A UM doctoral candidate conducting research in a lab on the University of Montana campus with a gloved hand holding laboratory glassware with a green clamp over a lab sink..

Department of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences (PharmBioSci)

Research Areas

Driving innovation in engineering biomaterials and medical technologies to address complex clinical challenges and improve tissue repair.

Focus areas:
• Biomaterial design
• Drug delivery systems
• Tissue regeneration and wound healing
• Physiologically relevant in vitro models

Faculty in this area include:
- Drs. Serban and Veit – Silk- and hyaluronic-acid biomaterials, regenerative systems, and targeted delivery platforms
- Dr. Abdelwahab – Nanoparticle delivery technologies
Learn More About Biomaterials and Regenerative Biotechnology
Advancing new therapeutic strategies to treat cancer through targeted therapies and immuno-oncology approaches.

Focus areas:
• Molecular oncology
• Cancer immunotherapy
• Targeted pathway inhibition
• Bioactive compound discovery

Faculty in this area include:
- Pershouse – Targeted therapeutics for mesothelioma
- Dr. Diaz – Retinoid and cannabinoid pathway modulation in cancer
- Dr. Evans – Cancer-focused immunotherapies
- Stierle Research Lab – Natural product–derived anticancer agents
Learn More About Cancer Biology and Targeted Therapeutics
Dedicated to developing innovative educational strategies to prepare culturally responsive healthcare professionals.

Focus areas:
• Immersive learning technologies (VR/XR)
• Indigenous health partnerships
• Cultural competency in healthcare
• Experiential and team-based learning

Faculty in this area include:
- Hollick Group – VR/XR-enabled healthcare education and equity-focused training
Learn More About Educational Innovation and Health Equity
Committed to understanding how environmental exposures influence immune function, chronic disease, and lifelong health outcomes.

Focus areas:
• Air pollution and wildfire smoke
• Nanoparticles and toxic exposures
• Environmental epigenetics and omics
• Lung–brain–immune interactions

Faculty in this area include:
- Dr. Lilian Calderón-Garcidueñas – Air pollution and neurodegeneration
- Dr. Cho – Environmentally induced epigenetic biomarkers
- Dr. Holian – Nanoparticle-driven chronic inflammation
- Dr. Migliaccio – Wildfire smoke and respiratory immunity
- Dr. Putnam – Toxicogenomics and gene–environment interactions
Learn More About Environmental Health and Exposure Biology
Engaged in defining the cellular and molecular pathways that drive chronic inflammation and immune-mediated disease.

Focus areas:
• Asthma and inflammatory disease
• Damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs)
• Immune signaling pathways
• Therapeutic immune modulation

Faculty in this area include:
- Dr. Roberts/Jaffar Laboratory – Immune regulation in allergic asthma
- Dr. Holian – Mechanisms of chronic inflammatory disease
- Dr. Riel – Small-molecule modulators of inflammatory pathways
- Dr. Shepherd – Immune dysfunction and therapeutic innovation
Learn More About Inflammation and Immune Regulation
Seeking to translate molecular insights into therapeutic innovation through structure-guided drug design and pharmacologic discovery.

Focus areas:
• Receptor biology and signaling
• Kinase pathways
• Structural biology and computational modeling
• Medicinal chemistry and functional genomics

Faculty in this area include:
- Dr. Hughes – Nuclear receptor structural dynamics (PPARγ, FXR, LXR)
- Dr. Holley – Computational neuroreceptor modeling
- Dr. Diaz – Ligand design and receptor pharmacology
- Dr. Pershouse – PTEN/PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway targeting in cancer
- Dr. Riel – Structure-based immunomodulator design
Learn More About Molecular Pharmacology and Drug Discovery
Driving the discovery of biologically active molecules from plants and microbes to enable new therapeutic development.

Focus areas:
• Medicinal plant chemistry
• Microbial natural products
• Bioassay-guided compound discovery
• Antimicrobial and anticancer agents

Faculty in this area include:
- Stierle Research Lab – Natural product discovery and translational chemical biology
Learn More About Natural Products and Chemical Biology
Investigating the molecular foundations of brain function to develop therapies for neurological disorders.

Focus areas:
• Receptor pharmacology
• Computational neuroscience and modeling
• Pain and neurodegeneration
• Environmental impacts on brain health

Faculty in this area include:
- Dr. Diaz – Cannabinoid pharmacology and retinoic acid therapeutics
- Dr. Holley – Glutamate transporters and NMDA receptor modulation
- Dr. Lilian Calderón-Garcidueñas – Pollution-induced neurodegenerative pathology
Learn More About Neuropharmacology and Brain Health
Advancing personalized medicine by understanding how genetics and environment influence drug response.

Focus areas:
• Pharmacogenomics
• Gene–environment interactions
• Clinical implementation of precision medicine
• Rural and Tribal health equity

Faculty in this area include:
- Woodahl Lab – Pharmacogenomics and transporter biology
- Dr. Putnam – Omics-based biomarkers of environmental disease risk
Learn More About Precision Medicine and Pharmacogenomics
Advancing the development of next-generation vaccines and immune-based therapies to prevent and treat infectious, inflammatory, and malignant diseases.

Focus areas:
• Antigen delivery systems
• Vaccine adjuvant engineering
• Immune response mechanisms
• Immunotherapy development

Faculty in this area include:
- Dr. Abdelwahab – Nanoparticle and bioconjugation vaccine platforms
- Dr. DeBuysscher – B cell immunity and vaccine responses
- Dr. Evans – Translational vaccine and immunotherapy development
- Dr. Riel – Rational design of immunomodulatory adjuvants
- Dr. Shepherd – Environmental impacts on immune function and therapeutic modulation
Learn More About Vaccine Innovation and Immunotherapeutics