PITTSBURGH-Judith Klein-Seetharaman,a research scientist in Carnegie Mellon University's LanguageTechnologies Institute, has received a $100,000 grant from the Bill& Melinda Gates Foundation to use computational tools in the searchfor new anti-HIV therapies.

Klein-Seetharaman's project is one of 104 grants announced by the GatesFoundation for the first funding round of Grand ChallengesExplorations, an initiative to help scientists around the world explorebold, new solutions for health challenges in developing countries.Grants were provided to scientists in 22 countries on five continents.

Klein-Seetharaman studies computational biolinguistics, which uses thestatistical methods originally developed for deciphering humanlanguages as a means of understanding molecular languages, such as thesequence of amino acids that make up proteins. In this new project, shewill analyze the sequences of biochemical reactions inside cells thatare known as signal transduction pathways. HIV is able to replicateitself inside cells by intercepting normal signal transduction pathwaysat one or more steps in the sequence. She predicts that cells haveparallel pathways for sending signals and that if one pathway isdisrupted by HIV it may be possible to restore proper cell signaling byaltering the activity of its parallel pathway.

"Knowing this information should enable biomedical scientists to designvery specific, potentially more effective anti-HIV therapies," she said.

Klein-Seetharamancurrently is teaching at Royal Holloway, University of London, whereshe is a neuroscience professor and head of the Centre for BiologicalSciences. The research funded by the Gates Foundation grant will beperformed at Carnegie Mellon.

"Icongratulate each individual who took the initiative to share theiridea with us to help fight the world's most serious diseases," said Dr.Tachi Yamada, president of the Gates Foundation's Global HealthProgram. "The number of creative approaches we received exceeded ourhighest aspirations. Projects from this initial pool of grants havethe potential to transform health in developing countries, and I willbe rooting for their success."

Klein-Seetharamanhas been affiliated since 2001 with Carnegie Mellon's School ofComputer Science, where she has been the founding co-director of theNational Science Foundation-sponsored Center for Biological LanguageModeling. She also has had previous appointments at the University ofPittsburgh School of Medicine.