Exploring Living Organisms: Scientist Granted $1 Million for Research

With this new equipment, Smith and his fellow researchers will be able to view drugs and cancer cells in the tissues of living organisms.

The Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas has awarded a $1 million grant to Quentin Smith, Sr., Ph.D., and a team of collaborating faculty investigators and basic scientists from the School of Pharmacy and the School of Medicine in Amarillo. Smith is associate dean for sciences research and a university distinguished professor.

The grant will allow the researchers to purchase a research instrument that will support the nationally competitive programs being conducted in Amarillo by research faculty. The piece of equipment, known as a confocal/multiphoton laser scanning microscope, will allow researchers to view images of drugs and cancer cells in the tissues of living organisms. It can also be used to explore the mechanisms associated with cell signaling and cell invasion within the body so that new therapeutic drugs can be tested.

Key investigators expected to use the equipment include Smith, Zonghan Dai from the School of Medicine and School of Pharmacy researchers Ming-hai Wang, Ruiwen Zhang, Junxuan Lu and Paul Lockman.

The Amarillo campus opened its new Amarillo Research Building in 2009. Earlier this year the campus received matching funds from the administration to purchase two additional pieces of multi-user research equipment.

“The faculty’s success with individual awards, coupled with the new facilities and equipment, will also strengthen the training of our graduate and Pharm.D. students who are engaged in laboratory research,” School of Pharmacy Dean Arthur Nelson, Jr., Ph.D said.