Highacres Collegian
Volume 5 Number 3
The Engineers take a study Break.
Bush, are you going limp on us?
Sheardy Receives Grant
Dr. Richard Sheardy, associate
professor of chemistry at the Penn
State Hazleton Campus, has re
ceived a $lOO,OOO grant from the
National Science Foundation for
continuing research on the unusu
al DNA structures. The grant
will provide for equipment, a fel
lowship for a Hazleton Campus
undergraduate student to assist in
the research, and for additional
support through travel to other uni
versities where research in Dr.
Sheardy's field is being carried
out.
Dr. Sheardy spoke of his field
of DNA research: "About ten
years ago, we had a picture of the
DNA molecule - the genetic mes
senger - as the way it had earlier
been defined in the 1950'5. It
looks, in fact, like a right-handed
spiral staircase. We now know
that deviations from this ideal
structure do occur and are biologi
cally important in terms of the vi
ability of a cell."
"The unusual types of DNA
structures which I am studying
may behave as 'molecular switch-
Bye, Bye, Hazleburg!
The Penns
es.' If we can understand the na
ture of these processes, we can bet
ter understand the mechanisms by
which cells maintain their life cy
cles."
This research has great impor
tance in the study of certain dis
eases - why cells become malig
nant, for example, or in the study
of those diseases of genetic origin.
This is the second grant that
Dr. Sheardy has received from the
National Science Foundation that
has enabled him to build upon his
earlier work in the field of molec
ular research.
The scholarship will provide
funds for a student fellowship that
will enable one of Dr. Sheardy's
science students to work with him
on a variety of research tasks such
as setting up experiments, assist
ing in analysis and computation.
Sheardy's success in acquisi
tion of grants of this size is a re
flection of his reputation in the
field. It is also unique in that
these kinds of grants are rarely
given to Commonwealth campus
es, but rather to large research in-
Ivania State Universi
Colleen, your floor just loves you don't the]
stitutions.
Dr. Sheardy earned his B.S.T.
degree in chemistry from Michi
gan State University, and his
Ph.D. degree in bio-organic
chemistry from the University of
Florida. He joined Penn State
Hazleton in 1981, after a two-year
postdoctoral fellowship at the Uni
versity of Rochester. In the past,
he has done a good deal of re
search in collaboration with sci
entists at the University of Penn
sylvania and the State University
of New York at Albany. He is a
member of the American‘Chemi
cal Society and the Penn State
Hazleton Campus Faculty Re
search Committee.
May 19!
Collegian St s
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