SUNY Plattsburgh and Clarkson University Scientists Awarded Army DURIP Grant to Purchase Research Instrument

July 20, 2011

A SUNY Plattsburgh professor and two Clarkson University professors have received $107,000 in funding from the Army Research Office Defense University Research Instrumentation Program to advance proteomics research at the two schools.

Proteomics is the large-scale study of proteins, particularly their structures and functions.

Clarkson University Assistant Professor of Chemistryand Biomolecular Science Costel C. Darie and Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biomolecular Science E. Silvana Andreescu, and SUNY Plattsburgh Professor and Chair of Chemistry Linda A. Luck will purchase an ultra-nano HPLC with the grant. HPLC stands for high-performance liquid chromatography. This device will be about 500-1000 times more sensitive than the current HPLC at Clarkson.

The instrument separates mixtures of very small compounds through chromatography. When coupled with a mass spectrometer, it provides information about the size, sequence or structure of the compounds.

An instrument used at top research universities, its purchase will allow greater advances in biological and biomedical studies in the region. It will be the first machine of its type in the North Country.

The instrument will be available to users from the of chemistry, biomolecular science and biology departments at Clarkson University and SUNY Plattsburgh, and surrounding colleges and universities, like SUNY Potsdam, SUNY Canton and St. Lawrence University.

The grant program is designed to fill a critical need of scholars by purchasing state-of-the-art equipment that augments current university capabilities or develops new capabilities to perform cutting edge defense research.

Named one of the Top 100 Values in Public Colleges by Kiplinger's Personal Finance and one of North America's Best Colleges by U.S. News and World Report, SUNY Plattsburgh offers more than 60 majors and a wide range of special programs that prepare graduates for professional life and advanced studies through a foundation in liberal arts and an experience that celebrates excellence, ethical values, lifelong learning and responsible citizenship in a global community.

Clarkson University launches leaders into the global economy. One in six alumni already leads as a CEO, VP or equivalent senior executive of a company. Located just outside the Adirondack Park in Potsdam, N.Y., Clarkson is a nationally recognized research university for undergraduates with select graduate programs in signature areas of academic excellence directed toward the world’s pressing issues. Through 50 rigorous programs of study in engineering, business, arts, sciences and health sciences, the entire learning-living community spans boundaries across disciplines, nations and cultures to build powers of observation, challenge the status quo, and connect discovery and engineering innovation with enterprise.