Nicholas Oberlies and Cedric Pearce look at a tray of fungal samples at Mycosynthetix in Hillsborough.

Just as drug-resistant strains of bacteria are becoming more common, so are drug-resistant parasites that prey on livestock. Without a new treatment, these parasites could disrupt the human food supply.

With a $100,000 grant from North Carolina Biotechnology Center, faculty member Nicholas Oberlies, Ph.D., and Hillsborough-based Mycosynthetix will seek a new drug to combat parasites, specifically the worms known as helminths. Global sales of anthelmintics account for more than $5 billion a year.

Oberlies, who specializes in isolating bioactive compounds from natural sources, and his lab will explore the Mycosynthetix library of more than 55,000 fungi in search of compounds with antiparasitic potential.

“Very few people have looked at using natural products to address the problem of helminths,” said Oberlies, an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry. “Our aim is to find compounds that will kill these worms without harming the host.”

Mycosynthetix is led by Cedric Pearce, Ph.D., an adjunct professor in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry and a Coleman Foundation Entrepreneurship Fellow at UNCG. Mycosynthetix owns one of the largest collections of fungi in the world and for the past 10 years has been engaged in the discovery of novel medicines and agrochemicals from these organisms. Their fungi have also been used in researching new approaches to biofuel production.

The award is part of the Biotechnology Center’s Collaborative Funding Grant program, which supports partnerships between university labs and private companies by funding postdoctoral research positions. The grant program is cosponsored by the Kenan Institute for Engineering, Technology and Science at N.C. State.

“With each award, the Collaborative Funding Grant program generates great potential for a strong university-industry partnership that could lead to a promising life-science commercial development,” said Cynthia Sollod, Ph.D., director of the Science and Technology Development Program at the Biotechnology Center.

Since its inception 15 years ago, the Collaborative Funding Grant program has provided $5 million in 85 awards. The program has resulted in 27 patents, four new companies and 150 scientific publications.

The Biotechnology Center is a private, non-profit corporation supported by the N.C. General Assembly. Its mission is to provide long-term economic and societal benefits to North Carolina by supporting biotechnology research, business, education and strategic policy statewide.

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