Memorandum
30 January 2006
To:
Senate Research Committee
From:
Research Center Review Subcommittee
Mildred Cody
Ram Sriram
Re:
Review of Center for Biotechnology & Drug Design
The report of the Center for Biotechnology & Drug Design (CBDD) was reviewed by the
Center Review Subcommittee as one of the University Research Centers. The Center
Review was conducted based on the documents provided to the reviewers online through
the University.
CBDD was created in 1994 by an interdisciplinary group of 16 faculty members from the
Departments of Biology and Chemistry when their doctoral programs were separated into
Biology and Chemistry programs (1990). The Center has expanded to include faculty
from the Computer Science Department who hold graduate faculty status in Biology. All
members of the CBDD (29 from Biology, 18 from Chemistry, and 2 from Computer
Science) hold Graduate Faculty status in either Biology or Chemistry. The Center
Director, currently Dr. P.C. Tai, reports to the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
The Advisory Board, consisting of the Center Director, the Chair of the Chemistry and
Biology Departments (or their designees), and an additional faculty member each from
the Chemistry Department and the Biology Department, provides guidance on issues
dealing with the research program development, doctoral training, core facility equipment
needs, and the annual education programs.
CBDD receives funding from the Georgia Research Alliance through support for
biotechnology and drug design, from the University and College of Arts and Sciences for
equipment maintenance, and from external grants. Grant support for projects within the
Center has steadily increased from $11.7M in 2002 to $17.4M in 2004. The report cites
the “lack of sufficient staff and equipment maintenance support funds” as constraints that
interfere with the reaching the Center’s full potential.
The stated goals of the CBDD focus on development of state-of-the-art research
programs, graduate-level training, and commercialization of research by the private
sector. Additionally, the CBDD conducts two outreach activities annually – a Biotech
symposium and a Biocomputing Workshop. Specific goals are delineated below.
Goal:
Assessment:
Continued development of strong faculty research programs
According to the Director’s report, the Center’s activities have resulted in
over 482 publications and over 700 presentations made by faculty and
graduate students during 2002-2004. These are significant
accomplishments. The Center should continue with its research focus,
which contributes substantially to the enhanced prestige for the Center and
the University.
Goal:
Assessment:
Goal:
Assessment:
The training of graduates with the technical and research experience to
make major contributions in industry and the health care professions
The Center has supported graduate student research well, which is
documented by report of several hundred conference presentations/year by
graduate students, by refereed publications, and through graduate research
assistant stipends to a dozen doctoral students. However, from the report,
it is not clear how the Center has contributed specifically to the healthcare
industry. While we note that much of the research has applications in the
pharmaceutical industry, the report might clarify how graduates have
contributed to the healthcare industry, perhaps through additional
applications of research, through post-doctoral experiences, or through
later employment in the healthcare industry.
Attraction of new “high-tech” businesses to the Atlanta area
Data were not provided in the report for this activity. The report refers to
the CollabTech report, which was not provided.
The Center Review Senate Research Committee Subcommittee finds that the Center for
Biotechnology & Drug Design is fulfilling its stated goals with extraordinary success.
The Center director, advisory committee, and members have successfully built a strong
collaboration engaged in valuable and high profile research that will continue to bring
recognition to the Center as well as to the University. The Center Review Subcommittee
commends the CBDD for its past and current efforts and strongly recommends that
CBDD be approved to continue as a Georgia State University Research Center.