Pharmacy Professor Lands Prestigious Grant to Study Underexplored Bacteria

“The short-term benefits of this work will be for the research community, with the long-term benefits being the development of new drugs,” said Cole Stevens, a professor in the School of Pharmacy’s Department of BioMolecular Sciences and the recipient of the National Institutes of Health’s highly competitive Research Project Grant, or R01 grant.

The award will cover four years of research, during which time Stevens and his team will work to help accelerate the study of myxobacteria. There is currently limited training worldwide on the logistics of studying the bacteria.

“Ultimately, I work with an understudied group of bacteria, myxobacteria, and this funding enables my lab to develop tools that might lower barriers preventing other scientists from working with myxobacteria,” Stevens said. “This is important because myxobacteria are a proven source of drugs.”

Natural products produced by bacteria are a critical resource for the discovery of new therapeutics. Cole has been working with myxobacteria for close to 20 years.

“My team discovers new species of myxobacteria, nine last year, and makes them publicly available,” he said. “By doing this, we generate genetic data and identify biological features that may help make new natural substances. 

This grant will help us improve this process and create useful scientific tools, thereby making this bacteria easier to study.”

School of Pharmacy Dean Donna Strum praised Stevens for his

“We are thrilled that Dr. Stevens has received a highly competitive NIH R01 grant to advance groundbreaking research on myxobacteria, paving the way for future drug discoveries,” Strum said. “This award is a testament to his expertise and impactful contributions to the field.”