University Establishes Service Center to Manufacture Proteins for Research

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David Zaharoff, left, associate professor of biomedical engineering; and Suresh Thallapuranam, professor of biochemistry developed a more efficient method for producing the research-grade proteins needed for their research.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas has established a center to create research-grade proteins, providing a source for research materials developed in campus laboratories.

The University of Arkansas Biologics Service Center is a research collaboration between David Zaharoff, who holds the Twenty-First Century Professorship in Biomedical Engineering in the College of Engineering, and Suresh Thallapuranam, professor of biochemistry. The center will manufacture research-grade proteins related to ongoing projects in the researchers’ respective laboratories.

“Some of the materials – proteins and reagents – we use in our research are extremely expensive,” said Zaharoff, associate professor of biomedical engineering. “We have developed techniques to make some of the material ourselves. Not only does this save us money, but, because we have become quite efficient at making it, we can make excess material available to the research community for their own projects.”

The center will start with four product lines – recombinant human interleukin-12, recombinant mouse interleukin-12, recombinant human acidic FGF, and depyrogenated chitosan. The human and mouse interleukin-12 lines involve licensing agreements with the National Cancer Institute.

In 2014, Zaharoff and Thallapuranam were awarded a $1.5 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to develop new molecules and biopharmaceuticals that enhance a patient’s immune response against tumors.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.