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Each year the Small Business Administration gives out Tibbetts Awards to small firms, projects, organizations and individuals judged to exemplify the very best in Small Business Innovative Research Program achievement. Atom Sciences received a Tibbetts Award in 1997. |
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July 13,
2007
UT and
Atom Sciences Collaborate on NIH Grant to Develop Test for Major African Disease
OAK RIDGE
and KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- A new grant from the National Institutes of Health will
help researchers at Atom Sciences and the University of Tennessee better
understand how people in rural Africa contract a deadly disease known as Buruli
ulcer.
The
grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) to
Atom Sciences will enable the company, in partnership with UT, to test a new
diagnostic technique to determine the disease's environmental source.
Prominent in West Africa, the disease resembles leprosy, causing a skin
lesion that can lead to infections so severe that limbs may simply fall off, and
that the body is unable to fight. The disease is particularly difficult to cure
without removing the infected area from the person's body.
Buruli ulcer is caused by the bacterium Myobacterium ulcerans. The
disease itself is not contagious; infected persons acquire the bacteria from
their environment. Atom Sciences' new diasgnostic technique may allow
researchers to know from where in the environment a person first acquired the
bacteria.
Atom Sciences researcher Richard Hurt will lead the study, working with
UT microbiology professor Pamela Small. Small, a leading expert in the study of
Buruli ulcer, will provide a number of samples for use in testing the new
technique.
The diagnostic relies on a genetic analysis of the bacteria. Hurt and
Small will compare test results with different strains of the bacteria to refine
the diagnostic's ability to detect the subtle genetic differences between
bacteria that come from different environmental sources.
By understanding the sources, medical professionals and researchers will
be better able to understand how people acquire the disease, which is known in
some areas of Africa as "wounds that do not heal," according to Small.
As the bacteria progresses, it produces toxins that suppress the immune
system, eventually destroying skin and underlying tissue. The World Health
Organization has identified finding the source of this disease one of the two
most important research priorities as part of its Global Buruli Ulcer
Initiative.
The grant, for more than $98,000 over a six-month period, will serve as a
pilot test of the new diagnostic technique. As the technique is refined, it will
also be adapted to detect other important pathogens.
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Contacts:
Tom
Whitaker, president, Atom Sciences (865-483-1113, whitaker@atom-sci.com)
Jay
Mayfield, UT media relations (865-974-9409, jay.mayfield@tennessee.edu)
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Oak Ridge Firm Teams with Maryville Company to Develop New Test for Deadly Disease
April
21, 2005
Oak
Ridge, TN – A local company is developing an improved way to diagnose a deadly
disease that claims an estimated two million lives each year worldwide. Atom
Sciences, Inc., an Oak Ridge biotechnology company, has been awarded a Small
Business Innovative Research grant totaling almost $100,000 from the National
Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to
develop a new diagnostic tool for tuberculosis.
Biotechnology
has been identified by economic developers throughout the Knoxville-Oak Ridge
Innovation Valley for future growth. A recent TVA-funded study assessed the
significant biotech research and commercialization capabilities of the region.
So when Atom Sciences, Inc. looked for a company that could provide clinical
evaluation of the new diagnostic technology, it didn’t have to look very far.
Molecular Pathology Laboratory Network, Inc. (MPLN), a clinical diagnostics
reference laboratory located in Maryville, was contacted and agreed to provide
the needed clinical evaluation of the technique and even helped. They even
assisted in writing the proposal to NIH.
Dr. Richard A. Hurt, inventor of the technology and Staff Research Scientist at Atom Sciences, will head the project. The diagnostic method, called Limited Primer Extension, or LPE, can rapidly screen clinical samples for the bacterium that causes human tuberculosis. It can also test, at the same time, for related infectious agents that cause tuberculosis-like symptoms, something that current diagnostic methods cannot do. Dr. Hurt explained that, “Current molecular diagnostic kits for TB detection identify only whether the TB pathogen is present or absent. They don’t provide any information about the cause of TB-like symptoms if the TB pathogen is absent. LPE provides this additional information and therefore reduces the overall cost of treatment.”
Atom Sciences’ President and CEO, Dr. Tom Whitaker, emphasized that there are many other applications of the LPE technology besides TB testing, some with ramifications for homeland security. Dr. Whitaker said, “LPE technology can identify bacterial or viral sources of infection for many diseases, not just TB. While modern diagnostic tests are rapid and highly specific, they typically can test for only one, or at most, very few pathogens in a single reaction. The LPE capability to simultaneously test for a large number of pathogens makes it ideal for use by first responders in the case of a bioterrorist attack.”
Dr. Neil Quigley, Director of Research and Development at MPLN, points out that an important aspect of the LPE technology is cost savings. “One of the reasons MPLN is interested in LPE applications is their potential to reduce the costs of clinical diagnostic testing. This innovative process could yield a substantial cost savings in both clinical diagnostics and in overall health care costs paid by providers and patients.” Dr. Quigley said.
—END—
Contact: Sr.
Tom J. Whitaker, President
Atom Sciences, Inc.
(865) 483-1113
Atom
Sciences receives grants from NIH totaling $1.53M
Monday, June 16, 2003
Atom Sciences has received funding from the National Institutes of Health for two Small Business Innovative Research grants totaling $1.53M.
Dr. Richard Hurt, Research Scientist at Atom Sciences, will head a project funded by the National Human Genome Research Institute. This unique method addresses the problem of identifying minor changes in DNA, called Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs, pronounced “snips”). These gene mutations can cause disease or affect the risk of getting a disease. Hurt explained that the method uses a dual process that traps a DNA section of interest and then probes that section for the SNP. It can be applied to “medical research fields such as targeted drug discovery, gene therapy, forensic identification, and eventually to clinical diagnostics,” said Hurt.
Dr. Tom Whitaker, president of Atom Sciences, will head the other project, which will be funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. This project is aimed at producing an inexpensive electrical test for identifying bacteria, viruses, and the genes that make these “bugs” resistant to modern drugs. Whitaker believes that the implications can be far-reaching. According to Whitaker, “If we can lower the cost enough so that these genetic tests will be conducted on a routine basis, it will lower health costs by allowing the physician to prescribe the right drug the first time and avoiding expensive hospitalization. In addition, knowing whether the source of an illness is bacterial or viral will reduce the inappropriate use of antibiotics for viral infections, and hopefully decrease the alarming growth of antibiotic resistance among bacteria.”
Atom Sciences is an Oak Ridge biotech company that develops and markets technologies, services, and instruments for measuring trace elements and molecules. In recent years, the company has focused on research pertaining to DNA sequencing, hybridization, and diagnostic tools for DNA detection and identification.
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Contact: Dr.
Tom J. Whitaker
Atom Sciences, Inc.
(865) 483-1113
Atom Sciences receives three grants from NIH
Sept. 5, 2001
Atom Sciences announces that it has been awarded three new grants from the National Institutes of Health. These Small Business Innovative Research grants total $298,000 and will be used to conduct research for improving DNA sequencing.
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases issued one of the grants. This project, titled “Inexpensive Genetic Detection of Infectious Organisms,” is aimed at developing an inexpensive and rapid diagnostic test that can be used to identify bacteria and viruses. According to Tom Whitaker, President of Atom Sciences and principal investigator of the project, “the goal is to make the cost so low that managed health organizations would encourage its regular use in clinical settings. This will greatly reduce prescriptions for antibiotics in cases where they are ineffective, and consequently reduce one source of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria.” Accurate identification of a bacterial strain causing an illness and its antibiotic resistance capabilities would allow accurate prescription of antibiotics during the patient’s first visit, avoiding prolonged sickness and hospitalization that often results from sequential prescription of ineffective antibiotics.
The project “Screening Digestive Diseases with Microcantilever Arrays” will be performed under the auspices of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Dr. Scott Kriger, Director of Surface Analysis at Atom Sciences, will direct the project. The research will test the feasibility of an improvement in current microcantilever technology to detect genetic traits. The technique may offer a sensitive diagnostic test for gene mutations linked to hereditary diseases or the susceptibility to those diseases. “This method will detect mutations in genes that cause digestive diseases, and multiple mutations can be identified in a single test,” said Kriger.
Dr. Wanda White, Research Scientist at Atom Sciences, will head a project funded by the National Human Genome Research Institute. Minor DNA sequence changes in the genome can produce major health complications but are difficult to identify. This project addresses the problem of identifying minor DNA sequence differences, such as gene mutations that cause disease, and how frequently they occur in the human population. This novel method would greatly reduce the workload currently required to identify such sequences. The research is aimed toward simultaneous detection of multiple sequences from a single DNA sample. Such technology could potentially reduce the number of tests a patient would need to undergo for a diagnosis.
Contact: Dr.
Tom J. Whitaker
Atom Sciences, Inc.
(865) 483-1113
To Be Announced
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(865) 483-1113 (voice), (865) 483-3316 (FAX)