The Balunas Lab focuses on selectivity and specificity of drug action, using marine natural products chemistry to address critical questions within the broader field of chemical biology. Parasitic organisms, infectious microbes, and cancer cells all exhibit numerous biological attributes that are considerably different from those of human host or normal cells. These differences can lead to exciting new targets for discovery of therapeutic agents directed specifically towards these disease-causing organisms/cells.
Lab Research
- Drug Discovery: tunicate-associated and psychrophilic marine bacteria, selective anti-parasitic and targeted anti-cancer agents, and medicinal chemistry modifications of isolates (read more)
- Chemical Ecology: elicitation of silent biosynthetic pathways, microbes in invasive and native tunicates, climate change and microbial populations, and chemical profiles along ecological gradients (read more)
News
- A story about some of the many things that motivate me!http://today.uconn.edu/school-stories/fogarty-grant-pays-dividends-associate-professor-marcy-balunas/#/
- Check out our latest manuscript! Well done Annie and Sam!http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/15/8/250
Contact
Address:
Marcy J. Balunas, Ph.D.
University of Connecticut
69 N. Eagleville Rd. Unit 3092
Storrs, CT 06269
University of Connecticut
69 N. Eagleville Rd. Unit 3092
Storrs, CT 06269
E-mail:
Phone:
(860) 486-3051