By Rachael Warecki 鈥�08
As the world becomes increasingly globalized and virus transmission occurs more easily across continents, medical research scientists are focusing on treatments that provide positive health outcomes for the greatest number of people. In true liberal arts tradition, three Scripps chemists鈥攁 professor, a student, and an alumna鈥攁re using their research to make medications safer, advocate for more inclusive clinical trials, and improve conditions for humankind.
Science in the Social Sphere
Associate Professor of Chemistry Anna Wenzel
ANNA WENZEL, PHOTOGRAPHED BY KATHERINE LEVIN SHEEHAN
When she鈥檚 not in the classroom, Associate Professor of Chemistry Anna Wenzel can often be found with members of the Chemistry Club, advancing scientific knowledge in the Claremont community and beyond. Since Wenzel founded the club during her first year at Scripps, its projects have included environmental soil analysis with local elementary school students, volunteering at the Southern California Science Olympiad championships, and a Scripps-Pitzer Science Center cookbook that is raising funds for the humanitarian-focused organization Chemists Without Borders.
A current collaboration with Chemists Without Borders involves the chemical analysis of pharmaceutical samples to evaluate suspect medications collected by research partners in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, India, Nepal, and Malawi. This spring, courtesy of a Keck Foundation donation, Wenzel acquired a mass spectrometry instrument capable of this level of chemical analysis, enabling students in her natural science courses to participate.
This kind of community engagement鈥攚hat she calls 鈥渟cience in the social sphere鈥濃�攊s one of Wenzel鈥檚 core principles. Bringing science out of the lab and demonstrating its real-world applications, whether by performing a chemical analysis of the College鈥檚 olive oil or showing high school students how to make liquid-nitrogen ice cream, is key to battling the public鈥檚 growing mistrust of scientific research.
鈥淭here are a lot of really big policy decisions that involve some fundamental understanding of science. People need to be able to trust their scientists鈥攁nd they don鈥檛 trust people they don鈥檛 know,鈥� she says. 鈥淕oing out into the community really breaks down that mistrust and allows people to be more open-minded about scientific discovery.鈥�
For this reason, non-major chemistry courses are Wenzel鈥檚 favorites to teach, since they give her another opportunity to introduce non-scientists to chemistry鈥檚 practical applications. Her students learn about the 鈥渂ench to bedside鈥� process, through which lab research at the cellular level (the 鈥渂ench鈥�) is converted into human drugs and therapeutics (鈥渂edside鈥�). This process includes creating safety nets that prevent dangerous drug interactions, as well as taking steps to boost a medication鈥檚 efficacy and reduce its toxicity.
Wenzel also wants her students to understand the current and historical shortfalls of drug discovery. Women and people of color frequently aren鈥檛 part of clinical trials, despite their different metabolisms and enzyme functions, but the recommended dosages on the sides of prescription bottles are still one-size-fits-all. The recommended dosage for a man, for example, could lead to a very different outcome for a woman. Wenzel hopes that this knowledge will help students better navigate and advocate for their own medical care.
Tuberculosis Treatment for the 21st Century
Kara Dunne-Dombrink 鈥�20
Tuberculosis, commonly known as TB, is often depicted as a 19th-century illness in Western popular culture. But in many developing nations, it鈥檚 still a major cause of death, according to the World Health Organization鈥檚 list of 30 countries with a high burden of the disease. If left untreated, TB can be fatal to almost half of those affected鈥攂ut the recent emergence of drug-resistant strains has made TB treatment even more difficult.
Kara Dunne-Dombrink 鈥�20, a dual major in biochemistry and French studies, is exploring the development of an enzyme-based medication that could combat drug-resistant tuberculosis. Dunne-Dombrink is conducting this research under principal investigators Mary Hatcher-Skeers, professor of chemistry and Sidney J. Weinberg Jr. Chair in Natural Science, and Bethany Caulkins, visiting assistant professor of chemistry, with funding from the Weinberg Foundation. The bacteria that causes the disease needs tryptophan鈥攖hat amino acid that makes you feel sleepy after eating turkey鈥攖o survive. By targeting and inhibiting the enzyme that creates tryptophan, scientists can kill the tuberculosis bacteria. Dunne-Dombrink hopes this approach, which replicates a reaction that already occurs naturally in the body, could lead to more effective
TB treatment.
鈥淲e鈥檙e now in an age when so many diseases are more resistant to the usual medications, so finding new ways to treat new strains is really important,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e need to design drugs that are more similar to the body鈥檚 natural processes and reactions.鈥�
In addition to the disease鈥檚 resistance to traditional therapies, the creation, testing, and administration of existing TB medication has also proven challenging. Dunne-Dombrink says it鈥檚 easy to get caught up in the minutiae of laboratory work and think of science as an isolated discipline. But medical research can often overlook the populations that would most benefit from drug discovery during clinical trials, resulting in treatments that are often expensive, with dosages designed for a narrow demographic. Dunne-Dombrink credits an anthropology class on Latinx workers in the garment industry with making her aware of the need for a more human-centered approach to scientific research. In examining the ways in which oppressive systems are interrelated, she realized that clinical research often reinforces other systems of inequality鈥攁nd that scientists must think about
how their work connects to the rest of society.
鈥淎 lot of scientific research hasn鈥檛 benefited everyone equally,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e need to start thinking more holistically about how scientists can catalyze change across all communities and minimize harm to our environment and bodies.鈥�
With a 鈥渂ig disease鈥� like tuberculosis, for which antibiotics have existed for years, that means finding a treatment that is low-cost, environmentally green, and less likely to have adverse side effects, such as vomiting, jaundice, fever, and bleeding. Moving from a synthetic drug model to a more natural therapeutic that causes enzyme inhibition could help create such a treatment. Eliminating the expenses associated with synthetic creation would also lessen the medication鈥檚 cost.
However, this new treatment model comes with potential trade-offs. More natural, less carcinogenic medications are better for the body in the long term, but they may not be as efficient at treating the disease in the short term. These trade-offs are some of the issues she hopes to study further at the National Institutes of Health, where Dunne-Dombrink will be working in disease treatment next year.
鈥淪cience is about sharing your results with the wider world,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hinking about the actual people this research might affect makes it valuable to more than just the scientific community. It places the science in the context of the real world.鈥�
Chemistry with a Conscience
Claire Knezevic 鈥�08
Claire Knezevic 鈥�08 is the director of critical care laboratories and an assistant professor of pathology at Johns Hopkins Medicine. As a clinical chemist, she oversees the areas of the hospital laboratory in which chemical tests are performed on patient samples, such as electrolyte and cholesterol levels in blood and urine. Because she works in health care, particularly with medical test results, she regularly considers the impacts and implications of scientific research on patients. She calls a clinician鈥檚 ability to accurately perform these tests and report the results 鈥渢he bread and butter of a clinical chemist鈥檚 job.鈥�
鈥淲hen faced with complex situations, my liberal arts education taught me how to hold back my own preconceived notions and embrace challenging viewpoints,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 think my education gave me the confidence to push myself in areas where I鈥檓 not strong, so that I can be more comprehensive in my understanding of my work.鈥�
Knezevic has focused on research that she believes will benefit the most people from the widest variety of populations, such as drug discovery and the improvement of clinical practice. She also participates in collaborative translational research, which translates scientific discoveries into practices that directly benefit human health. Knezevic鈥檚 current research supports clinical trials for new formulations of pre-exposure prophylaxis, more commonly known as PrEP, an HIV-prevention drug. Existing PrEP medications require patients to take a once-daily pill. It鈥檚 a dosage routine that isn鈥檛 easy for everyone to maintain, Knezevic explains, but missed pills can lower the drug鈥檚 effectiveness. The new formulations she鈥檚 helping to develop鈥攕uch as implants, injectables, and rings similar to hormonal birth control methods鈥攚ould allow more people to choose the formulation that works best for them and improve the medication鈥檚 efficacy rate.
There鈥檚 no guarantee that Knezevic鈥檚 small slice of scientific research will have any long-term effect on human health鈥攅specially when 80 to 90 percent of a person鈥檚 health outcomes are based on social determinants such as race, class, and neighborhood of origin. That鈥檚 why Knezevic also works to create a more equitable society outside the lab. She volunteers with the Fair Development Roundtable to change the housing landscape in Baltimore, a city impacted by decades of red lining, disinvestment, and damaging real estate speculation. Her volunteer work is one of the reasons she chose to stay at Johns Hopkins after completing her fellowship.