A research program at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory that is looking for the key to early detection of cancers and other diseases is receiving $4.8 million from the state's Life Sciences Discovery Fund.

Richard Smith and his team are studying proteomics, which involves analyzing blood proteins believed to be associated with cancers and diseases such as diabetes and liver disease.

Smith wants to develop technology to find blood proteins that reveal early signs of chronic liver disease. The goal is to be able to diagnose a condition without need for a liver biopsy.

If an effective protein biomarker system can be perfected, it potentially could help treat more than 4,000 people who are diagnosed each year with liver disease caused by the hepatitis C virus, Smith said.

The grant to PNNL is one of five awarded by the Life Sciences Discovery Fund to Washington state-based life sciences organizations. The awards totaled $22 million.

Money for the grant programs comes from Washington's share of bonus payments under the Master Tobacco Settlement, involving multistate lawsuits with tobacco companies.

"This group of awardees is the first to be funded through this mechanism," said Lee Huntsman, fund executive director, in a prepared statement.

The five life-science research programs chosen were from about 75 proposals.

The other awards are:

w Gail Jarvik of the University of Washington for $5.3 million to develop a system for analyzing large amounts of genetic material in order to learn more about treating disease.

w Patricia Kuhl at the University of Washington for $4 million to create a regional child brain imaging center.

w Gerald Nepom of Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason for $5.6 million to develop immunology profiling to improve diagnosis and treatment of Type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis and lupus.

w Martin Cheever at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center for $2.2 million to develop a clinical trials program for early stage cancers by discovering new cancer-fighting drugs.