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Jeffrey Zink, Professor at the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California Nanosystems Institute at UCLA
Professor Jeffrey Zink (right)
We had the chance to meet Jeffrey Zink, Professor at the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California Nanosystems Institute at UCLA. Together with Jean-Olivier Durand, Professor at the Université Montpellier 2, they are PUF laureate 2009 with their project “One and two-photon Nanovalves”.
Could you describe in few words your project?
The project is to design nanomachines that would be able to deliver anticancer drugs. In order to operate machines, we have to provide a stimulus that is light energy. Our French collaborators are experts in the field of two photons activation which means that light that would penetrate deeply in the tissues would also be able to activate the nanomachines.
So our cooperation is that we have the machines available, they have the molecule that are excellent at absorbing the two photons light, and by combining this we are able to use the light to operate our machine.
One of my students, Travis, spent 3 months in Montpellier and worked on the synthesis of these 2 photons molecules and combined them with the machine. And right now we have Jonas Croissant, a student from Montpellier, who is working for seven months in our laboratory, and he is learning how to make the machine and attache the various molecules. So we have a good collaboration that has already started. In total, there have been three French students who have been in my laboratory, and my US student from my group that has been in the French lab.
How did you get to know PUF?
It was Jean-Olivier Durand who recommended me to apply to PUF in order to bring our group closer together.
Do you have new dynamics that would have been otherwise difficult to approach?
Yes, for successful collaboration, the two partners have to have sincere mutual interest. We have been very interested in the machines, and wanted to use this aspect of light activation. Jean-Olivier Durand has been expert in designing two molecules and wanted to be able to have an application. So by working together, we have the strength of the two groups, something that neither of us would have done alone otherwise.
What kind of difficulties did you have while implementing this partnership?
Oh you don’t want to hear that! (laughs) The French democracy is so dense!
Otherwise the PUF program itself is very nice, and there is no problem to find the funding and to get organize. As I said two of our scientists have spent time in my lab together with my colleague Fuyu Tamanoi, and the student exchange is working out very well too. So right now, that part is all going smoothly.
As you know, University of California would not easily give joint degrees. UCLA wants to give degrees at UCLA and not somewhere else. As we heard before, this is the philosophy of American Universities and not the PUF program.
I would say, for the aspect of education, in terms of the lab training, the experiments and new methodology is going very beautifully. We don’t have formal classes with lectures. That part of education is the hands on education, the experiments with machines is going very well. This experimental aspect is very strong.
Did you meet new opportunities?
As part of this overall collaboration some of the experiments will be done in Rennes were Jean-Olivier has a collaboration apart of PUF. So my students will go there to do experiments. Also, Fuyu Tamanoi and Andre with whom I work on the nanomachines and a Professor of Northwestern, this strong big group is working together. The strongest ties right now are between UCLA and Montpellier.
What about the language differences?
The French students are very well trained and the Americans try to learn! The language of scientists is almost universal. So in terms of talking chemistry and technical things, there is almost no problem with language. The rest is fun and education , learning, deal with foreign people.
What are your new perspectives?
The French team has been successful with getting and ANR grant for this project and my application is done with the NFS in the U.S. We are pursuing other funding with this project to be able to pay for chemicals, equipment and research. It looks like all the equipment is working. So after all this experiment the next step is to apply it to living creature and hopefully help people with anticancer therapy.
UCLA doesn’t have patterns that involved two partners. So if the two-photons projects works, there will be no problem to have a pattern that involves both UCLA and Montpellier.