Science, Side by Side
UIC Retzky College of Pharmacy researchers are combining expertise, tools, and curiosity to propel discovery, advance science, and improve human health.
As much as the world lionizes scientific innovators like Thomas Edison and Jonas Salk and society celebrates enterprising individuals who push the boundaries of science, progress is rarely a solo act. Collaboration remains vital to propelling discovery.
In fact, by pooling complementary expertise and gathering diverse perspectives and skill sets on investigative projects, researchers accelerate innovation. Collaboration opens doors to key resources, including funding, and leverages the talents of others. It maximizes access to highly specialized knowledge and minimizes blind spots. It positions researchers to tackle complex problems and spurs higher-quality, more insightful results.
Salk, for instance, developed his vaccine against the polio virus over seven years with energetic help from a team of researchers at his University of Pittsburgh-based Virus Research Laboratory. He then relied on his mentor, Dr. Thomas Francis, to oversee a national trial of nearly two million children to examine the effectiveness of his vaccine. Without earnest collaboration, one of the most impactful medical advancements of modern times might have stalled in the lab.
In science, it really does take a village.
Collaboration is a cornerstone of scientific efforts at the UIC Retzky College of Pharmacy – encouraged by leadership, practiced by faculty across departments, and actively pursued. Researchers are working together to solve some of healthcare’s thorniest issues, from cancer drugs to antibiotic resistance to more efficient testing of novel therapeutics. Their work, rooted in lively cooperation, industriousness, and mutual respect, is driving discovery and advancing science toward solutions.
The Collaborators: Joanna Burdette and Tom Gao
During a long bus ride to a scientific conference in 2022, Tom Gao turned to his Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences colleague Joanna Burdette with a simple question.
“Are there any systems you need to study regarding how cells change over time?” Gao asked Burdette, who has long investigated the causes and development of ovarian cancer.
Burdette responded with her own request of Gao, whose lab develops novel chemical and computational tools.
“Do you have any methods to help me identify targets for natural products?” Burdette asked Gao.
That early exchange of questions coupled with the encouragement of a shared graduate student prompted Burdette and Gao to join forces. Their combined expertise in cell biology and bioinformatics is propelling advancements in the search for new anti-cancer agents and immunotherapies for ovarian cancer and, potentially, other cancers.
Over the last four years, the two UIC researchers have discovered one molecule (wheldone) that hits a target and prevents cell division and also published two papers together – one in the Journal of Natural Products and another in Molecular & Cellular Proteomics. More recently, they applied for a National Institutes of Health grant to develop a high-throughput screening platform to identify effective new compounds.
A shared scientific curiosity and enterprising spirit fuel the ongoing Burdette-Gao collaboration. Burdette says she appreciates Gao’s creativity and willingness to test innovative technologies and methods.
“It’s exciting because you don’t know what will happen,” says Burdette, the Edward and Josephine Mika Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Gao, meanwhile, values Burdette’s responsiveness as well as her fearless ambition to attack massive health problems like ovarian cancer.
“Joanna’s willing to think bravely and pursue projects that can have a major impact on human health,” he says.
The Collaborators: Alessandra Eustaquio and Matthew Henke
While broad-spectrum antibiotics have proven effective against many disease-causing bacteria, their scattergun approach arrives with various drawbacks. In particular, broad-spectrum antibiotics can disrupt the microbiome, eliminating both the “good” and “bad” bacteria living in humans. This reality continues fueling interest in alternative solutions.
When Alessandra Eustaquio, an associate professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, came across a marine sponge-associated product with unusual activity, she wondered if it might limit the undesirable effects of antibiotics on the gut microbiome.
To answer that question, Eustaquio, a UIC faculty member since 2015, traveled about 30 feet down the hall and knocked on the office door of new Pharmaceutical Sciences colleague Matthew Henke. A trained chemist who investigates the human gut, Henke was immediately intrigued by Eustaquio’s pitch.
“It’s such an interesting idea: using one molecule to blunt the negative effects of antibiotics,” says Henke, an assistant professor who joined UIC’s faculty ranks in 2022.
In 2023, the researchers landed a grant to begin collecting additional samples of the marine product and then launched a project investigating the product’s viability as a selective antidote to a commercial broad-spectrum antibiotic.
Their initial data with marine sponges was published in ISME Communications last January. They are now investigating the translational potential of the antidote to human health after finding the antidote protected a prevalent bacterial species in the gut against a commercial broad-spectrum antibiotic. Their work provides a framework for additional exploration of natural antidotes for targeted microbiota protection.
“When you’re pushing innovation, there’s so much to understand, so additional expertise allows you to ask different questions, talk through problems, and tackle challenges,” says Eustaquio, who continues submitting grant applications with Henke to continue their investigation.
The Collaborators: Steve Seung-Young Lee and Zongmin Zhao
Though Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences faculty members Steve Seung-Young Lee and Zongmin Zhao inhabited offices across the hall from one another, it took the researchers more than a year to discover their complementary pursuits.
Once the two connected in 2023, however, a prolific and mutually beneficial collaboration took hold resulting in three published papers – and a fourth currently under review – as well as two National Institutes of Health-funded grants.
Lee and Zhao first learned about each other’s respective efforts through department seminars and student projects. Lee’s lab had developed a microscopic imaging method and was actively looking for a model to observe the distribution of cells in tissue and test the imaging technique’s validity. Zhao, meanwhile, had a therapeutic model but needed a tool to assess its behavior.
The steady collaboration has benefited both, expediting and enhancing each researcher’s scientific output. Lee’s imaging techniques are sharper, while Zhao’s inched closer to a cell therapy for treating cancer.
“Steve’s help accelerated our research and is bringing cell therapies closer to the patient,” Zhao says.
The synergistic partnership has ignited additional collaborations at the college, too. Following Zhao’s work with Lee, UIC Pharmacy researchers Joanna Burdette and Thomas Gao are similarly using Lee’s imaging method to advance their own research into cancer models and proteins, respectively.
“Eventually, we want to apply for more grant applications, pursue more publications together and push therapeutics forward to help people,” Lee says of his collaboration with Zhao.