Virginia State University is an historically Black, Land Grant institution which offers undergraduate and graduate programs in the sciences. By applying for support from the MBRS Grant Program for Undergraduate Colleges , this University hopes to continue and increase its involvement in biomedical research, to promote more productive participation in biomedical research among faculty and students, and to provide a means of exposing students and faculty to the latest trends, techniques and opportunities in biomedical research. The goals of the proposed program are as follows: (1) to expose under- graduate students and faculty to biomedical research principles, techniques, and applications; (2) to give faculty the opportunity to become competitive and productive biomedical research scientists; and (3) to improve the quality of science programs at Virginia State University by providing scholarly experiences for faculty and students. This MBRS continuation application requests funds for an enrichment project and a research project. The enrichment component requires funding for producing a series of seminars, for workshops on appropriate biomedical topics, and for summer research activities for selected faculty and students. The research project involves the synthesis of some novel acyclic mesoionic xanthine nucleosides and testing them for properties as potential antineoplastic and antimicrobial agents. These nucleosides containing acyclic carbohydrate moiety have not been previously investigated for antiviral and cytostatic activity.
