October 7, 2005 Source: Wilfrid Laurier University:
http://www.therecord.com/links/links_051006105517.html WLUs science reputation grows WATERLOO -- Wilfrid Laurier University students Laura Wheaton, 19, and Cheryl Newman, 22, had interesting jobs studying power plants this summer. Except they weren't looking at giant power plants. They were working on the power plants of the human body -- the proteins on the membranes of the part of the cells known as mitochondria that generate heat and energy in our bodies. They had summer jobs in the laboratory of Laurier biochemistry professor Masoud Jelokhani-Niaraki, who chemically synthesizes "uncoupling proteins" called thermogenins and figures out how those proteins function. "We are making them from scratch," Newman says of these proteins, which are important to understanding how to prevent diseases such as hypoglycemia and diabetes. Meanwhile, biology professor Matthew Smith was working on another type of power plant -- chloroplasts, which are the power plants of the plant world. They are the part of green plants which do the work of photosynthesis -- turning sunlight into energy. Like the mitochondria, the chloroplasts of the plant world also contain proteins. Smith is trying to figure out exactly how these proteins get transported to their work sites. "How does the chloroplast decide that this is the protein it wants to import?" he asks. If Smith can make strides in figuring out how that mechanism works, it could help the researchers who are trying to understand human diseases that are caused when the proteins in our bodies are "mistargeted." Smith and Jelokhani-Niaraki are just two of the 95 members of the faculty of science at Wilfrid Laurier University. When it comes to science and engineering, there are two other area universities that have much larger faculties. The University of Waterloo has an international reputation for engineering and the sciences, particularly in areas like chemical and computer engineering. The University of Guelph is well known for biotechnology and bio-engineering of plant and animal cells. But Laurier, which has been better known for its business and sociology programs, is now developing a growing reputation in science -- especially biology, chemistry and biotechnology. Last year, Laurier opened a three-level $11.4-million science building with state-of-the-art laboratories and equipment that was funded in large part by the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the Ontario Innovation Trust. This September, the university took 25 first-year students into a new program in biochemistry and biotechnology. "Canada is one of the leading players in biotechnology," says Laurier's science dean, Arthur Szabo. Industries, particularly pharmaceutical companies, need graduates who can work in this field, so Laurier is responding. Laurier wanted to become more a comprehensive university, and science was the logical area for growth, Szabo says. The goal is to have the undergraduate enrolment in the sciences at Laurier become one-third of the university's undergrad population, he says. Over time, the university will add graduate programs in the sciences to produce the masters and doctorate students who will work with the professors in their labs. "The students who come here win national awards and a good percentage of them are successful at getting into medical school," Szabo says. As a smaller university, Laurier has an advantage because it provides much smaller class sizes and the students feel they get more contact with their professors, Szabo says. The new faculty members, meanwhile, are drawn to an institution that is small and fresh, with lots of lab space and the ability to develop vibrant research, he adds. John Tennant, chief executive of Canada's Technology Triangle Inc., the area's economic development corporation, says the biotechnology in Waterloo Region is characterized by its diversity. The life sciences and cell research activities important to drug development; nanotechnology that is key to medical technologies and new materials; and environmental and agricultural biotechnology fields are all going on here, he says. The new science building at Laurier, the nanotechnology and quantum computing facility at the University of Waterloo and UW's new school of pharmacy planned for the former Epton plant site in downtown Kitchener, are all jewels for this region, he says. These post-secondary institutions are important in drawing industries here, not only because of the research they do but also because of the grads they turn out who have the knowledge that industries need to be at the cutting edge, Tennant adds. "It is critical to them that they be able to find people and build partnerships with the universities and the college, so our strong post-secondary institutions are a major differentiating factor," Tennant says. "We see this as being a very strong card for Canada, for Ontario, but especially for this area." rsimone@therecord.com
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