CBID Archive News


2020 News

Tilvalawa Awarded CBID Research Project for 2020

Ronak Tilvawala, Assistant Professor, Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas, is the newest recipient of a CBID research project award.  She is a mid-year replacement due to a graduation from CBID CoBRE. Dr. Tilvawala's project title is Host Substrate Profiling of SARS-CoV-2 Virus Protease.


Experts Say Influenza Shot is Especially Important Amid COVID-19 Pandemic


Fehr, CBID Research Project Awardee, Granted New Project

Anthony R. Fehr, Assistant Professor, Department of Molecular Biosciences, was awarded $361,008 by National Institutes of Health for his project entitled Determining Mechanisms of Innate Immune Modulation By ADP-Ribosylation. This award is part of the Maximizing Investigators' Research Award (MIRA) initiative, designed to increase the efficiency of NIGMS funding by providing investigators with greater stability and flexibility, thereby enhancing scientific productivity and the chances for important breakthroughs and also help distribute funding more widely among the nation's highly talented and promising investigators.


KCUR – Up To Date: Kansas Coronavirus Researcher


COVID-19 Research at KU is Exploring Medicinal Answers and Beyond

Kalamvoki, CBID Researcher, Earns Pilot Grant for Research Project to Fight COVID-19 Pandemic


Sathyamoorthi Awarded CBID Research Project for 2020

Shyam Sathyamoorthi, Assistant Professor, Medicinal Chemistry, University of Kansas, is the newest recipient of a CBID research project award.  He is a mid-year replacement due to a graduation from CBID CoBRE. Dr. Sathyamoorthi's project title is First Enantioselective Syntheses of Bactobolins A, B, and Analogue Antibiotics.

Fehr, Anthony: "SARS Antibodies Block Coronavirus Infections, Study Shows"

Article from the San Francisco Chronicle by Cynthia Dizikes


Fehr, Anthony: "Monster or Machine? A profile of the Coronavirus at 6 months"

Article from the New York Times by Alan Burdick


Fehr, Anthony: "New Frontiers Pilot Awards Support COVID-19 Research"

Article from the KU Medical Center News by Kristi Birch

CBID's Drs. Bose, Chandler, and Slusky Receive Promotions, Tenure


Fehr, Anthony: "Experts Offer Input on the Safety of Outdoor Graduations During Pandemic"

Article from the Houston Chronicle by Paul Wedding


2020 CBID Pilot Project Awardees Announced

Below are the recipients of the CBID pilot project awards for the year 2020.

  • Steven Bloom, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Kansas

    Project Title: Illuminating Old Catalysts for the Synthesis of Anti-Infective HIV Peptides

  • Zarko Boskovic, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Kansas

    Project Title: Synthetic chemistry elaboration of fragments targeting the bacterial type III secretion

  • Justin Hutchison, Professor, Dept. of Civil/Environ/Arch Engineering, University of Kansas

    Project Title: Phage-protein based removal of pathogenic non-tuberculous Mycobacterium from drinking water

  • Shyam Sathyamoorthi, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Kansas 

    Project Title:  First Enantioselective Syntheses of Bactobolins A, B, and Analogue Antiobiotics


Fehr, Anthony: "A COVID GUIDE: Understanding the "S" Factor"

Article from the Times of India. TNN


Fehr, Anthony: "COVID-19 Cases Continue to Rise While Vaccine Research Creeps Along"

KMZU100.7 by Glenn Fuseliere

Fehr, Anthony: "Researchers Say Air Conditioning is Linked to Coronavirus Outbreak in China"

Article from AZ Family Channel 3 by Whitney Clark


Fehr, Anthony: "Kansas Coronavirus Update: Gov. Laura Kelly, Legislators Earmark $17 Million for Struggling Hospitals"

Article from The Topeka Capital Journal by Tim Carpenter


Fehr, Anthony: "When Experts Attack! Coronavirus Was Not Engineered in a Lab"

KU News Podcast by Brendan Lynch


Fehr, Anthony: "Pandemic: COVID-19 - The Way It Works"

Podcast by Maxfield Rivers


Fehr, Anthony: "Coronavirus Researcher at KU Shares What’s Alarmed, Surprised Him About COVID-19"

Fox4-KC by Lisa McCormick.


Fehr, Anthony: "Lafayette County and Ray County Confirm New Cases"

KMZU 100.7 by Glenn Fuselier

Fehr, Anthony: "What Should You Wear Outside to Protect Yourself From Coronavirus?"

Article from GQ by Cam Wolf


Fehr, Anthony: "Fact checking common rumors about the novel coronavirus"

Article from The University Daily Kansan by Connor Heaton


Fehr, Anthony: "A coronavirus expert from KU predicted this pandemic—here’s what he says will happen next"

Article from Kansas City Magazine by Martin Cizmar


Fehr, Anthony: "Qué Son Los Coronavirus, Cuántos Hay y Qué Efectos Tienen Sobre Los Humanos"

BBC News Mundo by Analía Llorente


Fehr, Anthony: "Coronavirus in the Kansas City Area"

KCUR (Radio) by Gina Kaufmann, Mackenzie Martin & Noah Taborda


Fehr, Anthony: "Theory that Coronavirus Escaped from a Lab Lacks Evidence"

Article from The Scientist by Emily Makowski


Fehr, Anthony: "Coronavirus in the Kansas City Area"

KCUR (Radio) by Gina Kaufmann, Mackenzie Martin & Noah Taborda


Fehr, Anthony: "A virologist on Covid-19"

The Morning Dispatch


Fehr, Anthony: Interview with Daria Abakumova. The Central TV Show; NTV Broadcasting Company


Fehr, Anthony: "How the Coronavirus Can Kill People"

Article from The Washington Post by Carolyn Y. Johnson


Fehr, Anthony: "Inside a Lab Where Scientists are Working Urgently to Fight the Coronavirus Outbreak"

Article from The Washington Post by Carolyn Y. Johnson


Fehr, Anthony: "Scientists Compare Novel Coronavirus with SARS and MERS Viruses"

Article from The Scientist by Abby Olena


Fehr, Anthony: "Fake News: Vitamin C Does NOT Slow or Stop Coronavirus"

Article from Lead Stories by Chelsea Carter


Fehr, Anthony: "Interview with Catherine Brierton. KUJH-TV"

Fehr, Anthony: "'That's my hometown': Novel Coronavirus Epidemic Felt From Wuhan to Lawrence"

Article from The University Daily Kansan by Emma Bascom


Fehr, Anthony: "Global Coronavirus Hitting Close To Home"

KMZU 100.7 by Glenn Fuselier


Fehr, Anthony: "Coronavirus Isn’t Worth Panicking Over In The U.S., But Wash Your Hands"

Article from Romper by Lindsay E Mack


Fehr, Anthony: "Scientists Scrutinize New Coronavirus Genome for Answers"

Article from The Scientist by Emma Yasinski


Fehr, Anthony: "Japan reports case of SARS-like virus that sickened dozens in China"

ABC News by Erin Schumaker

2019 News

New 2019 CBID Research Project Awarded

Dr. Anthony Fehr, Assistant Professor, Department of Molecular Biosciences, has been awarded a CBID Research project entitled "Deciphering the distinct roles of macrodomain ADP-ribose binding and hydrolysis in coronoavirus replication."


Chemical Biology of Infectious Disease (CBID) CoBRE - Pilot Project RFA

2020 Request for Applications (RFA) has been released, calling for pilot projects submitted to the Chemical Biology of Infectious Disease, an NIH CoBRE center. Our overall mission is to support four pilot projects at a time, to be selected through competition described in the attached RFA. The description must demonstrate a good fit of the project to the CoBRE theme and indicate an ability to make use of our CoBRE Core Labs as described in the RFA.

2019 CBID Pilot Project Awardees Announced

Below are the recipients of the CBID pilot project awards for the year 2019.

  • Brian Ackley, Associate Professor, Dept. of Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas

    Project Title: On again, off again:  Is pH a critical factor in pathogen killing?

  • Josephine R. Chandler, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas

    Project Title: Chemical biology studies of malleilactone, a small-molecule toxin produced by Burkholderia pseudomallei

  • Philip  Hardwidge, Professor, Dept. of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, Kansas  State University

    Project Title: Bacterial glycosyltransferase inhibitors as anti-virulence compounds

  • Wolfram R. Zückert, Professor, Depts. of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics and Immunology, University of Kansas Medical Center

    Project Title: Small molecule inhibitors of bacterial surface lipoprotein secretion

Chemical Biology for Infectious Diseases (CBID) CoBRE - Research Project RFA 2019

2019 Request for Applications (RFA) calling for research projects submitted to the Chemical Biology of Infectious Disease, an NIH CoBRE center.  Our overall mission is to support three research projects at a time, to be selected through competition described in the attached RFA.  The description must demonstrate a good fit of the project to the CoBRE theme and indicate an ability to make use of our CoBRE Core Labs as described in the RFA.  

Farrell Awarded CBID Research Project for 2019

Mark P. Farrell, Assistant Professor, Medicinal Chemistry, University of Kansas, is the newest recipient of a CBID research project award.  He is a mid-year replacement due to a graduation from CBID CoBRE, and his project will continue through the next project year.  Dr. Farrell's project title is Synthetic Antibody Mimics as Antimalarial Agents

2018 News

CBID Graduate Wins New Award

Brandon DeKosky, Assistant Professor, Departments of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, was awarded $15,150 by the University of Colorado at Denver for his project entitled: “T cell responses shared among triple negative breast cancer patients”.


New 2018 CBID Pilot Project Awarded

Dr. Brian Ackley, Associate Professor, Department of Molecular Biosciences, has been awarded a CBID Pilot project entitled "On again/Off again: Is BLI-3 a ROS-activated pathogen killer?"


Shames Awarded New CBID Research Project for 2018

The recipient of the CBID research project award for the year 2018:

  • Stephanie Shames, Assistant Professor, Division of Biology, University of Kansas
    Project Title: Chemical inhibition of Legionella pneumophila metaeffector function

CBID Graduate Wins New Award

Brandon DeKosky, Assistant Professor, Departments of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, was awarded $60,000 by the United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation for his project entitled: “Antibody response analysis to protein drugs.”

Prisinzano Earns Innovator Award for his Work on Drug Dependence

LAWRENCE — Thomas Prisinzano, University of Kansas professor of medicinal chemistry, has earned the first Innovator Award from the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD).

America’s opioid addiction crisis kills thousands of people annually. Repeated use of opioids often leads to patient tolerance and addiction. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drug overdoses killed 63,632 Americans in 2016. Nearly two-thirds of these deaths involved a prescription or illicit opioid.

Opioid medications bind to mu opioid receptors in brain regions that regulate pain perception. The resulting pain relief and euphoric effects often become addictive to the patient and, over time, the patient will need increasingly higher dosages to achieve the same relief.

In 2007, Prisinzano discovered herkinorin, an opioid analgesic or narcotic pain reliever that shares properties with the natural product salvinorin A. This finding led to the development of mu opioid receptor-based agonists currently in clinical trials as analgesics with limited tolerance and dependence, constipation and life-threatening respiratory depression.

Established in 1929, the CPDD is the oldest and largest organization in the U.S. dedicated to advancing a scientific approach to substance use and addictive disorders. The Innovator Award recognizes researchers who have developed innovative approaches in basic science, clinical research or treatment and prevention science with potential for significant effects in the field of drug dependence.

Andrew Coop, professor and associate dean for academic affairs at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, is a CPDD leadership executive committee member and chair of its awards committee. Coop said Prisinzano and his work are emblematic of the Innovator Award.

“The CPDD Innovator Award was established to recognize a scientific breakthrough in the area of drug abuse, and it is fitting that Dr. Prisinzano was recognized as the inaugural recipient. His seminal discovery of unique opioid analgesics has the potential to significantly impact the opioid crisis and lead to safer nonaddicting painkillers,” Coop said.   

The KU School of Pharmacy researcher received the award June 11 during the Innovator Symposium at the CPDD 80th Annual Scientific Meeting in San Diego.

“I am truly humbled to be the inaugural recipient of this prestigious award from CPDD. This is a great recognition of the hard work from a talented team of postdoctoral fellows, graduate students and myself,” Prisinzano said.

CBID Researcher Leads New Study with Important Insights on Fighting Antibiotic Resistance

LAWRENCE — Different types of efflux pump proteins, which are the key focus of Gram-negative bacteria antibiotic resistance, might have evolved independently instead of, as previously thought, all from a common ancestor, according to a new study led by a University of Kansas computational biologist.

The discovery could be crucial in future research advancing treatments to mediate antibiotic resistance of bacteria strains such as E. coli, salmonella, shigella, meningococcus and others.

"Antibiotic resistance is all about evolution; it’s about proteins evolving functions to allow the bacteria to survive and to ensure bacterial evolutionary success," said Joanna Slusky, assistant professor of molecular biosciences and computational biology. "By learning from nature, we can learn the evolutionary steps and then the question becomes, can we design proteins using evolutionary steps that will ultimately ensure our own genetic success?"

Slusky works on designing proteins that will resensitize bacteria to common antibiotics and on overcoming drug-resistant superbugs.

She was the lead author of the study "Efflux Pumps Represent Possible Evolutionary Convergence onto the β-Barrel Fold" in the journal Structure. Co-authors include KU computational biology graduate students Meghan Franklin and Ryan Feehan, who also served as a KU undergraduate research assistant in the Center for Computational Biology. Other co-authors are Sergey Nepomnyachiy and Rachel Kolodny, both of the Department of Computer Science of the University of Haifa, Mount Carmel in Israel as well as Nir Ben-Tal from the Tel Aviv University. Nepomnyachiy is also affiliated with the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Tel Aviv University.

The researchers examined proteins called beta barrels that are in the bacterial surface. The study started by comparing most types of beta barrels with the beta barrels of efflux pumps. In efflux pumps the beta barrel forms the outer crown of the large pumps that push antibiotics out of the cell.

In examining the sequence-level variation of these beta barrels, the researchers discovered the beta barrels that were involved in antibiotic resistance lacked sequence linkage to other beta barrels and also had structural differences. This led them to conclude that the efflux pump beta barrels and the other beta barrels may not have divergently evolved from a common ancestor.

Instead the pressures of nature — through convergent evolution — may have forced bacteria to develop both types of barrel proteins separately.

"We went from saying, 'How are these related?' To saying, 'Oh, we think they're not related, and what does having a different structure mean for the mechanism of antibiotic resistance?'" Slusky said.

It has been a challenge for scientists to document the homology of outer-membrane beta barrels because of the extreme bacterial sequence variation making proteins seem more different. Also, the counterinfluence of the high sequence similarity required for the strands of beta barrels makes proteins look more similar.

There are about 100 varieties of outer membrane proteins in each species of Gram-negative bacteria.

Slusky said there clearly is a need for bacteria to utilize efflux pumps to move certain compounds from the cell, but in the context of defeating drug-resistant superbugs they can hold a key piece of the puzzle.

"The efflux pumps are the very same pumps that we're trying to target to remediate antibiotic resistance," Slusky said.

The evolutionary process the researchers documented promotes the hypothesis that the beta barrels in the efflux pumps function similar to the iris of an eye that expands and contracts due to the level of light in a person's environment, she said.

"We're going to be looking out for this iris-like mechanism," Slusky said. "If this is the mechanism for antibiotic resistance, then the next question is, how do we disable that mechanism?"

As part of the paper, the researchers also found that autotransporters may be the best-known models for the primordial outer-membrane beta barrel structure, giving biologists clues to how the beta barrel essentially became stitched together over time.

"Understanding evolution tells us where biology was, which is interesting to people because it tells us our own history and the Earth's history," Slusky said. "But it also tells us where we could be going and what mechanisms are possible. It tells us how might life evolve and what tools can biologists use to change and diversity the molecules at our disposal."

2018 CBID Pilot Project Awardees Announced

Below are the recipients of the CBID pilot project awards for the year 2018.

  • Cory J. Berkland, Solon E. Summerfield Distinguished Professor, Depts. of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Chemical & Petroleum Engineering;University of Kansas

    Project Title: Modification of antibiotics to improve lung retention after inhalation

  • Jeffrey Bose, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Microbiology, Molecular Genetics & Immunology, University of Kansas Medical Center

    Project Title: Biochemical Characterization and Immunological Consequence of MRSA Fatty Acid Kinase

  • Eric J. Deeds, Associate Professor, Dept. of Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas

    Project Title: Novel strategies for proteasome inhibition in Mycobacterium tuberculosis

  • Michael Zhuo Wang, Associate Professor, Dept. of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Kansas

    Project Title: Identification of CYP5122A1 inhibitors as therapeutic agents for leishmaniasis


Chemical Biology for Infectious Diseases (CBID) CoBRE - research project RFA

2018 Request for Applications (RFA) calling for research projects submitted to the Chemical Biology of Infectious Disease, an NIH CoBRE center.  Our overall mission is to support three research projects at a time, to be selected through competition described in the attached RFA.  The description must demonstrate a good fit of the project to the CoBRE theme and indicate an ability to make use of our CoBRE Core Labs as described in the RFA.  

Prisinzano Wins Inaugural Innovator Award

Dr. Thomas Prisinzano, MDCM faculty, was recently awarded the inaugural 2018 Innovator Award by The College on Problems of Drug Dependence. The College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD), formerly the Committee on Problems of Drug Dependence, has been in existence since 1929 and is the longest standing group in the United States addressing problems of drug dependence and abuse. The Innovator Award recognizes individuals who have developed innovative approaches in basic science, clinical research, or treatment and prevention science that reflect ground-breaking strides with potential for significant impact in the field of drug dependence. Such innovation can be in any research area, including methodological approaches or paradigms, drug or assay discoveries, drug delivery, laboratory procedures, analytic methods, conceptual advances, assessment/measurement, treatment approaches, prevention strategies or implementation. The Innovator Award is not meant to be recognition of lifetime achievement. Emphasis is placed on innovation, preferably relatively recent innovation, and potential impact.

2017 News

DeKosky, CBID Pilot Project Awardee, granted new project

Brandon DeKosky, Assistant Professor, Departments of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, was awarded $250,000 by Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc. for his project entitled: “High-throughput screening for rapid optimization of antibodies to improve public health.”

Chemical Biology for Infectious Diseases (CBID) CoBRE - pilot project RFA

2018 Request for Applications (RFA) calling for pilot projects submitted to the Chemical Biology of Infectious Disease, an NIH CoBRE center.  Our overall mission is to support four pilot projects at a time, to be selected through competition described in the attached RFA.  The description must demonstrate a good fit of the project to the CoBRE theme and indicate an ability to make use of our CoBRE Core Labs as described in the RFA.  

Biswas, CBID Pilot Project Awardee, granted new NIH award

Indranil  Biswas, Professor, Dept. of Microbiology, Molecular Genetics & Immunology, University of Kansas Medical Center, was awarded $363,375 by the National Institutes of Health for a new R01 grant entitled: "Peptide Mediated Cell-Cell Communications in Streptococcus Mutans."


Clift awarded new CBID Research Project for 2017

The recipient of the CBID research project award for the year 2017:

  • Michael Clift, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Kansas
    Project Title: Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Benzophenanthridine Alkaloid Natural Products and Derivatives

CBID Pilot Project Awardees Announced

Below are the recipients of CBID pilot project awards for the year 2016.

  • Indranil Biswas, Professor, Dept. of Microbiology, Molecular Genetics & Immunology, University of Kansas Medical Center
    Project Title: Developing Assays to Identify Inhibitors of Hfq of Acinetobacter Baumannii
  • David Davido, Associate Professor, Dept. of Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas
    Project Title: The Chemical Biology of HSV Gene Expression
  • Brandon DeKosky, Assistant Professor, Depts. of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Kansas
    Project Title: A New Experimental Platform to Analyze anti-gB Antibodies in Human B Cells
  • Revathi Govind, Assistant Professor of the Division of Biology, Kansas State University
    Project Title: Curtailing Clostridium Difficile Virulence

 

2016 News

Yang, CBID Research Project Awardee, granted new project

Zhilong Yang, Assistant Professor, Divison of Biology, Kansas State University, was awarded $412,500 by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for his project entitled: “Selective Translation Conferred by the Poly(A) Leader of Vaccinia Virus MRNAs.”

Inaugural Inventor Prize Recognizes KU Researcher

LAWRENCE – A University of Kansas professor has been selected as one of the five inaugural recipients of a major fellowship for outstanding inventors for her work to combat superbug resistance to antibiotic drugs.

The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation announced Joanna Slusky, assistant professor of molecular biosciences and computational biology, as a Moore Inventor Fellow. This new fellowship program recognizes early-career innovators at U.S. universities with a high potential to accelerate progress in scientific research, environmental conservation and patient care.

Slusky’s invention is a protein that will resensitize bacteria to common antibiotics, thereby overcoming drug-resistant superbugs. Her invention could have a global effect on antibiotic resistance and re-establish the efficacy of antibiotics.

“This is a highly competitive award. For Joanna to be selected among the first class of recipients speaks volumes to her talents as a researcher and innovator,” said Carl Lejuez, dean of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. “Her invention holds tremendous promise, and I am thrilled to see her recognized among the premier early-career researchers in the U.S.”

Each fellow will receive a total of $825,000 over three years to drive their invention forward, including $50,000 per year from their home institution as commitment to these outstanding individuals. Beginning with these five fellows in 2016, the foundation will invest nearly $34 million during the next 10 years to support 50 Moore Inventor Fellows.

Nominations for the award were open only to Association of American Universities (AAU) institutions and 15 additional institutions from the top 50 National Institutes of Health-funded medical schools. Slusky’s nomination was supported by the KU Office of Research.

“Joanna’s work and recognition build on a legacy of entrepreneurial research at KU, especially in the areas of medicine and drug development,” said James Tracy, vice chancellor for research. “Her research shows significant potential to help safeguard antibiotics, one of the most revolutionary advancements in modern medicine.”

Slusky joined the KU faculty in 2014 after studying at Princeton University and the University of Pennsylvania, with postdoctoral positions at Stockholm University in Sweden and Fox Chase Cancer Center in Pennsylvania. She has received grants and fellowships from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. She uses both computational and experimental methods for protein design, a sophisticated approach aimed at practical outcomes in basic and clinical science. Her lab is focused on the mechanisms of outer membrane proteins and their potential in cancer treatment, drug applications and environmental remediation.

In 1965, Gordon Moore predicted the doubling of components on an integrated circuit every 18 months. From careful observation of an emerging trend, Moore extrapolated that computing would dramatically increase in power, and decrease in relative cost, at an exponential pace. This observation helped fuel the technological advancement and acceleration we have seen in the past 50 years. With the creation of the Moore Inventor Fellows, the foundation hopes to enable breakthroughs that accelerate progress over the next 50 years. 

“We are investing in promising scientist-inventor-problem solvers with a passion for inventing – like Gordon Moore himself,” said Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg, president of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. “By providing support to these early-career researchers, we can give them the freedom to try out new ideas that could make a real and positive difference.”

The fellows will be recognized at an event later today at The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, California.

The Department of Molecular Biosciences and the Center for Computational Biology are part of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, which is home to more than 50 departments, programs and centers. Through innovative research and teaching, the College emphasizes interdisciplinary education, global awareness and experiential learning. The College is KU's broadest, most diverse academic unit.