Learn from faculty making incredible discoveries

With their reputation for being lethal and elusive, it’s almost inconceivable to think of cancer cells being outmaneuvered by a “dumpling.” But that’s exactly what could happen if Professor Karen Wooley’s research comes to fruition.

Karen Wooley, the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor in Arts & Sciences, and her organic chemistry research team, are perfecting molecular carriers called “knedels” (pronounced kuh-NEDD-ulls), hollowing out their inner cores so that they might one day deliver cancer-killing drugs directly to cancer cells.

Knedels are nanoparticles that resemble meat-filled Polish dumplings, explains Professor Wooley. Transporting medicines is just one of their potential uses. These hollowed-out “protein imposters” might also be used to extract cholesterol from blood or scavenge hazardous waste from an environmental disaster.

Knedels are only one example of the types of research going on in Professor Wooley’s lab. She has earned international attention at a remarkably young age for her groundbreaking discoveries in nanoparticles and polymers—chains of identical molecules. Another of her pioneering discoveries led to the development of an environmentally friendly “anti-fouling” coating for ships. It works by preventing organisms, such as barnacles, from attaching to hulls. Far superior to existing coatings, which are toxic to marine life, her discovery has the potential to better reduce surplus weight and friction, thereby saving enormous amounts of fuel.

Her novel approach to problem solving must be contagious, because many of the students she has mentored in Arts & Sciences have gone on to achieve success in their own right. Her imaginative teaching style may be partly responsible.

For instance, in addition to lecturing about the multi-molecular assembly of amphiphilic copolymers into nanoparticles, Professor Wooley allows students to experience it for themselves. By simply adding solutions of the polymers in an organic solvent into water, which drives the assembly process, the students then apply a laser pointer to observe the scattering produced by the nanoparticles suspended in the aqueous solution. Small molecules and polymers are not large enough to produce scattering and microscopic particles give a cloudy suspension. The students can observe qualitatively the unique aspects of nanometer-scale materials.

Because she comes from a research background, Professor Wooley is happiest in the laboratory. She is an enthusiastic proponent of using hands-on lab work as a teaching tool, and not just for graduate students. Even freshmen spend time in the lab—the more lab experience they have, the more responsibility they are given.

In fact, one of the most significant features of an education at Washington University is the emphasis placed upon undergraduate research opportunities. As early as the summer before entering as freshmen, students are encouraged to seek out hands-on experimental research activities. Such experiences allow students to determine and refine their true interests and passions for further study.

Many undergraduate students publish their results in peer-reviewed international scientific journals. Here are just three examples from Professor Wooley's laboratory:

• Stephen P. Gitto (AB 1995) synthesized an entirely new family of polymers that degrade in a matter of minutes in the presence of water. He went on for graduate study at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

• Jeffery A. Byers (AB 2000) created and studied unique analogs to the common engineering material polycarbonate and is currently conducting graduate study at the California Institute of Technology.

• Kevin G. Sullivan, still an undergraduate at Washington University, is investigating methods by which to synthesize polymers that will degrade to produce only sugars and carbon dioxide. His discoveries could be useful for orthopedic applications.

According to Professor Wooley, Arts & Sciences possesses a warm community atmosphere that includes undergraduates, PhD students and post-doctoral associates. They all reach out to each other, and they all have ample opportunity to interact with faculty members. In contrast, Professor Wooley recalls her college experience where faculty members were godlike and feared. Here, they command the utmost respect, yet seem to relish direct contact with students.

That’s certainly the case with Professor Wooley, who delights in mentoring students. She’s a dedicated teacher who isn’t afraid to revamp the course work in her polymer and organic chemistry classes if that’s what it takes to keep students from getting their minds in a rut.

It’s the same sort of out-of-the-box thinking that leads to dumplings that could one day vanquish cancer.

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