Alumnus Hugh Rosen, Professor of Chemical Physiology and Immunology and chair of the Committee for Advanced Human Therapeutics at The Scripps Research Institute, has received a US$88-million grant from the National Institute of Health (NIH) to screen molecules for new drug development. The six-year grant is the largest ever awarded to Scripps Research and will strengthen the collaborative efforts of the team of scientists at nine institutions in the US.

They are part of the Molecular Libraries Production Centres network, which is part of the NIH's strategic funding plan, the Roadmap Initiative. High-tech screening methods will be used to identify small molecules for use as probes to investigate the diverse functions of cells.

These have become invaluable tools for exploring biological processes and for developing new therapies for disease, especially rare and 'neglected' disease. Led by principal investigator Rosen (class of 1982), the initiative began three years ago.