Marcy Balunas, Ph.D., and Associate Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, was recently awarded the 2018 ASP Matt Suffness/Young Investigator award by the American Society of Pharmcognosy (ASP) at their Annual Meeting in Lexington, Kentucky. The prestigious award is given to younger investigators who have shown outstanding promise as independent natural product scientists.

Pharmacognosy is the study of natural product molecules (typically secondary metabolites) that are useful for their medicinal, ecological, gustatory, or other functional properties.* Balunas’ research group focuses on host-associated microbial communities as unique sources for natural products drug discovery, using these to search for new, targeted drug leads and to address critical questions within the broader field of chemical ecology.

Balunas has ongoing projects studying microbial communities associated with the Hawaiian bobtail squid, fungus-growing ants, and marine tunicates (or sea squirts), with a more recent focus on human-associated microbial communities. These host-associated bacteria are likely used for chemical defense and are being looked at as possible biological properties against human pathogens.

“My research,” said Balunas “ties together an in-depth understanding of how secondary metabolites function in their environment with the application of these insights to discover new medicines for a wide range of human diseases. I am thankful not only for the recognition through the ASP Suffness Award, but also for the opportunity to present my research program to the whole conference during the award symposium.”

Visit the Balunas Research Group online for more information about Balunas’ research endeavors.

*ASP