The
Silverman Group at Northwestern is a research group that epitomizes the creative
character that is found in the world of chemistry. The group works on molecular
mechanisms, drug design and their synthesis; focused mostly on
neurodegenerative diseases. Most of the work that is done in this lab is theory
building and then the testing out of said theories. Work in this area demands
not only a deep understanding of the subject but also a creative mind to visual
new ways of solving theoretical problems.
One
of the main projects that the group is focused on is an enzyme that is involved
in nitric oxide synthesis. The if the enzyme (NOS) can be inhibited then it can
help in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. The problem is that this enzyme,
like many in the body is active in different forms throughout the human system.
While inhibiting NOS in the brain is beneficial in curing diseases like Parkinson’s
and Alzheimer’s, inhibiting NOS in the other parts of the body can be detrimental
to a patient health. It requires a great amount of creativity to tackle a
problem like this. The group realized, as many would, that this problem required
selective inhibition. That was the easy part. From here they had to design an inhibitor
that would not only be selective only for NOS in the brain but would also be
effective enough to halt the production of NO. Below is one of the selective
inhibitors that they were able to synthesis bound to the enzyme.
The Silverman Group is full of talented and creative
minds that were able to apply their knowledge of our biological systems and
theorize compounds that would be able to selectively inhibit brain NOS.
There are many problems that are constantly being
worked on in the field of science, from crossing the blood brain barrier to
working on reducing bacterial biofilm which is bacteria’s primary defense
against drugs. These problems require creative thinking to tackle. The people
working in labs like the Silverman Group and many others are at the edge of human
knowledge. There is no lab manual or procedure to follow. They are innovating designs
and sometimes creating entirely new lab techniques in pursuit of pushing the boundary
of knowledge just a little further.
The process of scientific research involves logically forming a hypothesis and designing experiments to disprove your working theory. I think the most creative aspect of scientific research comes in the form of experimental design and data analysis, where a scientist has to integrate several ideas and come up with unique approaches to problems. Scientists often do their most creative work when they are faced with unexpected results, so it would be interesting to pick Dr. Silverman's brain about his creative process in those moments.
ReplyDeleteThe scientific method definitely requires infusion of proficient scientific background as well as creative thinking in order to progress research. This NOS selective inhibitory work undoubtedly provides a platform for creative thinking. To further expand on this blogpost, it would be fascinating to examine exactly how Dr. Silverman and his lab reasons through their process and experiments.
ReplyDeleteThe way in which scientists have to approach a problem in many different ways with alternative hypotheses points to the creativity involved. Sometimes science and creativity can be seen as opposite sides of the spectrum, but creativity is highly involved in science.
ReplyDelete(I also really appreciate your blog title)