Chemistry professor Jonathan Schlebach leads team awarded NIH funding for cystic fibrosis research

2023-10-18

Writer(s): Steve Scherer

Jonathan Schlebach, associate professor of biochemistry, is leading a team of scientists awarded funding from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute — a division of the National Institutes of Health.

The four-year, $2.7 million project will fuse new techniques in biochemistry and computational modeling to characterize a large array of genetic variants associated with cystic fibrosis. The results will provide new tools that can help match emerging therapeutics to specific patients based on their genetic profiles.

Cystic fibrosis is a progressive, genetic disease that affects the lungs, pancreas, and other organs. According to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, there are close to 40,000 children and adults living with cystic fibrosis in the United States.

In addition to Schlebach, investigators include Lars Plate (Vanderbilt University), Jens Meiler (Vanderbilt University/ Leipzig University), and Kathryn Oliver (Emory University.)