CANDIDATE: Dr. Mark J. Kurth's Ph.D., postdoctoral, and early professional work (six years at the University of California/Davis) establish him as a successful independent investigator in synthetic organic chemistry, especially in the area of enantioselective methodology development and natural product total synthesis. His immediate career goal is to become an expert in immunochemistry, particularly as it applies to environmental assessment and toxicology. Toward that goal, Dr. Kurth has three environmental health projects (NIH, USDA, and FDA funded) under collaborative investigation (with Dr. M.E. Mount, Veterinary Medicine, U.C. Davis and Dr. H.G. Hammock, Entomology, U.C. Davis) and two projects pending review (NIEHS Superfund and EPA proposals). His long-term career goals are three-fold: (i) development of immunochemical methods for the detection/quantification of toxic substances in the environment, (ii) application of immunochemical methods to the study of mechanism of and site of toxic action of hazardous substances, and (iii) fundamental research aimed at generating artificial enzymes (abzymes) for application in toxicology and environmental health sciences by combining the synthetic expertise required to prepare transition-state mimics and the immunochemical expertise required to develop antibodies capable of 'enzymatic action.' A RESEARCH CAREER DEVELOPMENT AWARD would tremendously enhance Dr. Kurth's opportunity to accomplish the career objectives delineated in this proposal in two critical ways. First, it will relieve him of a myriad of teaching and committee responsibilities, thus freeing him to focus his energy and efforts on research. Second, it will provide him with the flexibility and opportunity to personally work in leading toxicology and bioorganic chemistry laboratories. ENVIRONMENT: Pending the success of this application, Dr. Kurth has identified five laboratories with which he will be associate as a visiting scholar. As documented in Appendices III-IX, these include: Dr. Jean-Pierre Mach (Institute of Biochemistry, University of Lausanne), Dr. Robert Scibienski (Molecular Biology, U.C. Davis) Dr. Alan Buckpitt (Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology, U.C. Davis), Dr. Paul Barlett (Chemistry, U.C. Berkeley), and Dr. Alex Karu (Hybridoma Laboratory, U.C. Berkeley). Dr. Kurth's career goals are very much in line with the Chemistry Department's expansion plans in the 'chemistry of biological macromolecules' area. An outstanding research infrastructure in the areas of chemistry, biochemical toxicology, and bioorganic chemistry exists on the U.C. Davis campus which will provide Dr. Kurth with ample opportunity for scientific interaction and will significantly enhance the development of his career. RESEARCH: Herein Dr. Kurth proposes applying synthetic organic and immunochemistry to environmental health research addressing three important objectives: (I) development of immunochemical methods for the detection/quantification of toxic substances in the environment, (II) application of immunochemical methods to the study of mechanism of and site of toxic action of hazardous substances, and (III) fundamental research aimed at generating artificial enzymes (abzymes) for application in toxicology and environmental health sciences by combinging the synthetic expertise required to prepare transition-state mimics and the immunochemical expertise required to develop antibodies capable of 'enzymatic acton.' While objective I constitutes a major portion of this proposal, its realization will provide entry to objective II. In turn, objective III is a logical extension of I and II and sets a longer term goal of Dr. Kurth's research program.
