An algae strain offering anti-aging potential is among organisms being investigated by the Marine Bioproducts Engineering Center (MarBEC) at the University of Hawaii and University of California-Berkeley. Algae could prolong life
of UH research centerScientists hope the promising organism
will help curry favor for additional fundingBy Helen Altonn
haltonn@starbulletin.com
"We call it the 'elixir of youth' in the lab," said Anastasius Melis of UC-Berkeley, who was among MarBEC scientists and leaders here during a recent National Science Foundation site visit.
Research on the algae, zeaxanthin, with possible commercial applications for vitamins and aging stress, is a prime example of what MarBEC is supposed to do.
The National Science Foundation established it in 1998 as one of 14 national engineering centers, with UH-Manoa and UC-Berkeley running it as partners under a five-year, $12.4 million grant.
About a dozen NSF representatives were here this month to review the center's programs and plans. MarBEC Interim Director Charles Kinoshita called "a milestone visit" because NSF decides on future funding at the end of the third year.
The NSF team didn't indicate what their report will say, Kinoshita said. But he and UH administrators are optimistic the program will continue with the foundation's approval and funding.
Even if it were to withdraw its support, the university would continue to support MarBEC's science and engineering "because of the intrinsic value of research," said Interim UH Chancellor Deane Neubauer. "It's exciting science," he said. "We need to be doing this."
Both Neubauer and Ed Laws, interim vice chancellor for research and graduate studies, said they expressed strong administrative support for the program during the NSF visit.
"MarBEC was a big feather in our cap," Laws said, adding that it is "exactly the sort of thing we want to be doing as part of what we call our 'fourth mission,' economic development, to try to diversify the base of economy here and not be so dependent on tourism."
Neubauer said he was candid about what he thinks are continuing MarBEC challenges, such as educational versus physical phases of the program, filling additional positions and resolving intellectual property questions.
The program had a rocky start. The first director, Oskar R. Zaborsky, quit a month after receiving the NSF grant. The second director, Alex Malahoff, and associate director Macqsudul Alam resigned last year.
Concerned about the developments, NSF asked for a plan showing where MarBEC was going.
Kinoshita took over MarBEC in November. He said he did some reorganizing, eliminating some associate director positions and appointing leaders for three "thrusts": Metabolic engineering and genetic systems, production systems and marine bioresources.
The foundation wants the engineering component emphasized, and Kinoshita is doing this, Neubauer said. Efforts also are underway to develop an educational program between the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology and the department of engineering, he said.
Kinoshita said MarBEC has about 20 faculty members between the Manoa and Berkeley campuses, four core industrial partners and five affiliate commercial companies.
"We look to MarBEC for projects that are interesting and innovative, that reflect what industry wants," he said, noting, for example, the algal strain Berkeley researchers are working on.
Melis said they stumbled on the carotenoid-rich mutant during the summer. "It has a very potent antioxidant," he said. "It's an opportunity to try, for the first time ever, an anti-aging device."
University of Hawaii
