsburgh 3500 Terrace St. Pittsburgh PA 15261 Phone: 412-648-3051 Fax: 412-648-2797	Dr. Fred Lanni Carnegie Mellon University Mellon Institute 4400 Fifth Avenue, Room 294C Pittsburgh PA 15213 Phone: 412-268-3460 Fax: 412-268-7129
Informatics Program	Dr. Robert Murphy Carnegie Mellon University Mellon Institute 4400 Fifth Avenue, Room 294A Pittsburgh PA 15213 Phone: 412-268-3480