1570A Medical Science Research Building II, 1150 W. Medical Center Drive
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Available to mentor
Dr. Balunas received a dual BA/BA degree in Chemistry and Biology from the University of Rochester, a MS degree in Plant Ecology from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, and a PhD degree in Pharmacognosy from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She conducted her postdoctoral research on marine natural products drug discovery at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego in conjunction with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama City, Panama. Dr. Balunas began her independent career at the University of Connecticut Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Balunas Lab twitter Google Scholar
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Postdoctoral FellowScripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, San Diego, 2010
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Postdoctoral FellowSmithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, 2010
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PhD, PharmacognosyUniversity of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, 2007
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MS, Plant EcologyState University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY, 2003
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BA/BA, Chemistry/BiologyUniversity of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 1995
Dr. Balunas’s research program focuses on interaction-driven molecule discovery from host-microbe symbioses. We seek a fundamental understanding of how the metabolome mediates host-microbiota interactions, aiming to discover novel bioactive metabolites involved in chemical communication between eukaryotic hosts, their bacterial associates, and pathogenic organisms. Host-microbe symbioses are becoming an increasingly important focus in biomedical research as the human microbiota is now recognized as a major contributor to health and disease. Small molecule interactions in host-microbe symbioses play an essential role in the complex molecular dialogue that occurs between bacterial symbionts and their eukaryotic hosts. Given that these host-microbe symbioses have naturally evolved to select for biologically active bacteria, they provide a source of specialized metabolites likely to have potent medicinal activity and thus be poised for future preclinical drug development. By integrating biology-driven metabolomics with isolation and identification of bioactive molecules, as well as bioassay design and implementation, the Balunas research group is making significant discoveries in microbiome science, leading to new applications for human health and disease.
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Mullowney MW, Duncan KR, Elsayed SS, Garg N, van der Hooft JJJ, Martin NI, Meijer D, Terlouw BR, Biermann F, Blin K, Durairaj J, Gorostiola González M, Helfrich EJN, Huber F, Leopold-Messer S, Rajan K, de Rond T, van Santen JA, Sorokina M, Balunas MJ, Beniddir MA, van Bergeijk DA, Carroll LM, Clark CM, Clevert D-A, Dejong CA, Du C, Ferrinho S, Grisoni F, Hofstetter A, Jespers W, Kalinina OV, Kautsar SA, Kim H, Leao TF, Masschelein J, Rees ER, Reher R, Reker D, Schwaller P, Segler M, Skinnider MA, Walker AS, Willighagen EL, Zdrazil B, Ziemert N, Goss RJM, Guyomard P, Volkamer A, Gerwick WH, Kim HU, Müller R, van Wezel GP, van Westen GJP, Hirsch AKH, Linington RG, Robinson SL, Medema MH. Nat Rev Drug Discov, 2023 Nov; 22 (11): 895 - 916.Journal ArticleArtificial intelligence for natural product drug discovery.
DOI:10.1038/s41573-023-00774-7 PMID: 37697042 -
Kyle KE, Puckett SP, Caraballo-Rodríguez AM, Rivera-Chávez J, Samples RM, Earp CE, Raja HA, Pearce CJ, Ernst M, van der Hooft JJJ, Adams ME, Oberlies NH, Dorrestein PC, Klassen JL, Balunas MJ. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2023 Jun 20; 120 (25): e2219373120Journal ArticleTrachymyrmex septentrionalis ants promote fungus garden hygiene using Trichoderma-derived metabolite cues.
DOI:10.1073/pnas.2219373120 PMID: 37319116 -
Samples RM, Puckett SP, Balunas MJ. Anal Chem, 2023 Jun 13; 95 (23): 8770 - 8779.Journal ArticleMetabolomics Peak Analysis Computational Tool (MPACT): An Advanced Informatics Tool for Metabolomics and Data Visualization of Molecules from Complex Biological Samples.
DOI:10.1021/acs.analchem.2c04632 PMID: 37260127 -
Suria AM, Tan KC, Kerwin AH, Gitzel L, Abini-Agbomson L, Bertenshaw JM, Sewell J, Nyholm SV, Balunas MJ. mSphere, 2020 Jul 1; 5 (4):Journal ArticleHawaiian Bobtail Squid Symbionts Inhibit Marine Bacteria via Production of Specialized Metabolites, Including New Bromoalterochromides BAC-D/D'.
DOI:10.1128/mSphere.00166-20 PMID: 32611694 -
van Santen JA, Jacob G, Singh AL, Aniebok V, Balunas MJ, Bunsko D, Neto FC, Castaño-Espriu L, Chang C, Clark TN, Cleary Little JL, Delgadillo DA, Dorrestein PC, Duncan KR, Egan JM, Galey MM, Haeckl FPJ, Hua A, Hughes AH, Iskakova D, Khadilkar A, Lee J-H, Lee S, LeGrow N, Liu DY, Macho JM, McCaughey CS, Medema MH, Neupane RP, O'Donnell TJ, Paula JS, Sanchez LM, Shaikh AF, Soldatou S, Terlouw BR, Tran TA, Valentine M, van der Hooft JJJ, Vo DA, Wang M, Wilson D, Zink KE, Linington RG. ACS Cent Sci, 2019 Nov 27; 5 (11): 1824 - 1833.Journal ArticleThe Natural Products Atlas: An Open Access Knowledge Base for Microbial Natural Products Discovery.
DOI:10.1021/acscentsci.9b00806 PMID: 31807684 -
Kerwin AH, Gromek SM, Suria AM, Samples RM, Deoss DJ, O'Donnell K, Frasca S, Sutton DA, Wiederhold NP, Balunas MJ, Nyholm SV. mBio, 2019 Oct 29; 10 (5):Journal ArticleShielding the Next Generation: Symbiotic Bacteria from a Reproductive Organ Protect Bobtail Squid Eggs from Fungal Fouling.
DOI:10.1128/mBio.02376-19 PMID: 31662458 -
Balunas M. 2023 Jan 27;PresentationRegulation of specialized metabolite production in complex microbiome systems
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Pasternak ARO, Balunas MJ, Zechel DL. ACS Chem Biol, 2022 Dec 16; 17 (12): 3507 - 3514.Journal ArticleDiscovery of 3'-O-β-Glucosyltubercidin and the Nucleoside Specific Glycosyltransferase AvpGT through Genome Mining.
DOI:10.1021/acschembio.2c00707 PMID: 36356213
