Spotlight
Summer 2007 Back to Spotlight home page
WOW! The sensation of discovery: faculty research and creativity
By Eric Trump
I first became interested in cancer therapeutics after my father died of renal cell carcinoma at the time I was finishing up my doctoral dissertation. My mother later died from leukemia. During a sabbatical at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory I learned some new synthetic techniques as well as methods for adding radioactive labels to complex molecules in order to determine their structures. During the last decade, I have conducted collaborative research with the Eppley Institute for Cancer Research in Omaha, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, and the University of Kansas Department of Medicinal Chemistry. I have mentored one graduate student and six undergraduates in research projects involving cancer therapeutics. These projects involve two emphases: synthesis of short unnatural DNA strands as drug delivery vehicles and modification of the naturally occurring flavone Apigenin to make it more bioavailable.
The research experience is beneficial to students in helping them to learn new synthetic and analysis methods beyond what they learn in their required coursework. Of those students that I have mentored in cancer therapeutics, two have gone on to Ph.D. programs in chemistry and one is in medical school. I frequently cite examples of my work in lectures.
Last Updated April 17, 2008