The Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research (BRIMR) is an independent, non-profit, scientific research institute located in

Horse Shoe A horseshoe is a fabricated product designed to protect a horse hoof from wear. Shoes are attached on the palmar surface (ground side) of the hooves, usually nailed through the insensitive hoof wall that is anatomically akin to the human toe ...

, North Carolina. The Institute was founded by Robert Roskoski Jr., who serves as President and Scientific Director.

Mission

The general goals of the Institute are to explore the interrelationships of fundamental

biological science Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary ...

clinical science Clinical research is a branch of healthcare science that determines the safety and effectiveness ( efficacy) of medications, devices, diagnostic products and treatment regimens intended for human use. These may be used for prevention, treatm ...

, and clinical care.

Research

Research at BRIMR focuses on the structure and regulation of

protein kinase A protein kinase is a kinase which selectively modifies other proteins by covalently adding phosphates to them (phosphorylation) as opposed to kinases which modify lipids, carbohydrates, or other molecules. Phosphorylation usually results in a fu ...

s, their downstream

signaling pathways Signal transduction is the process by which a chemical or physical signal is transmitted through a cell as a series of molecular events, most commonly protein phosphorylation catalyzed by protein kinases, which ultimately results in a cellula ...

, and

therapeutic drugs Pharmacology is a branch of medicine, biology and pharmaceutical sciences concerned with drug or medication action, where a drug may be defined as any artificial, natural, or endogenous (from within the body) molecule which exerts a biochemic ...

that inhibit these enzymes. Protein kinases regulate the activity of their substrate targets by adding phosphate groups in a reaction known as protein phosphorylation. The United States Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of about 50 protein kinase inhibitors for the treatment of several cancers including those of breast, kidney, and lung and inflammatory diseases such as

rheumatoid arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects joints. It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints. Pain and stiffness often worsen following rest. Most commonly, the wrist and hands are invol ...

and

ulcerative colitis Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a long-term condition that results in inflammation and ulcers of the colon and rectum. The primary symptoms of active disease are abdominal pain and diarrhea mixed with blood (hematochezia). Weight loss, fever, and ...

. An average of two to three new drugs of this type is approved annually. An important component of the Institute's fundamental research involves the study of the nature of the interaction of these anticancer and anti-inflammatory agents with their target protein kinase enzyme. Institute studies are based upon the X-ray

crystallographic Crystallography is the experimental science of determining the arrangement of atoms in crystalline solids. Crystallography is a fundamental subject in the fields of materials science and solid-state physics ( condensed matter physics). The w ...

results that are in the public domain as well as in-house computer-generated models of drugs binding to their targets. The Institute functions as a scientific think tank and performs no actual laboratory work. However, the Institute uses results from the research areas of biochemistry and molecular, chemical, structural and cancer biology in an effort to understand the mechanisms of action of protein kinase inhibitors and the aberrations that result in

neoplastic A neoplasm () is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue. The process that occurs to form or produce a neoplasm is called neoplasia. The growth of a neoplasm is uncoordinated with that of the normal surrounding tissue, and persists ...

growth. The results of these studies have been published.

NIH funding data

The Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research has monitored NIH funding to Medical Schools as well as other health science schools and organizations since 2006. BRIMR generates an annual ranking of NIH funding for US Medical Schools and their Departments and the BRIMR data is considered to be the gold standard for medical school research metrics. These data are used throughout the biomedical community for the analysis of medical research and educational activities

Selected publications

* Roskoski, R. Jr. (2015) A historical overview of protein kinases and their targeted small molecule inhibitors. Pharmacol. Res. 100, 1-23. * Roskoski, R. Jr. (2016) Classification of small molecule inhibitors based upon the structures of their drug-enzyme complexes. Pharmacol. Res. 103, 26–48. * Roskoski, R. Jr. (2019) Properties of FDA-approved small molecule protein kinase inhibitors. Pharmacol. Res. 144, 19–50. *Noble, Paige; Ten Eyck , Patrick; Roskoski Jr., Robert; Jackson; J. Brooks (2020) NIH funding trends to US Medical Schools from 2009 to 2018. PLoSOne 15:eo233367.

References

{{authority control Medical research institutes in North Carolina Organizations based in North Carolina Henderson County, North Carolina 2006 establishments in North Carolina Scientific organizations established in 2006