Ouachita's Hamilton, Kirby recognized for biomedical research
May 20, 2026
- James TaylorA Ouachita Baptist University professor and student have earned state and national recognition for their research.
Dr. Sharon Hamilton, associate professor of chemistry and holder of the E.A. Provine Chair of Chemistry in Ouachita’s J.D. Patterson School of Natural, has been named one of 12 inaugural recipients of the Arkansas Research Alliance’s Emerging Research Leaders program.
Hamilton’s selection follows national attention this spring for work conducted in the university’s lab. In March, the American Chemical Society spotlighted research by Mieya Kirby, a senior biomedical sciences major from Fort Worth, Texas, ahead of her presentation at the society’s spring meeting in Atlanta. Kirby is developing dissolvable surgical stitches engineered to deliver anti-inflammatory medication directly to a wound.
The attention highlights opportunities for undergraduate research taking place at Ouachita.
“Dr. Hamilton is great about collaboration and encourages students to explore ideas,” Kirby said. “She makes so much time for her students and allows for teaching throughout the research process.”
The work is personal for Kirby. As a child, she watched her mother undergo breast reconstruction surgery, a procedure involving suturing that can often lead to complications.
“The biggest motivation for me was my family’s history with reconstruction surgery and my mom’s cancer journey,” Kirby said. “There’s still a 10% failure rate for those procedures, and a lot of it has to do with inflammation, which I hope these sutures solve.”
Ouachita students attended the ACS meeting in Atlanta with faculty.
Kirby’s ACS presentation, titled “Development and characteristics of ester-linked NSAID-polymer conjugates towards limiting suture site inflammation,” explored a new class of dissolvable sutures that release nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs at the site of a surgical wound over several weeks.
The research is funded by the Arkansas IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence through a grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences and a grant from the National Institutes of Health. The team is now seeking partnerships to test the sutures.
The Emerging Research Leaders program, which Hamilton joined this month, provides two years of funding and is managed by ARA and AR-NETWORK, a funded research network supported by an $8 million grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation.
“This student research under faculty guidance represents the very best of what’s possible here,” said Dr. Ben Sells, Ouachita president. “Dr. Hamilton’s work is recognized by her peers and professional organizations, and she’s mentoring undergraduates in ways that prepare them for graduate study, medical school and careers in research.”
Ouachita’s Patterson School of Natural Sciences promotes student learning in an atmosphere that nurtures critical and creative thinking. To learn more about the university’s personal approach to education and career preparation in a rich Christian environment, visit obu.edu or contact [email protected].
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