Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - March/April 2014 - (Page 4)

in my own words Improving on the Language of Life Pursuing my passion PHIL BARAN, Ph.D. Darlene Shiley Professor of Chemistry The Scripps Research Institute Phil Baran earned his undergraduate degree from NYU at 19 and his Ph.D. in chemistry from The Scripps Research Institute at 23. Now 36, Baran has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers, holds several patents, and was recently named a MacArthur Fellow. Baran's work involves synthesizing complex molecular compounds and developing new methods for creating chemical structures-both of which increase the ability to make a wide range of medicines and materials. I'd always had an interest in science, but my interest in chemistry really exploded in high school. I had a great teacher who gave me the opportunity to experiment. That's when I realized that this was my purpose in life. I didn't really care whether or not I'd be good at it. It was the only thing that I wanted to do. I ended up pursuing a dual enrollment with a local community college and getting an associate's degree at the same time I graduated from high school. From there, I got my undergraduate degree at NYU and later my Ph.D.-both in chemistry. The basis of life I found physics too abstract. I didn't like the engineering aspects of what I would need to do in physics in order to discover. With organic chemistry, in particular, you can be creative very quickly. You can take a scribbling on the back of an envelope, go to the lab, and turn it into something that people at Pfizer will use, and that to me is very appealing. Organic chemistry is very special. It's like the language of how nature works. Just as letters are the basis of a language, organic chemistry is the basis of life. Enabling chemistry PHOTO COURTESY OF THE JOHN D. & CATHERINE T. MACARTHUR FOUNDATION Applied creativity As a kid, I liked tinkering with stuff, figuring out how things worked, and building with LEGOs. I also liked role-playing games where I could create things. Today, games like SimCity let you explore universes and worlds, control characters, and build cities. There's an element of creativity in chemistry. You can be an artist and create, and you can explore new worlds. There's also the element of utility in chemistry. I like things that have practical applications. 4 imagine In my lab, we're seeking ways to make large quantities of pharmacologically active natural products. We're working with compounds found in marine natural products that could be next-generation medicines but for their expense and limited supply. Using a method called total synthesis, we're essentially synthesizing these compounds from scratch. It's the basic idea of using a chemical you can get at the gas station and turning it into a medicine you prescribe in the hospital. Graduate students come to my lab because they want to learn to do this type of synthesis from scratch. We're also developing tools of chemistry-methodologies-that will allow people to make new types of molecules, so they can make structures that were difficult or impossible to make before. With novel structures, you facilitate drug discovery, agro chemical discovery, and material science ... everything that relies on chemistry is enabled by new methodology. For example, we've recently invented a series of Mar/Apr 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - March/April 2014

In My Own Words
Chemistry Is…
Master of Reactions
Fascinated by Photochemistry
What About Labs?
Buckyballs and Nanocrystals
Small Is Big
Chemistry Among the Stars
Making Chemicals Safer, 21st Century Style
Selected Opportunities & Resources
Empowered to Change the World
The Buzz About History
Off the Shelf
Word Wise
Exploring Career Options
One Step Ahead
Planning Ahead for College
Students Review
Mark Your Calendar
Knossos Games

Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - March/April 2014