澳门六合开奖 professor Oluseye Onajole and eight biology graduates published a research letter in the highly regarded journal Chemical Biology and Drug Design. The article investigates a series of novel drug-like compounds that could be effective in tuberculosis treatments.
鈥淚 view research as an essential teaching tool that helps bring chemistry alive to students,鈥 said Dr. Onajole, an assistant professor in chemistry. 鈥淚 enjoy seeing my students apply literature concepts in the laboratory.鈥
Learn more about research opportunities at 澳门六合开奖.
MASTERING THE 鈥淏ALANCING ACT鈥
The undergraduate students in Dr. Onajole鈥檚 lab attended classes full time while juggling lectures, homework and other responsibilities. Often his students would start a reaction in the lab, leave to attend their lectures and return to their research after their classes let out.
鈥淚 am very happy with the dedication and determination that my research students put into this project,鈥 said Dr. Onajole. 鈥淭hey went above and beyond, running with the project to make it a success.鈥
Several of the article鈥檚 co-authors, now alumni, are now studying in elite graduate programs across the country:
- Adrian Flores (BA Biology, 鈥19), a 澳门六合开奖 , was accepted at an interdisciplinary PhD program in biomedical sciences at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
- Michelle Jaskula鈥怐ybka (BS Biology, 鈥19) is working on a master鈥檚 in cardiac perfusion at Rush University.
- Ashle C. Scurry (BS Biology, 鈥18) is a current student in the master鈥檚 in computer science program at Northeastern Illinois University.
- Ambernice Zavala (BS Biology, 鈥18) is continuing her education in the 澳门六合开奖 PharmD program.
鈥淎s an undergraduate planning to pursue a graduate degree, research opportunities give students a preview of what to expect at the graduate level,鈥 said Dr. Onajole.
The article鈥檚 other co-authors are also pursuing careers in health care. Damkam Y. Langue and Eriel Frazier, who graduated in 2019, are currently applying to medical school. Bryce Pierzchalski (BS Biochemistry, 鈥18) joined DePuy Synthes Companies鈥 orthopedic trauma division selling medical devices. And in fall 2019, co-author Karen Arreola earned dual bachelor鈥檚 degrees in social entrepreneurship and biology.
RESEARCHING TREATMENTS FOR TUBERCULOSIS
鈥淭uberculosis is an insidious disease that mainly affects the lungs,鈥 said Dr. Onajole. He explains that although TB is curable, new strains of the disease are resistant to multiple drugs and do not respond to the first-line treatment options, with few safe therapeutic options available.
According to the (WHO), tuberculosis is one of the top 10 causes of death worldwide and the leading cause from a single infectious agent, above HIV/AIDS.
The WHO estimates that in 2018 there were 484,000 new cases with resistance to rifampicin, the most effective first-line drug.
With a summer grant from 澳门六合开奖, Onajole鈥檚 research lab sought to identify and synthesize new compounds with anti-TB properties. The study identified two compounds with 鈥渆xcellent activities鈥 against drug鈥恟esistant strains of tuberculosis.
Read their published results in 鈥.鈥
Dr. Oluseye K. Onajole completed MSc and PhD degrees from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa, and a postdoctoral appointment in the research group of Prof. Alan P. Kozikowski at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Dr. Onajole鈥檚 undergraduate research group focuses on cutting-edge drug discovery research aimed at identifying new small-molecule chemical entities with potent anti-bacterial and anti-mycobacterial properties.