“Collaboration is central to our research. Our collaborators are diverse, from an expert in ovarian cancer, to a microbiologist who studies drug-resistant bacteria, to a parasitologist who studies drug-resistant malaria, to experts in metabolism who study what happens in the gut when an herbal remedy is combined with a prescription drug.
“While those all seem like disparate goals, the common thread is that someone noticed an extract from nature did ‘something.’ It is my lab’s job to figure out what compound or compounds did that ‘something’ and then determine their structure or structures. When we have a very promising lead, we figure out a way to make the compound on a larger scale, to make analogues of the compounds to improve potency or minimize the side effects, and to determine the best way to deliver it.
“In all cases we work with teams of scientists across UNCG, the state, the country, and the world. Today, I just got off the phone with a collaborator in Chicago and emailed others in Washington and Ohio. Next week, I travel to Texas, next month to England.
“I’ve been playing soccer nearly my entire life, sometimes I use that analogy with my new students. In soccer, my role is the not-so-glamourous left fullback position. But if no one is in that position, the game will quickly fall apart. Everyone needs to show up to play and be willing to work as a team.”
