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Combatting Superbugs
The Universities of St Andrews and Dundee have received almost £5 million this week for critical
research that could lead to more effective medicines for many diseases.
Researchers at the Scottish Structural Proteomics Facility (SSPF). - the most modern basic
research facility in Britain for combating 'superbugs' - will use the money to help them
understand infectious disease . The £4.8m BBSRC (Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research
Council) funding will further enable the scientists to discover more about proteins and enzymes
which will allow them to design more effective medicines.
The facility, which has individual research teams led by scientists in St Andrews and Dundee, is
designed to streamline the process of drug design, from the identification of novel therapeutic
targets from drug resistant bacteria to producing candidate drug leads. Their work is relevant to
the treatment of cancer, parasitic, bacterial and viral diseases.
The group at the two universities will collect new findings on a database of enzymes to share
with colleagues around the UK. In addition, proteomics studies of MSRA will identify new targets
for antibiotic development. Viral entry into cells, and subsequent immune evasion is the first
stage in viral infection and the SSPF will focus on how this process works for a variety of
dangerous human viruses.
In total there are 14 research groups contributing to the SSPF including scientists from Glasgow
and Warwick Universities. The project will be overseen by Professors Jim Naismith, Malcolm White
(both St Andrews) and Bill Hunter (Dundee).
Director of the SSPF Professor Jim Naismith said: "This is a great opportunity for us and a great
responsibility. Every University has made a substantial commitment to this project and the
support of SHEFC was essential. The project is a manifestation of the strong links made between
St Andrews and Dundee in this scientific area that have created this world class research
grouping. It is very much a team effort and every member is exceptional"
Professor Bill Hunter added: "This award is hugely important to us. It provides a key opportunity
to integrate structural and computational studies with biology and enhance understanding of life
processes. We are all looking forward to working together to directly impact on many varied human
health and agricultural issues." Proteomics is the study and analysis of protein structure and
function, which is becoming an important science with the mapping of several genomes, including
the human one, and the discovery of new proteins.
The consortia aim to determine 50 protein structures in five years, a significant increase on
what can presently be achieved. This will require investment in and development of new
technologies that will benefit all UK structural biology groups.
World-class research at St Andrews and Dundee has played a major role in studying these
processes. In Dundee there is an emphasis on microbial pathogens in particular those that cause
the parasitic diseases malaria and African sleeping sickness. Many people in the world are
afflicted by these diseases and there is a pressing need to study the biological chemistry of
these organisms and develop new drugs against them. In St Andrews, Professor Malcolm White is an
expert on archaea - microorganisms found in extreme environments such as volcanic pools, which
share many traits with man. The organisms have proven an immensely valuable model for the study
of how DNA is repaired in humans, as archaeal proteins are ideally suited for structural studies.
The SSPF also works closely with Centre for High throughput and Interdisciplinary Research based
in St Andrews and led by Dr Nick Westwood.
The SSPF is a partnership between Biomolecular Sciences at St Andrews and the Faculty of Life
Sciences at Dundee, and was originally funded by The Universities and by a development grant of
£1.3M from the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council (SHEFC).
For further information, contact:
Professor James Naismith, University of St Andrews, Tel: 01334 463792, E-mail:
naismith@st-and.ac.uk
Professor Malcolm White, University of St Andrews Tel:, 01334 463432 E-mail: mfw2@st-and.ac.uk
Professor Bill Hunter, University of Dundee Tel:01382 345745 E-mail: wnhunter@dundee.ac.uk
University of St Andrews Press Office - Gayle Cook - 01334 4627227 / 07900 050103 /
gec3@st-andrews.ac.uk
University of Dundee Press Office - Jenny Marra - 01382 344910 / 07968 298585 /
j.m.marra@dundee.ac.uk
Notes to Editors
The full list of applicants are:
St Andrews: Peter Coote, Jim Naismith, Garry Taylor, Malcolm White
Dundee: Geoff Barton, Mike Ferguson, Charlie Bond, Bill Hunter
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