Ferguson College student research provides hope for individuals with cystic fibrosis
Wednesday, May 7, 2025
Media Contact: Kristin Knight | Communications and Marketing, OSU Agriculture | 405-744-1130 | kristin.knight@okstate.edu
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation reports that the rare genetic disease affects nearly 40,000 people in the U.S.
Elijah Brown, a biochemistry and molecular biology senior in the Oklahoma State University Ferguson College of Agriculture, has spent most of his college career engaged in new drug discovery research to improve quality of life for people with cystic fibrosis.
“Specifically, we’re trying to find new drugs to treat infections caused by non-tuberculous mycobacteria, a group of environmental bacteria found in soil, water and dust,” Brown said.
Cystic fibrosis affects the lungs, pancreas and other organs in humans. Chronic lung infections caused by non-tuberculous mycobacteria are becoming increasingly common among people with the disease and are one of the leading causes of illness and death for these individuals, Brown said.
Developing new drugs is important because non-tuberculous mycobacterial infections are difficult to treat, said Dr. Yong Cheng, assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
“By experimenting with potent compounds, our goal is to find a new drug to increase the treatment outcome for cystic fibrosis patients with these infections,” Cheng said. “In my lab, undergraduate students are engaged in research focused on non-tuberculous mycobacteria and understanding why patients are more susceptible to infections.”
When Brown joined Cheng’s lab his sophomore year, he began testing different small-molecule compounds through a rigorous drug screening technique using a mammalian cell culture system.
Brown infected the host cells with Mycobacterium abscessus or Mycobacterium avium, the two most common types of non-tuberculous mycobacteria that cause infections in patients with cystic fibrosis. Then, he treated the infected cells with each compound to evaluate their strength against the bacteria.
“We evaluated each compound’s ability to inhibit bacterial growth and its toxicity to the host cells,” he said. “Then, we tested how effectively the compounds could kill bacteria once inside the host cells.”
One of the compounds tested successfully inhibited bacterial growth in the cells, Brown said.
“Our results suggest a potential application of this compound as a new antibiotic to treat non-tuberculous mycobacteria,” he added.
Cheng said the goal is to move the active drug candidate to clinical trials in the future.
In addition to significant progress in his research, Cheng said he has witnessed Brown’s growth as a researcher and a leader.
“When he first joined my lab, he was just starting to understand what we were doing,” Cheng said. “Now, he knows how to drive the whole project and lead a research team.”
Brown served as a peer mentor to younger students in Cheng’s lab. These students will continue Brown’s research after he graduates.
“Through this experience, I learned how to be an effective leader,” Brown said. “Teaching them about the importance of what we’re doing and seeing them become more skilled has been rewarding. This project opens the doors to finding more compounds that can kill bacteria affecting cystic fibrosis patients by exploring how to use these experiments to test different compounds in the future.”
Before his research, Brown said his knowledge about cystic fibrosis was limited.
“People ask if I have personal experience or have relatives with the disease, and I don’t,” he said. “I have enjoyed meeting people who do have family members with cystic fibrosis and sharing what we’re doing with our research and the progress that is being made for their loved ones to have a better quality of life in the near future.”