![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/218\/2025\/04\/Liyah-Reed-25-EE-Just-winner-400.jpg\")
Liyah Reed ’25. Photo provided<\/p><\/div>\n
Reed, who worked in chemistry Professor George Shields<\/a>\u2019 computational chemistry lab, studied the opioid fentanyl and its analogs in work first led by undergraduate researchers and published<\/a> last fall.<\/p>\n Reed is building on that research, further investigating fentanyl and its 33 derivatives in solution.<\/p>\n \u201cFentanyl has a fast onset and adverse effects such as addiction and respiratory depression,\u201d she said. \u201cWe believe the opioid\u2019s high flexibility plays a role in its ability to bind to the mu opioid receptor \u2013 the signaling protein on nerve cells responsible for pain-relief and other effects.<\/p>\n She is \u201choming in on the idea that each fentanyl derivative differs structurally,\u201d and \u201ccould have unique ways of signaling these pathways in the body.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUltimately, we hope understanding the drug behavior of the fentanyl derivatives will contribute to overall drug design and optimization,\u201d said Reed, who gave a 10-minute presentation of her findings at the symposium before about 200 attendees.<\/p>\n Reed\u2019s win represents the second time in three years that a Furman student has won best undergraduate paper, said John Wheeler<\/a>, associate provost for integrative science and professor of chemistry. Abby Stapleton<\/a> \u201924, received the award in 2023.<\/p>\n For as long as he can remember, Riley-Enriquez, originally from the Detroit area, has held a passion for neuroscience, and the presence of a robust program at Furman was one of the reasons he chose the university.<\/p>\n At the SC INBRE Science Symposium, Riley-Enriquez presented his research on the connection between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) in the lab of Onarae Rice<\/a>, professor of psychology and neuroscience and chair of the neuroscience program.<\/p>\n Riley-Enriquez investigated \u201cthe strong relationship between AUD and PTSD with a specific focus on trying to develop therapeutics for it. 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Riley-Enriquez, one of 16 Furman students to attend the NIH-sanctioned meeting, said he was \u201csurprised\u201d and \u201cdeeply honored\u201d to receive the best poster award in his category.<\/p>\n The symposium drew 240 participants from 14 South Carolina colleges and universities, and included faculty presentations, student flash talks and more than 100 student posters.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was really exciting for me to talk to somebody who had no prior understanding of the study and have them grasp it and enjoy what I was able to present,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n High-impact learning experiences such as attending conferences, presenting research, networking with peers and professors from other universities and hearing about different avenues of research are part of The Furman Advantage<\/a>.<\/p>\n Furman students often perform well at SC INBRE, winning honors in neuroscience in 2023<\/a> and earning the top prize in three categories in 2024<\/a>.<\/p>\n Wheeler said Reed\u2019s and Riley-Enriquez\u2019 successes reflect the undergraduates\u2019 hard work as well as the collegial partnerships forged between Furman faculty and students.<\/p>\n Reed is preparing to publish her findings. After graduation, she\u2019ll take a couple of gap years to gain clinical experience before going on to med school to specialize in neuropediatrics.<\/p>\n \u201cDr. Shields has been a wonderful advisor and mentor through my entire time working with him, especially during the summer when I took on the opioid project,\u201d she said. \u201cHe has been patient, encouraging and super supportive.\u201d<\/p>\n Rice has served as principal investigator, academic advisor and professor for Riley-Enriquez, who also has his sights set on med school to study neuropsychiatric conditions.<\/p>\n \u201cDr. Rice has been there as a mentor for me,\u201d he said. \u201cFrom the time I first got here, he has been present in every way \u2013 helping me develop into a scientist.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" James Riley-Enriquez ’26 and Liyah Reed ’25 take home awards for best poster and best paper, respectively, at regional conferences earlier this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":257,"featured_media":37067,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,53,77,79,35,61,55],"tags":[3349,3348,3255,513,3279,2169],"class_list":["post-37064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-chemistry","category-integrative-research","category-neuroscience","category-parent-news","category-the-furman-advantage","category-undergraduate-research","tag-alcohol-use-disorder","tag-aud","tag-mu-opioid-receptor","tag-neuroscience","tag-opioids","tag-ptsd"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/257"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37064"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37064\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37073,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37064\/revisions\/37073"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}