Student Research Spotlight: Roger Neuberger
Student Spotlight
Year: Sophomore Major: Science Research Fellow (concentration in Biochemistry) Faculty Mentor: Daniel Romo, Ph.D.
The Romo Group’s focus is on the total synthesis of bioactive natural products. These are compounds discovered in nature that are often structurally complex and cause specific effects in target cells. In the process of synthesizing these compounds, multiple intermediates of increasing complexity are collected and analyzed to further understanding of the compounds’ structure-activity relationships, or which functional groups provide the best activity and selectivity for a molecules target inside the cell. This method of data collection en-route to the natural product is called pharmacophore-directed and was recently disclosed by the Romo Group. Roger Neuberger, a sophomore Science Research Fellows major, joined the Romo Group at the beginning of summer of 2019 through BTRUE (Baylor Transdisciplinary Research Undergraduate Experience). Despite already being accepted into the lab before the beginning of summer, BTRUE made it a financial possibility for him to stay over the summer and have an excellent opportunity to meet students in other labs on campus. Roger says that he has made some excellent progress over the summer and has since continued to work during the school year. Over the summer, his work was primarily toward ineleganolide, a natural product originally isolated from the Taiwanese soft coral Sinularia inelegans. Ineleganolide has shown to be cytotoxic towards leukemia cells, and the group is hoping to analyze these effects alongside their synthetic studies. Since the end of the summer, his work has shifted toward yonarolide, another natural product sourced from the same genus of soft corals. Roger’s favorite experience in the lab was hitting his first synthetic target at the end of the summer. He had selected an intermediate in the synthesis of ineleganolide that he wanted to reach before BTRUE ended, and it took the entirety of the 10-week program to reach it. He remembers “all the stress, uncertainty, and frustration from all the failed attempts finally lifted as I collected the 17 milligrams that took an entire summer to synthesize over ten steps”. After putting in hundreds of hours of work into synthesizing this compound and being completely unsure if the route would actually work, the feeling as all that work paid off was indescribable, he says. Roger states that the best part of his work is the independence of it. From speaking with students in other labs, it’s fairly common for undergraduates to be stuck doing the tedious and repetitive tasks that nobody else wants to do. While his research requires a tremendous time commitment, he feels that it never really gets old; he’s always doing something new, trying different reactions on different scales under different conditions. He has the freedom to do just about anything he thinks will work to reach a target, but also has the experience and expertise of the grad students in the lab to draw on if there is anything he’s unsure of or unfamiliar with. “There is something extremely satisfying about mixing flammables and carcinogens to create a new compound that could potentially cure cancer. Chances are it won’t, of course, but it could”, Roger says. When asked what a typical day in the lab looks like, he says that every day in the lab is a little different. His schedule is completely dependent on what reactions he’s trying to run. Over the summer, he would show up around 8 AM and usually wouldn’t leave until 8 PM or later once his reactions for the day were all complete. During the semester, though, it’s tough to be able to maintain those kinds of hours. Now, he feels lucky if he can complete one or two reactions per week, usually having to split them over multiple days (which is definitely not ideal). Typically, he will choose a day or two where he will be available at the times he needs to be, and then he’ll set everything up before his first class. In between classes, he’ll head back to check the progress, making additions where necessary. Once the reaction is complete, he’ll spend the next few hours working it up, purifying the product, and then running a few tests (e.g. NMR and mass spec) to see if the reaction worked. For those aspiring to get involved with research, Roger recommends talking to your professors! He says that “so many professors at Baylor genuinely love to speak with students, and any number of them would be happy to help you find a lab that suits your interests. Once you’ve found one, reach out to the PI and ask if they have any papers that would help you explore their research further, and eventually ask to set up a meeting to discuss joining their lab”. Additionally, summer programs are a great opportunity to get some experience before the semester starts up. He cautions that your time in the lab becomes so limited once the semester starts up that it is definitely beneficial to get your training out of the way beforehand. Another piece of advice from Roger is “don’t count yourself out, either; it seems like a lot of students are afraid to apply or feel like they won’t get into a lab just because they don’t have previous research experience. Any experience others have had at the undergraduate level is not all that valuable when going into a new lab and they will have to be trained just the same as you”. The most important traits that the majority of professors look for are availability and interest—they want to make sure you will be around long enough for training you to be worthwhile, and they want you to have enough of an interest in the material so that they won’t have to drag you through every step. We hope that an insight into Roger’s experience with research motivates you all to stay driven and get involved with research at Baylor!
64 | Scientia 2020
