Eryn Brennan
In Motion staff writer
Two recent STEM seminars share a common bond: Research in both polymers and epigenetics have the potential to affect us.
Titled “Responsive Block Polymers Using Polypeptides: Bottom-Up Design in Macromolecular Materials,” with Dr. Daniel Savin of the University of Florida F and “Epigenetics: Our Molecular Response to Our Environment,” with Dr. Thomas Yang also of UF, the seminars both drew a crowd of more than 80 people.
Department of Chemistry, University of Florida
A polymer is a large molecule made up of many smaller molecules and can be found in a variety of places, such as adhesive, paper and even our fingernails, among many other things. During his lecture, Dr. Savin discussed his research with polymers, specifically self-assembled polymers and block polymers.
Dr. Savin explained the various problems with traditional chemotherapy, such as that the “side effects can lead to additional acute and chronic health issues” and that there is “no targeting of specific tissues.” He then went on to detail the ways in which polymers could be used to improve drug delivery in cancer patients.
“It was interesting, I didn’t know what to expect,” said Lindsay Kane, a Health Science major, “I liked how certain structures can affect just the tumor and not the whole body.”
Epigenetics, on the other hand, are the “instructions on how, where and when” the information that DNA provides should be used. According to Dr. Yang, not only can a person’s epigenetics determine their health, it can determine the health of their offspring as well.
Dr. Yang spoke of the environmental and dietary impacts on our epigenetics, as well as his studies in genomic imprinting and pre-natal ethanol exposure in mice.
Dr. Savin, who teaches chemistry at UF, got into polymer research because he thought it was interesting. “The research I do has some fundamental questions I want to answer. Questions that you can’t answer in three years.” .
Although they conduct their research in two different fields of study, both Dr. Savin and Dr. Yang separately said that people who may not be scientifically inclined should still care about polymers and epigenetics because they affect everyone.
“Polymers affect every aspect of our lives. It’s plastic, your fingernails, medical stents,” said Dr. Savin, while Dr. Yang echoed that response, saying epigenetics “effect every single cell in our body.”
The STEM seminars will resume spring semester. For information, contact Dr. Gajendra Tulsian at TulsiaG@daytonastate.edu or visit his website at drtulsian.com/seminars.