Team Chemistry
Shimadzu’s $3 million in-kind gift creates center to advance research on disease
Summer 2012 · Comment ·
Cancer killed 572,000 Americans in 2011. Research to combat the deadly illness and other ailments took a leap forward this spring when Shimadzu Scientific Instruments donated $3 million in equipment to establish the Shimadzu Center for Advanced Analytical Chemistry at UT Arlington.
The center contains $6 million worth of state-of-the-art chromatography, mass spectrometry, and spectroscopy equipment. The instruments will be used to research the prevention and treatment of diseases such as cancer and malaria, as well as to develop nanofabrication materials for industry.
“Shimadzu’s gift creates a resource accessible to North Texas researchers whether they are university-based or in private enterprise,” College of Science Dean Pamela Jansma says. “It’s a great example of the benefit of having a growing research institution nearby.”
The Shimadzu Center’s central location in the Chemistry and Physics Building allows College of Science and College of Engineering researchers to access the enhanced capabilities for trace qualitative and quantitative analysis. Chemistry Associate Professor Kevin Schug has been named the Shimadzu Distinguished Professor of Analytical Chemistry and will oversee the laboratory.
Research initiatives aided by the Shimadzu instrumentation include Dr. Schug’s use of mass spectrometry equipment to analyze cuticular lipids that can reveal age in a species of mosquito known for spreading malaria. Bioengineering Associate Professor Jian Yang will apply the instruments to create polymers that improve cancer detection, and chemistry Associate Professor Subhrangsu Mandal will use the center to better analyze cancer-causing chemicals.
“UT Arlington has a dynamic science program that is focused on the future,” says Shuzo Maruyama, president of Shimadzu Scientific Instruments, a world leader in the analytical instruments industry. “It will be a pleasure to work with Dr. Schug and the entire UT Arlington team.”
