Year: 2015

Southern Research Names Tom Blasey New Director of Intellectual Property

Posted on November 23, 2015
Thomas Blasey, Director of Intellectual Property
Thomas Blasey, Director of Intellectual Property

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – November 23, 2015 – Today, Southern Research announced that Thomas Blasey has been named director of intellectual property. Blasey will lead Southern Research’s IP functions, including the identification, evaluation and protection of intellectual property, as well as the transfer of technology through the commercialization process.

He has an extensive background in the strategic management of intellectual property, including the design, management and leveraging of IP portfolios consisting of a wide variety of technologies. From 2001 to 2015, he served as chief intellectual property counsel for ITT Defense, ITT Corporation and ITT’s aerospace, defense and information solutions spinoff, Exelis Inc.

“Tom brings with him vast experience in intellectual property management from both the business and legal perspectives,” said Allison Taylor, vice president and general counsel, Southern Research. “He will play a strategic role in the development of appropriate technology transfer paths, maximizing the value of Southern Research’s intellectual property assets, and bringing together Southern Research scientists/engineers with external partners.”

Blasey is active in a number of professional organizations, including the American Bar Association, American Intellectual Property Law Association, Licensing Executives Society, Association of Corporate Counsel, and Federal Circuit Bar Association, of which he is currently co-chair of its Corporate Counsel Committee. Additionally, he is past chair of the Aerospace Industries Association’s Intellectual Property Committee, which, among other endeavors, monitors developments in data rights regulations and other intellectual property issues relevant to the aerospace and defense industry.

Blasey earned a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering at Rice University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Texas at Austin. He is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and he is a certified licensing professional and certified patent valuation analyst.

“We have had a notable history of generating and monetizing IP here at Southern Research,” said Arthur Tipton, Ph.D., president and CEO, Southern Research. “Great innovations need a process of IP development on the path to commercialization, and the resulting strong patent is a critical step to have effective products that will help people. We are thrilled that Tom will be part of that team going forward.”

About Southern Research

Southern Research is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization with more than 400 scientists and engineers working across four divisions: drug discovery, drug development, engineering, and energy and environment. We work on behalf of the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Energy, NASA, major aerospace firms, utility companies, and other private and government organizations as we solve the world’s hardest problems. Southern Research, founded in 1941, is headquartered in Birmingham with additional laboratories and offices in Wilsonville and Huntsville, Frederick, Maryland, Durham, North Carolina, Cartersville, Georgia, and Houston. Visit southernresearch.org for more information.

Media Contact:
Rossi M. Carlson
205-581-2266
rcarlson@southernresearch.org

Southern Research Announces 2015 Excellence Award Winners and Presidential Award Winner

Posted on November 20, 2015
Art Tipton presents the Presidential Award to John Koenig.
Art Tipton presents the Presidential Award to John Koenig.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – November 20, 2015 – Today, Southern Research celebrated its employee Excellence Awards program with an organization-wide event to acknowledge the winners. Individuals and groups at Southern Research’s Alabama, North Carolina, and Maryland facilities were awarded for going above and beyond their standard roles and responsibilities to deliver exceptional customer service, project results, and teamwork. The work of these winners impacts HIV/AIDS research, emerging infections, new fuels, hypersonic materials, and safety for Southern Research employees and the population as a whole. The Presidential Award recognized the accomplishments of a four-decade employee who has made critical contributions to manned space flight.

“This year and moving into 2016, we are bringing a renewed energy to our corporate culture with a renewal of our core values, and intentional appreciation of employee achievements, such as the Excellence Awards and Intellectual Property Awards,” said Southern Research President and CEO Art Tipton, Ph.D. “Our employees are working to make the world better in a wide range of areas. I am thrilled to be celebrating these employee-nominated awards today, and at this time of year.”

Winners and their accomplishments:

  • August Meng, advanced chemical engineer, Energy & Environment, North Carolina, submitted new concept papers and proposals that led to new Energy & Environment programs.
  • Zora Govedarica, engineering chemist, Energy & Environment, North Carolina, exceeded her normal duties to assure enhanced safety and ISO compliance, including chemical inventory enhancement that will lead to a reduction in chemical waste.
  • Bini Mathew, research chemist, Drug Discovery, performed extraordinarily on a National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases database project where chemical structures needed to be entered; the project was done ahead of schedule and on budget.
  • LaVinia Ray, pathology supervisor, Drug Development, demonstrated technical excellence, customer focus, and exceptional resourcefulness in aiding in the completion of the largest commercial project in Drug Development and one focused on emerging pathogens.
  • Charles Hebert, senior program manager, Drug Development, displayed outstanding customer service, revenue, science, staff, and safety focus in managing one of Drug Development’s largest government programs, a program focused on the potential impact of early life exposure to certain chemicals and to determine their impact to developmental and reproductive systems. He was also recognized for mentoring young scientists, and chairing important committees for multiple years.
  • Michael Moser, engineering project leader, and Ben Carmichael, mechanical engineer, Engineering, both led efforts at White Sands Hypervelocity with high speed testing of composites; valuable data was generated that will help long-term technical and business growth in the Engineering division.
  • Margaret Wiginton, advanced controlled document specialist, Quality, developed innovative and collaborative tools to aid the Quality team in enhancing Southern Research’s drug development efforts for commercial and government customers.
  • The Frederick, Maryland, Drug Development Team exceeded their responsibilities in order to maintain safety, compliance, business focus, and a spirit of camaraderie.
  • Birmingham technical divisions, the Facilities department, the Environmental Health & Safety department, and the Security Team combined strengths to work through two facility electrical outages around the clock to assure safety, compliance, and a return to standard operations quickly.
  • John Koenig, senior engineering fellow, Engineering, received the Presidential Award. Koenig has dedicated his career to driving technical excellence, while maintaining strong client relationships, revenue, and processes to assure future growth. His work with NASA also led to a Silver Snoopy Award, the astronauts’ personal award.

About Southern Research
Southern Research is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization with more than 400 scientists and engineers working across four divisions: drug discovery, drug development, engineering, and energy and environment. We work on behalf of the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Energy, NASA, major aerospace firms, utility companies, and other private and government organizations as we solve the world’s hardest problems. Southern Research, founded in 1941, is headquartered in Birmingham with additional laboratories and offices in Wilsonville and Huntsville, Frederick, Maryland, Durham, North Carolina, Cartersville, Georgia, and Houston. Visit southernresearch.org for more information.

Media Contact:
Rossi M. Carlson
205-581-2266

Pharmaceutical-Biotech Veteran Dan Hayden Joins Southern Research Board of Directors

Posted on November 17, 2015
Dan Hayen, Southern Research Board of Directors member
Dan Hayden, Southern Research Board of Directors member

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – November 17, 2015 – Southern Research announced today that Daniel O. Hayden has been appointed to its board of directors, effective November 10, 2015. Hayden brings almost 40 years of expertise in the biotechnology-pharmaceutical industry and joins a prestigious group of leaders in the business, financial, medical, and academic sectors on the SR Board. His involvement with both for-profit and non-profit entities complements Southern Research’s portfolio of both government and commercial clients.

In his extensive career he has grown an international business, cultivated several commercial-based businesses, and developed tremendous operational knowledge. In 2011, he retired as senior vice president and general manager of the Pharmaceuticals Division from the Genzyme Corporation, now a Sanofi Company. He then transitioned into the nonprofit world with more than five years’ experience as a management advisor, interim executive director, and board member at FightSMA. Hayden is currently an independent management consultant specializing in the commercialization of branded and generic pharmaceutical drugs, custom manufacturing including small molecules, CNS drug delivery technologies, and specialty pharma-chemical materials.

Notably, Hayden is the first Southern Research board member to reside outside of Alabama in several decades. In the organization’s early 75 years of history, the board and advisory council maintained a more national composition, with members including inventor Charles F. Kettering, General Motors magnate Alfred P. Sloan, and IBM leader and visionary Thomas J. Watson.

Southern Research presently has robust capabilities at the board level across key industries. More recently, the strategy has been to add subject matter experts in each of the industries that the organization serves: drug discovery, drug development, engineering, and energy and environment. In 2014, the board elected subject matter experts from both the defense and the energy sectors, with Hayden’s recent appointment representing the drug development sector.

“As we drive more commercial business in the life sciences sector, and as we look to license drug candidates from our robust drug discovery pipeline, Dan brings a high level of expertise that will help these endeavors,” said Arthur J. Tipton, Ph.D., president and CEO, Southern Research. “I have known Dan for over 10 years and developed a strong respect for him in many areas, particularly in his strategic vision and broad sales-based approach to business opportunities. I look forward to those skills helping at Southern Research.”

“Dan brings a unique and valuable perspective to Southern Research and to our board,” said Ray L. Watts, M.D., board chair and president of the University of Alabama at Birmingham. “His combined experience in major leadership roles in both the pharmaceutical industry and non-profit organizations is a good fit for Southern Research, which is working on solutions for major real world problems in the life sciences/medicine, energy and engineering industries.”

 

Prominent Scientist to Lead Southern Research’s Drug Discovery Infectious Diseases Program

Posted on November 11, 2015

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – November 11, 2015 – Timothy Sellati, Ph.D., has joined Southern Research’s Drug Discovery division as senior research fellow and chair, Infectious Disease Department. Sellati will lead infectious disease researchers who are currently working to identify novel mechanisms, targets, and strategies for prevention and treatment of both bacterial and viral infectious diseases that occur throughout the world.

Sellati comes to SR from the Trudeau Institute in Saranac Lake, New York. Before joining the Trudeau Institute in 2013, he established his independent research program in the Center for Immunology and Microbial Disease at Albany Medical College. Sellati’s current research is focused on immunity to Lyme and other tick-borne diseases, vaccine development against biological threat agents and emerging pathogens, and harnessing self-assembling antimicrobial nanofibers to target antibiotic resistant pathogens.

“We are excited to have Dr. Sellati join SR,” said Mark Suto, Ph.D., vice president, Drug Discovery. “His broad expertise in infectious diseases, particularly emerging pathogens, will be critical to the success of our programs in these areas.”

Sellati most recently completed research under the New York State Senate Task Force on Lyme and Other Tick-borne Diseases, and he has written or co-authored 40 publications on Lyme disease and Tularemia research. He brings with him more than $4 million in funding from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health. Sellati is currently the Immunology Scientific Councilor for the International Endotoxin and Innate Immunity Society and past president of the Eastern New York Branch of the American Society for Microbiologists.

“Tim is a great addition to our ongoing strategy of drug discovery at Southern Research, as Mark Suto is executing a strategy of complementing our deep capabilities in HTS and medicinal chemistry with experts in the clinical areas our drugs will serve,” said Art Tipton, Ph.D., Southern Research president and CEO. “Tim will be chairing the area of infectious disease, the largest research area for Southern Research and a growing focus worldwide, with recurring diseases such as influenza, and emerging or re-emerging threats such as dengue, West Nile, SARS, and Ebola. His role parallels additional chairs at Southern Research in oncology and central nervous system research; together these describe the deep novel drug pipeline we are developing.”

About Southern Research
Southern Research is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization with more than 400 scientists and engineers working across four divisions: drug discovery, drug development, engineering, and energy and environment. We work on behalf of the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Energy, NASA, major aerospace firms, utility companies, and other private and government organizations as we solve the world’s hardest problems. Southern Research, founded in 1941, is headquartered in Birmingham with additional laboratories and offices in Wilsonville and Huntsville, Frederick, Maryland, Durham, North Carolina, Cartersville, Georgia, and Houston. Visit southernresearch.org for more information.

Media Contact:
Rossi M. Carlson
205-581-2266

Local High School Students Perform Life Sciences and Engineering Experiments in Southern Research Labs

Posted on October 23, 2015

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – October 22, 2015 – On Thursday, October 22, a total of 40 students from George Washington Carver High School, Holy Family Cristo Rey High School, Huffman High School, P.D. Jackson-Olin High School, Ramsay High School, and Vestavia High School visited Southern Research’s Birmingham campuses to participate in life sciences and engineering experiments with SR scientists and engineers.

This was part of SR’s second annual Future Scientists & Engineers of Alabama – the organization’s local community outreach initiative to further educate high school students who show interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers.

“We have scientists and engineers working every day to solve some of the world’s hardest problems, and having these students interact with members of this team, and doing so in a real-world, R&D setting, gives them a view to a range of career choices available to them,” said Art Tipton, Ph.D., Southern Research president and CEO. “We hope the interaction continues their inspiration for technology and further equips them for living in our knowledge-based world, wherever the future takes them. And we hope some of these students become future scientists and engineers in our city and at Southern Research.”

SR scientists and engineers instructed and supervised the freshman, sophomore, junior and senior high school students as they conducted experiments within SR drug discovery, drug development, and engineering labs. Experiments were followed by a group Q&A session with the students and SR scientists and engineers.

Additionally, students attended an evening reception in the courtyard of SR’s Southside headquarters where they met with business, government, and non-profit executives from across Alabama.

The Experiments

Engineering: Students were able to perform several tasks that both engineers and technicians at SR’s Engineering Research Center perform every day for customers such as NASA, Boeing, and the U.S. Navy. The work done at ERC provides valuable information needed to develop and improve materials used in spacecrafts, rockets, turbines, airplanes, and missiles. Students were exposed to many different technologies that are used to produce real-world material property data that engineers utilize every day to perform their jobs, and they saw how science and mathematics play an integral part in producing that data. Participants performed both destructive and non-destructive tests on five metal materials. The non-destructive tests measured the density and ultrasonic velocity of the different materials. A destructive test, called a tension test, was performed by pulling apart a specimen until it broke, and different technologies were used to measure the load to break the specimen and how much it stretched before it broke.

Drug Development: Midazolam is a common anesthetic within the benzodiazepine family, and it is known to be metabolized by the liver. In the Drug Development experiment, students cultured liver cells in a three-dimensional bioreactor and dosed them with midazolam. Media aliquots were taken at different time points, and mass spectrometry was performed to monitor the metabolism of midazolam. Biology and chemistry were the foundation of for this experiment, while physics and engineering were principles used in developing the three-dimensional bioreactor. While midazolam is a well-studied compound, similar experiments are performed in the development of next-generation pharmaceuticals.

Drug Discovery: In SR’s Drug Discovery labs, students performed experiments that applied both biology and chemistry: DNA extraction and agarose gel electrophoresis; analysis of the principles and uses of fluorescence microscopy, including an overview of a typical staining protocol and visualization of various organelle and protein stains; and synthesis of aspirin – the first research-based pharmaceutical.

Since 1941, Southern Research has been conducting innovative science and engineering work that helps make people’s lives better. Here are just a few highlights of that work:

Developed seven FDA-approved cancer drugs, and is developing 18 other treatments for diseases as part of the Alabama Drug Discovery Alliance with the University of Alabama at Birmingham

Developing vaccines to combat infectious diseases around the world

Created a state-of-the-art solar research facility to study the effects of the Southeast’s unique atmospheric conditions on solar power systems

Helping to make water safer and provide healthier habitats for fish and wildlife

About Southern Research

Southern Research is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) scientific and engineering research organization, founded in 1941, that conducts preclinical drug discovery and development, advanced engineering research in materials, systems development, and environment and energy research. Approximately 450 team members support clients and partners in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, defense, aerospace, environmental and energy industries. SR is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. Additional laboratories and offices are located in Wilsonville and Huntsville, Alabama, Frederick, Maryland, Durham, North Carolina, Cartersville, Georgia, and Houston.

Southern Research Receives $7.5 Million Award to Discover New Therapies for Cystic Fibrosis Patients with Rare Mutations

Posted on October 21, 2015

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – October 21, 2015 – Southern Research has received an award from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s nonprofit drug discovery and development affiliate, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics, Inc. (CFFT). The funding will support research focused on the development of novel drugs for cystic fibrosis (CF) patients with rare genetic mutations, furthering the ultimate goal of treating all people with CF. The milestone-based research phase is for $7.5 million over five years and can be increased to $9 million.

Cystic fibrosis is a life-threatening, genetic disease that affects approximately 30,000 people in the U.S., with almost 1,000 new cases each year, and nearly 70,000 people worldwide. In the U.S., CF is the second most common inherited disease. More than 10 million Americans unknowingly carry the CF gene and there are more than 1,800 mutations of the gene.

Southern Research will be joined in this effort by the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Southern Research’s High Throughput Screening Center, UAB, and CFFT have been working together for several years investigating the repurposing of known drugs for the treatment of CF.

In addition, through the Alabama Drug Discovery Alliance (ADDA), Southern Research and UAB established a program to look for potential new treatments for several rare genetic diseases such as Hurler’s syndrome, with mutations similar to those found in some CF patients. Initial funding through the ADDA provided the groundwork for this drug discovery project, which originated with UAB’s David Bedwell, Ph.D., and Steven M. Rowe, M.D., working with Southern Research’s HTS group, headed by Bob Bostwick, Ph.D.

“We are excited about the opportunity to expand our relationship with CFFT on the discovery of new treatments for cystic fibrosis,” said Mark J. Suto, Ph.D., vice president of Drug Discovery at Southern Research. “This project highlights the strengths and capabilities of the ADDA, which combines UAB’s basic and clinical research with the drug discovery and development expertise of Southern Research.”

“We are extremely pleased to be working with CFFT and Southern Research in this effort to find therapies for cystic fibrosis patients with a nonsense mutation,” said Steven Rowe, M.D., professor of Medicine at UAB and director of the UAB Gregory Fleming James Cystic Fibrosis Research Center. “The groundbreaking studies of nonsense mutations for this project were done by Dr. David Bedwell, Professor of Microbiology, Genetics and Cell Biology, UAB. With this award, we are uniquely positioned to build on those successes. Our understanding of the genetic causes of cystic fibrosis continues to grow, and we expect meaningful discoveries will result from this work.”

“This is a great achievement for Southern Research and a further testament to the value of the Alabama Drug Discovery Alliance partnership with UAB,” said Southern Research President and CEO, Art Tipton, Ph.D. “We appreciate the confidence that CFFT has placed in our team to identify treatments and therapies that could make a real difference.”

About Southern Research

Southern Research is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization with nearly 500 scientists and engineers working across four divisions: drug discovery, drug development, engineering, and energy and environment.

  • We’re developing 18 drugs to combat various forms of cancer, ALS, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, kidney disease, and Parkinson’s, among others.
  • We’ve developed seven FDA-approved cancer drugs.
  • We’re developing new medical devices.
  • We’re helping to launch manned missions to Mars.
  • We’re making the air and water cleaner here on Earth.

We work on behalf of the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Energy, NASA, major aerospace firms, utility companies, and other private and government organizations as we solve the world’s hardest problems. Founded in 1941, Southern Research is headquartered in Birmingham with additional laboratories and offices in Wilsonville and Huntsville, Alabama, Frederick, Maryland, Durham, North Carolina, Cartersville, Georgia, and Houston.

Southern Research Names New Associate Director of Water Research

Posted on October 12, 2015

DSC_0713_Kristen Jenkins_EDITOn Monday, October 12, Kristen Jenkins joined Southern Research as associate director, water research. This is a new position for the organization, as the Energy & Environment division continues to grow its water research capabilities. Jenkins will be responsible for leading SR’s water research related efforts, including directing the activities at the Water Research Center in Cartersville, Georgia.

“SR’s water research is an exciting area of growth for the organization, and bringing on someone of Kristen’s caliber bolsters an already strong team of researchers,” said Corey Tyree, Ph.D., director, Energy & Environment, Alabama.

Jenkins joins the SR team from CH2M, where she was global technology leader in the water for power segment. Prior to joining CH2M, Kristen worked in the water research group at Texaco Inc. She has more than 20 years of experience in wastewater treatment, reuse, process engineering, management, and project management. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from the University of Tennessee, a Master of Science in chemical engineering from Virginia Tech, and she is a registered professional engineer.

Learn more about SR Energy & Environment.

U.S. Department of Energy and Southern Research Sign $3 Million Agreement to Demonstrate a High-Temperature Solar Energy Storage System

Posted on September 16, 2015

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – September 16, 2015 – As announced today by the White House, Southern Research has signed a jointly funded cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy.

This work is under the SunShot Initiative as part of the Concentrating Solar Power: Advanced Projects Offering Low LCOE Opportunities (CSP: APOLLO) funding program. The three-year project will support the scale-up and demonstration of an innovative thermochemical energy storage system (TCES) that will allow concentrating solar power (CSP) facilities to operate around the clock.

This project builds on developments from a previously funded SunShot Initiative award that led to Southern Research’s successful development of a low-cost calcium-based sorbent which reacts with carbon dioxide (CO2) to store thermal energy. In addition to low cost, long-term durability and high capacity for CO2 are key requirements that have been demonstrated for the sorbent.

The new CSP: APOLLO project will demonstrate this energy storage technology at a 1 MWhrth scale under real-world conditions at Southern Research’s Southeastern Solar Research Center. Partners Southern Company and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) will support the evaluation of the technology to better understand its potential impacts on the cost of renewable electricity.

“Utilizing these low-cost, regenerative, calcium-based sorbents, which were previously researched for CO2 capture in coal-based power generation facilities, leverages existing knowledge for a novel application,” said Southern Research’s Santosh Gangwal, Ph.D., project principal investigator. “Through rigorous material development and testing, we are refining these sorbents to perform successfully throughout the entire 30-year life of a CSP plant.”

The new system stores energy when sunlight is plentiful and then releases energy after sundown. This enables the CSP plant to produce electricity in a stable and consistent fashion, and also to operate at significantly higher capacity factors, leading to a lower overall cost of producing electricity. Furthermore, the production of electricity can be shifted to occur whenever power demand peaks, making the electricity much more valuable and less dependent on the sun.

Southern Research’s TCES system is projected to cost about one-quarter as much as current state-of-the-art molten salt storage systems and will be able to store the same amount of energy in a system about one-sixth the size. The Southern Research TCES system can also operate sustainably up to 750 degrees Celsius – about 200 degrees Celsius higher than current systems.

“As the next generation of CSP plants move toward new, higher temperature, more efficient, supercritical CO2 cycle, a new generation of cost–effective, high-temperature, energy storage systems needs to be developed.” said Southern Research’s Tim Hansen, project co-principal investigator. “Our energy storage system will enable these technologies and lead to competitive large-scale renewable power generation.”

“Southern Research is excited and honored to be selected by the SunShot Initiative for this project,” said Bill Grieco, Ph.D., vice president of Energy and Environment, Southern Research. “We are proud to be recognized for our leadership in alternative energy and look forward to the demonstration of our innovative thermochemical storage system at our Southeastern Solar Research Center, where we test and validate technologies for grid-tied solar power generation.”

About the SunShot Initiative

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) SunShot Initiative is a collaborative national effort that aggressively drives innovation to make solar energy fully cost-competitive with traditional energy sources before the end of the decade. Through SunShot, DOE supports efforts by private companies, academia, and national laboratories to drive down the cost of solar electricity to $0.06 per kilowatt-hour. Learn more about SunShot at energy.gov/sunshot

About Southern Research

Southern Research is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization with nearly 500 scientists and engineers working across four divisions: drug discovery, drug development, engineering, and energy and environment.

  • We’re developing 18 drugs to combat various forms of cancer, ALS, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, kidney disease, and Parkinson’s, among others.
  • We’ve developed seven FDA-approved cancer drugs.
  • We’re developing new medical devices.
  • We’re helping to launch manned missions to Mars.
  • We’re making the air and water cleaner here on Earth.

We work on behalf of the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Energy, NASA, major aerospace firms, utility companies, and other private and government organizations as we solve the world’s hardest problems.

Southern Research, founded in 1941, is headquartered in Birmingham with additional laboratories and offices in Wilsonville and Huntsville, Frederick, Maryland, Durham, North Carolina, Cartersville, Georgia, and Houston.

Media Contact:
Brian Pia
bpia@blrfurther.com
(205) 380-2576

Southern Research and UAB Part of Multisite Study on Effects of Chemical Nerve Agents

Posted on September 8, 2015

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Sept. 8, 2015 – Researchers at Southern Research and the University of Alabama at Birmingham are part of a multisite consortium sharing a new five-year, $3.8 million grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke CounterACT program, part of the National Institutes of Health, to learn more about organophosphate exposure to the central nervous system.

Organophosphates are chemicals that have been used for decades as pesticides but are also major components of chemical nerve agents that represent a continued threat to military personnel and citizens from terrorist groups and rogue nations. The grant will be used to support research that investigates new chemical and imaging technologies to understand how poisonous organophosphates enter the brain and how antidotes and therapeutics can be used to reduce neurotoxic effects to organophosphate exposures.

The multi-principal investigator team includes John Gerdes, Ph.D., senior research fellow and director of neurobiology, Southern Research, Kurt Zinn, DVM, Ph.D., professor and vice chair of Translational Research in the UAB Department of Radiology, Henry VanBrocklin, Ph.D., professor of radiology at the University of California, San Francisco, and Charles Thompson, Ph.D., professor of biomedical & pharmaceutical sciences at the University of Montana.

Central to the award is the utilization of positron emission tomography ¬– or PET imaging – to evaluate organophosphate exposures and the efficacy of the therapeutics in hopes of developing highly useful clinical tools and therapeutic inventions.

PET imaging has been used widely in cancer diagnosis and to determine the progress of certain neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. This research is the first use of PET imaging to study toxic organophosphates. The researchers are hopeful that this PET imaging investigation will unveil important characteristics about brain susceptibility to toxic agents and guide drug development that halts or reverses the toxic effects following organophosphate exposures.

About Southern Research
Southern Research is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization with nearly 500 scientists and engineers working across four divisions: drug discovery, drug development, engineering, and energy and environment.

• We’re developing 18 drugs to combat various forms of cancer, ALS, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, kidney disease, and Parkinson’s, among others.
• We’ve developed seven FDA-approved cancer drugs.
• We’re developing new medical devices.
• We’re helping to launch manned missions to Mars.
• We’re making the air and water cleaner here on Earth.

We work on behalf of the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Energy, NASA, major aerospace firms, utility companies, and other private and government organizations as we solve the world’s hardest problems. Founded in 1941, Southern Research is headquartered in Birmingham with additional laboratories and offices in Wilsonville and Huntsville, Frederick, Maryland, Durham, North Carolina, Cartersville, Georgia, and Houston. Learn more at southernresearch.org.

About UAB
Known for its innovative and interdisciplinary approach to education at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, the University of Alabama at Birmingham is an internationally renowned research university and academic medical center, as well as Alabama’s largest employer, with some 23,000 employees, and has an annual economic impact exceeding $5 billion on the state. The five pillars of UAB’s mission include education, research, patient care, community service and economic development. UAB is a two-time recipient of the prestigious Center for Translational Science Award. Learn more at www.uab.edu. UAB: Knowledge that will change your world.

Media Contacts:
Southern Research: Rossi Morris
205-581-2266 or rmorris@southernresearch.org
UAB: Bob Shepard
205-934-8934 or bshep@uab.edu

Southern Research Participates in Girls Inc. Eureka! Internship Program

Posted on August 20, 2015

The Girls Inc. Eureka! Internship Program provides young girls with hands-on experience in nontraditional fields for women, particularly in STEM-related fields. So, when Southern Research Associate Director of Engineering Johanna Lewis was approached about being a provisional mentor to one of these young women, she jumped at the chance.

Olumeka Mejeidu, is an upcoming junior at the Alabama School of Fine Arts with specialties in math and science. She has been an active member in the Eureka! Teen Achievement Program since 2011 and the Girls Inc. Teen Leadership Program since 2012.

Unique to many other intern programs, the goal of Eureka! is to expose girls to STEM fields at an early age – while they are still in high school. The program promotes confidence and competence in girls by giving them opportunities to explore disciplines such as engineering, architecture, medicine, and digital technology. For three weeks in July, Olumeka spent time with Southern Research engineers and technical staff getting behind-the-scenes encounters with state-of-the-art equipment and facilities.

“During Olumeka’s three weeks here at our engineering facility, we made sure she was exposed to as many unique and interesting projects as possible,” said Lewis. “Programs like Eureka! are vital to pointing young, inquiring minds in the direction of STEM fields.”

Olumeka was able to observe the following Southern Research projects during her visit:

  • Supporting thermal testing of a new optical system
  • Supporting materials testing
  • A demonstration of the non-destructive testing lab including the FaroArm
  • Supporting meetings concerning the design of a new football helmet to reduce concussions on the field
  • A tour of the Energy and Environment laboratories

For more information about Southern Research STEM initiatives, contact Director, External Affairs Watson Donald.

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