UH picked for
biotech research center

It gets a $12.4 million, 5-year
grant to develop products
from the ocean

By Helen Altonn
Star-Bulletin

The University of Hawaii received a five-year, $12.4 million grant today to create a national center officials envision will lead to billions of dollars in new marine products.

The Marine Bioengineering Center -- called MarBEC -- will establish an engineering technology and science base to develop high-value food, health and industrial products from the ocean, said Oskar R. Zaborsky.

He directs the Marine Biotechnology and Biosystems Engineering Laboratory in the Chemistry Department, UH College of Natural Sciences, and heads MarBEC.

Formerly with the National Science Foundation and Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C., Zaborsky said he came to Hawaii with a vision of a marine bioengineering center.

The proposal went through a rigorous competitive process and "came out a winner" from among more than 160 funding proposals to the foundation, he said.

The foundation selected UH, in partnership with the University of California-Berkeley, for one of five national biotechnology research centers.

"We are joining a family of cutting-edge engineering centers," Zaborsky said. "This MarBEC is the nation's only center dedicated to marine bioproducts engineering research, education and technology transfer."

He said it will provide a framework for Hawaii development and position the state for 21st-century opportunities geared to the Pacific and Asia.

Associate directors are Alexander Malahoff, UH oceanography professor and Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory director, and Harvey Blanch, UC-Berkeley chemical engineering department chairman.

Zaborsky said researchers from colleges across the Manoa campus will join with Berkeley scientists, three federal research labs, industries and other organizations to achieve MarBEC's mission. Community colleges and the Bishop Museum also will participate, he said.

Alan Teramura, UH interim se

nior vice president for research and interim dean, Graduate Division, said, "One of the goals is to capture the biodiversity of the Pacific Ocean to bring about new bioproducts and technologies and business opportunities during this 'Year of the Ocean.' . . .

"Right now, it's (marine biotechnology), a very small industry nationally and globally. Our intent is to really make this a significant component of our society. . . .

"The best scientists and engineers will be involved in this," Teramura said, adding that at least five additional faculty members will be hired, as well as postdoctoral and graduate students.

Classes of marine bioproducts essential to chemical, pharmaceutical, nutriceutical, life sciences and other industries were identified for research and production, Zaborsky said.

Among them are carotenoid pigments, used for coloring and antioxidants; enzymes for industrial purposes; new and less expensive sources of polyunsaturated fatty acids, and products that absorb ultraviolet radiation to protect human skin and materials.

"They have significant end uses, and also multimillion-dollar markets," Zaborsky said.

For example, he said, four or five new products in the drug area, such as an anti-cancer agent or antibiotic, could generate $3 billion in revenue based on 1 percent of the $310 billion worldwide market.

"Carotenoids would have a collective market of close to $1 billion at the moment," Zaborsky noted. "So if you capture a certain amount, it's not bad."

Teramura said at least a dozen industrial partners have committed resources to MarBEC, "and we've got several dozen more we want to work with to get more support."

The program not only will expand the frontiers of engineering technology, Teramura stressed, but will help produce the next generations of engineering leaders. An education program focused on marine bioproducts and biotechnology engineering will be developed for undergraduate and graduate students, he said.

Zaborsky said the education program will be exciting because it will involve an exchange of students, faculty and courses with UC-Berkeley.

Also planned, he said, are a summer institute for industry and other professionals and programs similar to the UH Marine Options Program. MOP has key features of what the MarBEC centers want to do, he said.

Among other MarBEC participants, Zaborsky said, are the Sea Grant Programs in Hawaii and California, the Western Hawaii Explorations Academy and the technology licensing and transfer offices at UH and Berkeley.