Drug Researcher Sees Innovation in Nature
Jul 6, 2013 7:04:14 GMT -5
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Post by Paul Sheppard on Jul 6, 2013 7:04:14 GMT -5
Drug Researcher Sees Innovation in Nature
July 06
LEXINGTON, Ky. (6/6/13) – Jurgen Rohr, director of the Division of Drug Discovery in the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy, finds inspiration for his innovations in nature.
It's not just in his laboratory, where he heads one of the nation's top natural products research programs. You can also see it in his sunlit office, filled with lush green plants and copies of various paintings, featuring landscapes and flowers and other natural scenes.
"I painted some of these myself," Rohr says. "Others, you may recognize. It is probably presumptuous to hang my own paintings beside great masterpieces, I don't know. I have them here because I like them."
He points to one of his own, inspired by the "paint pots" at Yellowstone National Park. These geothermal mudpots — hot and acidic and reeking of rotten eggs from hydrogen sulfide gas — are home to several species of microorganisms that ring the pots with bright splashes of color.
"They're the only things that can live there," Rohr says, his enthusiasm visible. "When the temperature or the pH level changes, one species subsides and another takes over, and that's where you get all of the different colors. I find them very stimulating, visually.
When he's not in the laboratory innovating a new class of anticancer compounds, or in the classroom teaching a new generation of pharmacy leaders, Rohr prefers to be outdoors. He enjoys white-water rafting and kayaking, or hiking and camping in the Daniel Boone National Forest. He can tell you about the best trails in the Red River Gorge, including some that aren't on any maps. He can also tell you a little of the natural history of the area.
"The Appalachian forest is one of the most biologically diverse places on the planet — certainly in the Northern Hemisphere," he says. "As the glaciers moved south during the last great Ice Age, they sort of pushed everything downward. As a result, there is a tremendous concentration of species here."
Rohr shares a photo of himself posing next to one such species, Magnolia macrophylla Michx, a rare bigleaf magnolia tree known for its enormous blossoms and even grander foliage.
"This can be found in the Red River Gorge," he says, "And it is the rarest and most spectacular of all magnolias."
Read More Here: surfky.com/index.php/communities/303-lexington-fayette-county/34061-drug-researcher-sees-innovation-in-nature
July 06
LEXINGTON, Ky. (6/6/13) – Jurgen Rohr, director of the Division of Drug Discovery in the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy, finds inspiration for his innovations in nature.
It's not just in his laboratory, where he heads one of the nation's top natural products research programs. You can also see it in his sunlit office, filled with lush green plants and copies of various paintings, featuring landscapes and flowers and other natural scenes.
"I painted some of these myself," Rohr says. "Others, you may recognize. It is probably presumptuous to hang my own paintings beside great masterpieces, I don't know. I have them here because I like them."
He points to one of his own, inspired by the "paint pots" at Yellowstone National Park. These geothermal mudpots — hot and acidic and reeking of rotten eggs from hydrogen sulfide gas — are home to several species of microorganisms that ring the pots with bright splashes of color.
"They're the only things that can live there," Rohr says, his enthusiasm visible. "When the temperature or the pH level changes, one species subsides and another takes over, and that's where you get all of the different colors. I find them very stimulating, visually.
When he's not in the laboratory innovating a new class of anticancer compounds, or in the classroom teaching a new generation of pharmacy leaders, Rohr prefers to be outdoors. He enjoys white-water rafting and kayaking, or hiking and camping in the Daniel Boone National Forest. He can tell you about the best trails in the Red River Gorge, including some that aren't on any maps. He can also tell you a little of the natural history of the area.
"The Appalachian forest is one of the most biologically diverse places on the planet — certainly in the Northern Hemisphere," he says. "As the glaciers moved south during the last great Ice Age, they sort of pushed everything downward. As a result, there is a tremendous concentration of species here."
Rohr shares a photo of himself posing next to one such species, Magnolia macrophylla Michx, a rare bigleaf magnolia tree known for its enormous blossoms and even grander foliage.
"This can be found in the Red River Gorge," he says, "And it is the rarest and most spectacular of all magnolias."
Read More Here: surfky.com/index.php/communities/303-lexington-fayette-county/34061-drug-researcher-sees-innovation-in-nature