January 19, 1995: Vol26n13: UB receives $1 million grant from Markey Trust

By JED NITZBERG
Reporter Contributor
The UB Center for Microbial Pathogenesis has received a $1 million
grant from the Lucille P. Markey Charitable Trust to expand its
research efforts to better understand and treat infectious
diseases. University officials said the funds from one of the nation's
leading grant-giving organizations for fundamental biological and
medical research will allow this highly successful UB research group
to attract new investigators.
	They also anticipate that the center, which has studied such
problems as middle-ear infections, pneumonia, tuberculosis and
schistosomiasis, will expand its focus to include molecular
parasitology studies of malaria, leishmaniasis and toxoplasmosis.
	Announcing the grant yesterday at a press conference,
President William R. Greiner noted that the Center for Microbial
Pathogenesis is among the best and most promising of several highly
successful multidisciplinary centers in the UB School of Medicine and
Biomedical Sciences. "This important award indicates the Markey
Trust's confidence in, and support for, UB's work in crucial areas of
biomedical research," Greiner added. "It will be the critical
ingredient that supports major progress in the study of infectious
disease."
	He noted, "UB's medical school has already achieved national
recognition for its blend of clinical training and research. We are
committed to accomplishing even more through the magnanimity of
private foundations like the Markey Trust."
	John P. Naughton, UB vice president for clinical affairs and
dean of the medical school, said that in support of the award, the
university will provide 30,000 square feet of laboratory and office
space for the Center for Microbial Pathogenesis in its new $54 million
state-of-the-art medical-research building, scheduled to open this
spring on the South Campus. The school also is committed to purchasing
new equipment and additional funding for new and existing researchers,
he added.
	"The Markey Trust's award will play a crucial role in the
university's ability to seek matching funds for infectious-diseases
research from other private and public foundations and agencies," he
said. Naughton added that the grant also "will serve to strengthen the
preparation of graduate students and post-doctoral fellows."
	Lawrence P. Castellani, chair of the Board of Trustees of the
University at Buffalo Foundation, Inc., noted that this is the third
major gift that UB has received during the past year from a national
foundation supporting medical and scientific research.
"These... gifts go a long way in assisting the University at Buffalo,
and reflect the progress that the university is making in garnering
the kind of private support that is essential to a major
public-research university. They advance UB, as well as Western New
York."
	John Hay, professor and chair of the UB Microbiology
Department and a principal investigator for the award, expressed the
gratitude of the center's researchers for this very generous
award. "This award will allow a marked expansion of the center's
important disease investigations," he explained. "It also will give a
substantial boost to the national and international reputation of the
center and UB."
	According to Bruce A. Holm, associate dean for research and a
principal investigator for the award, the Center for Microbial
Pathogenesis developed from a collaboration initiated in 1981 by three
scientists in different departments in the medical school. Their
collaborative efforts have since grown in size and importance: The
center now includes 15 senior investigators, as well as support staff,
and input from five departments. 
	Philip T. LoVerde, professor and associate chair of the
Department of Microbiology and a principal investigator for the award,
pointed out that the center's future focus will be significantly
broadened as a result of the trust's generosity. "The center will
begin work on other important infectious-disease problems, such as
malaria, leishmaniasis and toxoplasmosis. It also will help attract
additional medical scientists of the highest caliber to come to
Buffalo," said LoVerde.
	The Lucille P. Markey Charitable Trust was founded in 1983
with a bequest from the estate of Lucille P. Markey, owner of Calumet
Farm, who instructed that funds were to be used "only for the purpose
of supporting and encouraging basic medical research."
	"The Markey Charitable Trust is pleased to be able to provide
support for the investigative program at UB," said Robert J. Glaser,
the trust's director for medical science. "The quality of the
investigators augurs well for advancing our knowledge of the causation
of disease entities with great significance, particularly in the
developing world."