Sources of
Inspiration Motivation
and
Blending purpose and passion with scientific acumen, UIC Pharmacy researchers thrive in drug discovery and adjacent areas. B Y
T
D A N I E L
P .
S M I T H
orsten Wiesel didn’t win the Nobel Prize by accident.
A self-described “lazy, mischievous student” in his early years, Wiesel grew fascinated by the workings of the nervous system as a university student in the 1940s. That enthrallment, coupled with an inherent interest in psychiatry cultivated at the dinner table—Wiesel’s father directed a mental institution near the family’s Stockholm home—fueled his prolific career as a neurophysiologist, including a longstanding collaboration with David Hubel on sensory processing that netted the pair their Nobel honor in 1981. Absent that deep and pressing wonder about the nervous system and the mind, Wiesel once said, such groundbreaking work would have been tough to achieve no matter his IQ score. “Science is not an intelligence test,” Wiesel charged. “Intuition is important, knowing what kind of questions to ask. The other thing is a passion for getting to the core of the problem.” As Wiesel’s words suggest, enterprising, purpose-filled work fuels some of the scientific world’s most enterprising initiatives, and this reality rings especially true at the UIC College of Pharmacy.
Dr. Jeremy Johnson
12
T H E P H A R M A C I ST
P H A R M A C Y.U I C . E D U
On UIC Pharmacy’s Chicago and Rockford campuses, researchers pairing deep scientific knowledge with an earnest mix of purpose and passion continue leading ambitious drug discovery research efforts in fields such as cancer, infectious diseases, and women’s health—three particular areas, it’s worth noting, that will be bolstered with the forthcoming debut of the Drug Discovery and Cancer Research Pavilion at UIC. Whether motivated by their personal connections to a disease, deeply held philosophical underpinnings, or an intense, unrelenting curiosity, College of Pharmacy researchers’ ability to blend undeniable acumen with a sincere desire to advance drug discovery and adjacent areas, such as drug delivery, diagnostics, and even adherence, continues sparking profound results with the power to enhance patient care and improve healthcare. “This elevates their work and takes it to a different level,” UIC College of Pharmacy dean Glen Schumock says of UIC researchers’ mission-driven work. “We have rich examples across the college of our researchers’ inquiry impacting patient health in positive ways, and that’s work we want to continue doing for the benefit of our local communities and our world.”
