A professor earned a $2.6 million grant to research possible treatment for malaria and tuberculosis.
Cynthia Dowd, an associate professor of chemistry, received a five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health to lead a team of researchers at five institutions to find possible medications for these lethal diseases, according to a University release.
“Drug resistance is so rampant that we need to design new ways to treat these diseases. This is one way to keep the issue in the spotlight,” Dowd said in the release. “The fact that the NIH is putting funds into this research on infectious diseases is very significant.”
The research will examine molecules that stop a specific biochemical reaction, which can otherwise fight the pathogens that cause these diseases. Dowd’s lab will be in charge of the molecule design and chemical synthesis in the study, according to the release.
NIH, Washington University in St. Louis, George Mason University, Saint Louis University will also have labs involved in the research. The other institutions will run tuberculosis and malaria testing.
Ben Vinson, the dean of the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, said in the release that Dowd’s research is an example of institutions working together to “improve public health on a global scale.”
“We applaud researchers like her who see the value of collaboration across institutions, sharing resources and brain power to better the world,” Vinson said.