SUNY Potsdam Chemistry Professor Awarded National Institutes of Health Grant

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Dr. Fadi Bou-Abdallah (right), an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry, is seen with his student research team in his lab at SUNY Potsdam.

POTSDAM, NY (03/27/2015)(readMedia)-- Dr. Fadi Bou-Abdallah, an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry at SUNY Potsdam, has received a grant award from the National Institutes of Health in the amount of $325,764.

The NIH Academic Research Enhancement Award grant will fund Bou-Abdallah's project, "Heteropolymer Ferritins Structure-Function Studies." Through this research, he will seek to understand how iron, an essential trace element required for most living organisms, is taken up and released by the major iron storage protein, ferritin. The professor will also examine how certain mutations in this protein at the molecular level lead to debilitating iron-related diseases.

"This NIH award will have a dramatic impact on undergraduate research here at SUNY Potsdam, and offers students a meaningful research experience that will prepare them for graduate work in the health-related sciences (seeking Ph.D. or MD degrees)," said Bou-Abdallah. "I am very pleased that the reviewers who handled my grant application at the National Institutes of Health were convinced that the questions being addressed are important for improving human health, and that my laboratory is well positioned and well equipped to provide answers to these questions."

The human body requires a number of trace elements to function properly. One of those trace elements is iron, which is essential for not only humans but also most forms of life, including algae, bacteria, plants and animals. Too much or too little iron can create problems that are significant contributors to human diseases. Fortunately, the human body has excellent yet intricate machinery that maintains appropriate amounts of iron. One of the most important proteins that help maintaining an iron balance in the body is ferritin, the iron storage protein.

The question of how ferritin stores and releases iron has been extensively studied in literature. Surprisingly, most of these studies employed proteins that do not mimic the real ferritin present in cells, Bou-Abdallah said.

This research grant proposal uses ferritin proteins that are similar to those found in various tissues and organs, with the goal of understanding this complex mechanism and defining at the molecular levels how ferritin manages to take up and releases iron in a very controlled manner to avoid iron debilitating diseases caused by free iron in the body. This fundamental understanding of a crucial biological process has important clinical and practical implications that will allow the design and development of new treatments for iron overload diseases and other defects in iron metabolism.

Bou-Abdallah plans to work alongside four or five undergraduates each semester, and three students over the summer, to complete the project. The students will offer posters or talks at conferences, such as the national meeting of the American Chemical Society, as well as the Gordon Conferences and Sigma Xi Honor Society meetings.

"SUNY Potsdam students understand the benefits of undergraduate research, through participation in ground-breaking discoveries and the development of much-needed skills that facilitate lifelong learning. It is a blessing to be able to work with such talented students, help shape their young minds and prepare them for graduate work," Bou-Abdallah said.

The National Institutes of Health is the leading supporter of biomedical research in the world. It is the nation's medical research agency, whose mission is to seek fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness and disability.

SUNY Potsdam's Department of Chemistry offers a rigorous and well-balanced curriculum that provides a solid foundation for successful graduate study or a career in chemistry or a chemistry-related field. The department is known for its strong and diverse undergraduate research programs, its $1.3 million in grants to support teaching and research, and the success of its students' acceptance to competitive graduate and professional schools. To find out more, visit www.potsdam.edu/academics/AAS/Chem.

Founded in 1816, and located on the outskirts of the beautiful Adirondack Park, The State University of New York at Potsdam is one of America's first 50 colleges. SUNY Potsdam currently enrolls approximately 4,300 undergraduate and graduate students. Home to the world-renowned Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam is known for its handcrafted education, challenging liberal arts and sciences core, excellence in teacher training and leadership in the performing and visual arts. Empowered by a culture of creativity, the campus community recently launched Take the Lead: The Campaign for Potsdam, which aims to raise $32 million by the College's bicentennial in 2016.

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