Systems Biology at Caltech Will Benefit From New $25.4M Nanotechnology Grant

NEW YORK, Nov. 11 (GenomeWeb News) - Caltech said today that a portion of a recently awarded $25.4 million grant will help fund systems biology research.

The grant, awarded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, will enable Caltech faculty to create "new nanoscale technologies to aid the emerging field commonly referred to as systems biology," the school said in a statement today.

Caltech defines systems biology as a methodology that uses, among other components, "specific gene expression as well as ... proteins expressed by genes. In many cases, systems biology depends on advances in genomics, which in turn is based upon large-scale assays of biological activity at much smaller scales.

"Nanobiotechnology promises to provide new means for such studies, ultimately at the level of individual cells and molecules," Caltech said.

Caltech said it will use the money for "architectural modification and creation of new laboratories, professional and administrative staff, facilities operations and service contracts, state-of-the-art research equipment, and a networking/communication program to link Caltech researchers with their peers worldwide."

TheGordon and Betty Moore Foundation focuses on "environmental conservation, science, higher education, and the San Francisco Bay Area," the school said. The gift is part of a $300 million commitment the foundation made to Caltech in 2001.