College Profile 2023

Significant Research Grants

EPIC COBRE PHASE 2 Eukaryotic pathogens cause some of the most devastating and intractable diseases in humans. The global impact of these diseases is immense. The Eukaryotic Pathogens Innovation Center (EPIC) will continue to be at the forefront of biomedical research on these pathogens through an $11 million COBRE Phase 2 grant from the National Institutes of Health.

NSF ANSWERS In recent years, solar storms have knocked out the power grid, plunging an entire Cana dian province into darkness, and caused dozens of satellites launched by SpaceX to fall back to earth and burn. Department of Physics and Astronomy Associate Professor Xian Lu is leading a team of researchers to study the factors that drive space weather in order to improve forecasts and minimize disruptions and damage. The research is part of a three-year $900,000 grant from the National Science Foundation’s Grand Chal lenges in Integrative Geospace Sciences: Advancing National Space Weather Expertise and Research toward Societal Resilience (ANSWERS).

NIH DISEASE RESEARCH Department of Chemistry Professor Ken Marcus was awarded a $1.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop new tools that would allow exosomes to be used to diagnose disease or as vectors for therapeutics. Exosomes, found in all bodily fluids, are key agents in intracellular communication and exhibit protein biomarkers from their cells of origin, making them promising candidates for the detection of disease.

NIAID FUNGAL DRUG RESEARCH GRANT Fungal diseases are increasing both in incidence and geographic range due to the chang ing climate and increasing international travel and trade. Powered by a $1.9 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Department of Genetics and Biochemistry Associate Professor Lukasz Kozubowski’s research focus es on finding safer and more effective drugs that target fungal infections.

14

CLEMSON UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF SCIENCE | 2023 COLLEGE PROFILE