Marsha DeSmet, Ph.D., faculty member in the Marian University Tom and Julie Wood College of Osteopathic Medicine, has received a nearly $368,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health to support research focused on human papillomavirus (HPV) infections.
The award comes through the NIH’s highly competitive Exploratory/Developmental Research (R21) program, which supports innovative early-stage research projects with strong potential to improve health outcomes.
DeSmet’s research examines how HPV interacts with cells during infection, with the goal of identifying new pathways that could lead to future treatments for persistent HPV infections.
“This award speaks to the potential innovation and impact of her project on advancing health outcomes,” said Julia M. Hum, Ph.D., associate professor of Physiology and program director for the Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences program at Marian University.
The grant is DeSmet’s first NIH award and her first external research grant since joining Marian University in 2025.