WASHINGTON — Today, Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski announced that the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign will receive more than $370,000 in federal grant funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The funding comes through the Department’s National Institute of General Medical Sciences. 

“As a student at the University of Illinois, I saw their research capabilities firsthand,” said Congresswoman Budzinski. “Today, I’m so pleased to announce more than $370,000 in federal funding that will be used to study possible treatments for cancer and infectious disease. I look forward to advocating for additional investments in our local universities and seeing the results of their work.” 

 The federal funding will be used for research on the synthesis of biologically active terpenoids – small bioactive molecules. These molecules are the primary source of compounds for the effective treatment of cancer and infectious diseases and could be further utilized through medicinal chemistry to create new chemotherapeutics.