Project may create BSE-fighting crops

Vancouver, BC – University of Alberta professors Dr Michael James and Dr Nat Kav have received a $130,000 from PrioNet Canada to continue their ground-breaking work in prion structural biology.

The Alberta-based project could have significant global food safety and health impacts. In collaboration with world-renowned prion biologist Dr Adriano Aguzzi from the Institute of Neuropathology, University Hospital in Zurich, Drs James and Kav will have special access to a series of antibodies developed by Dr Aguzzi, with which they will perform groundbreaking studies on the three-dimensional shape of the prion protein. Their research could also lead to the development of crops that contain antibodies to protect against prion-related diseases, such as BSE.