We look at the molecule and see what side groups would be affected if it were taken as a drug. Then we just choose particular groups that can hopefully minimize the metabolism or maybe enhance the potency, based on the knowledge that we have.”
—ALFRED WILLIAMS
smoothing out a few kinks, Williams, Dandepally, and senior scientist Valentine St. Hilaire, Ph.D., found that they could use this new process to produce large quantities in the laboratory. Undergraduate student Chanel Wilson has been helping Williams generate different versions of PZQ, which collaborator Conor Caffrey, Ph.D., at the University of California, San Francisco, is testing on the tapeworms that cause the disease. Though any new potential drugs to come from their studies will need to move through the pharmaceutical sector before they can become reality, Williams has no plans to follow his newly discovered compounds back to industry. He joined academia, he said, so he could expose young minds to the joys of medicinal and organic chemistry, and his laboratory has given a number of students interested in the sciences, drug discovery, or even pharmacy school hands-on experience in the discipline.
Wilson, who has set her sights on pharmacy school, has enjoyed the trial and error, behind-the-scenes look she has gained into the development of new compounds and new ways of synthesizing drugs. “Now I can apply what I have learned and I can explain to a patient what is in a medication or why it might have this effect on people,” she said. “I thought that would be cool being able to have a hands-on experience with this medication.” Even if all his students don’t end up with that love of medicinal chemistry, Williams hopes they will at least understand its purpose. “I get a lot of ‘aha!’ moments in my laboratory,” he said. “The students might be sitting in their organic chemistry class, studying chemical reactions, but they don’t really get it until they come and apply that knowledge in the laboratory. I’m trying to connect the dots so they can actually see how drugs are made from the beginning to the end, and that there’s a reason we do what we do.” Q
Illustration by Tiffany DeVanzo