NIH supplemental grant to Furman extends biomed research into 2026

Furman University has received a supplemental science grant from the National Institutes of Health to fund ongoing research through August 2026.

The competitive $175,000 grant, provided through SC-INBRE (the IDeA Networks for Biomedical Research Excellence) extends an existing five-year grant engaging Furman students and faculty in support of foundational studies that affect human lives, while also cultivating the next cohort of scientists and clinicians.

Since 2005, Furman has successfully competed for more than $9 million in programmatic support and individual faculty funding through this program. Collectively, SC INBRE has backed hundreds of Furman students and dozens of faculty across six science departments working to increase the knowledge about human diseases and improve health outcomes. Examples include:

• Biology Associate Professor Adi Dubash and undergraduate researchers study a special cell protein that controls cells’ ability to latch onto and migrate on the extracellular matrix, or the scaffolding-like structures that surround cells within tissues. Dubash said the research is key to having a better grasp on wound healing and tissue repair, as well as cancer metastasis.
• Working in chemistry Assistant Professor Meghan Breen’s lab, Ryan Galloway M ’25 investigates how specific molecular triggers regulate alternative carbon metabolism, or the plan-B food supply for pathogenic yeast Candida glabrata when it’s under stress. It is a process important for understanding how the harmful fungus can dodge immune response. Galloway, who graduates in December, will continue working on this project in the spring as a technician as he prepares to enter a Ph.D. program.
• Lana Geiger ’26 also works in the Breen Lab. Geiger, Galloway and other researchers are developing a genetic code expansion system to study how proteins interact with each other in C. glabrata and how the yeast is able to shield itself against antifungal drugs.
• Liyah Reed ’25, who worked in Professor George Shields’ computational chemistry lab, studied the opioid fentanyl and its analogs. Reed, building upon previous research, said the lab was homing in on the idea that each fentanyl derivative differs structurally and could have unique ways of signaling pathways in the body. “We hope understanding the drug behavior of the fentanyl derivatives will contribute to overall drug design and optimization,” she said.
• James Riley-Enriquez ’26 studies the connection between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) in the lab of Onarae Rice, professor of psychology and neuroscience and chair of the neuroscience program. “We are testing a particular drug in the lab that acts on one specific circuit in the brain. So, our research has the potential to treat both PTSD and AUD when they occur together,” Riley-Enriquez said.

The SC INBRE grant funding represents yet another example of providing high impact learning opportunities to Furman students while simultaneously contributing to solving critical scientific questions, said John Wheeler, chemistry professor and associate provost for integrative science.

“We’re equipping the next generation of biomedical scientists with immersive, hands-on experiences that bridge classroom learning with real-world research,” Wheeler said. “We are grateful to the NIH and SC INBRE for providing these resources to Furman so that our faculty-student teams can contribute to the collective understanding of human diseases and how best to prevent and treat them.”