COBRE for the Center for Molecular Medicine: Pilot Scope -Nanobody Platform for Precision Medicine

Camelids, such as alpacas and llamas, have become a valuable resource for biomedical research since they produce a novel type of heavy chain]only antibody that can be used to produce single domain antibodies, known as nanobodies. Nanobodies can be selected for and then easily produced in large quantities as recombinant proteins in bacteria, purified, and used for a wide variety of purposes. Nanobodies can also be engineered to contain specific markers or tags that can be used as reporters for diagnosing diseases. This pilot project is designed to develop a Nanobody Platform for Precision Medicine (NPPM). We propose to enhance and expand the use of nanobodies for biomedical research, focusing on core technologies that will be of utility to researchers at the University of Kentucky, other Institutional Development Award (IDEA) states, and biomedical researchers more broadly. We will develop a pipeline of nanobody]based technologies, utilizing a collaborative structure organized under the Principle and co]Principle Investigators