rofessor Jim Swartz and graduate student Jim Zawada came to Stanford for the same reason: they wanted to work in an environment where they would have freedom to choose their research projects. By supporting the students regardless of what they decide to study, SGF encourages the convergence of people with good ideas.

Last September, Dr. Swartz came to Stanford from Genentech, Inc. He says that, unlike the corporate development environment, Stanford encourages him to be a dreamer by allowing him the freedom to pursue research at a basic level. Stanford also gives him the opportunity to work with bright students. "It is wonderful to see developing professionals accept and expand the knowledge that defines my areas of interest."

Although the job is fun, assembling a new course and learning to teach effectively is not easy, especially while simultaneously working to set up a new research lab. Typically, not having the financial resources of an established lab makes attracting and supporting graduate students next to impossible. Dr. Swartz says that the SGF program, through its support of Jim Zawada, has helped him expand his own program faster than he had thought possible.

Jim Zawada became interested in working with Dr. Swartz while Dr. Swartz was in the process of being hired. Because Jim had his own funding, he was able to start working with Dr. Swartz right away. Jim is excited about their project. He explains: "Cell-free protein synthesis systems have the potential to provide researchers with an extremely flexible and simple alternative to fermentation for protein production. The systems could be used to facilitate protein design and studies of protein structure. Potentially, this approach also offers low-cost production for pharmaceutical and industrial proteins. Our system might even help speed discoveries leading to treatments or vaccines for diseases ranging from the common cold to AIDS."

Jim's project will contribute to these goals by increasing the efficiency of the system. The present cell-free systems are less than 30 percent efficient, and energy supply is the most expensive component in the reaction. Jim is trying to identify and remove the components responsible for the inefficiency.

Dr. Swartz says of SGF, "I think it is a wonderful program that attracts and rewards excellence. It is both important and innovative. I am involved with it through no merit of my own, and so it is a wonderful privilege to be included."