Q&A with Dr. Priscila Halicki: Assessing Natural Products as Potential Tuberculosis Drugs
October 24, 2023Priscila Halicki, a postdoc at the University of Central Florida, aims to improve the process for finding new tuberculosis drugs from natural products.
Tuberculosis is the second leading cause of death from an infectious disease after COVID-19. Current tuberculosis treatment requires a cocktail of four antibiotics taken for at least six months. Because of the long treatment duration and adverse side effects, there is an urgent need for potent new drugs.
Priscila Cristina Bartolomeu Halicki, a postdoctoral trainee at the University of Central Florida (UCF), received a PhRMA Foundation Drug Discovery Postdoctoral Fellowship for her efforts to improve the process for finding potential new TB drugs from natural products. Halicki is developing a method to better assess and prioritize compounds from natural products — chemical compounds found in nature (such as in plants) — for their drug development potential.
Watch this video to learn about Halicki and her research.
