Heavy Metal Medicine
When you think about inorganic chemistry (or should I say if…) visions of ligands, transition metals and ionic bonds probably come to mind. At least this is what my limited exposure to inorganic chem has left me with. With my tendency to gravitate towards the biological side of science I didn’t pursue inorganic chemistry after being introduced to it last year.
However, after attending the Get Into Research conference this week where Dr. Mark MacLachlan, the 2008 Killam Prize repient, spoke about his research in inorganic chemistry my interest was sparked. I did some googling and discovered the field of bioinorganic chemistry, which combines the use of metal-containing molecules and biochemical pathways, and can be applied to imitate biological behaviour and to diagnose and treat disease therapeutically. Pretty cool, right?
I am sharing this with all of you because Adventures in Science is hosting Dr. Chris Orvig, from UBC’s Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, to come talk about his research in the field of medicinal inorganic chemistry. The lecture, entitled Heavy Metal Medicine, is Thursday November 13th at 12:30 in Wood Rm 5. He will be talking about the role of inorganic chem. in the treatment of cancer, diabetes and much more. Dr. Orvig is known for his enthusiasm about his research, and is also a recipient of the Killam Teaching Award. He is bound to engage, stimulate and inspire the audience!
Visit the Adventures in Science website to read the abstract for this talk and to see the schedule of upcoming speakers in our series.
