Zarko Boskovic - Research Mentor Spotlight

Bio:

Name: Zarko Boskovic

Department: Medicinal Chemistry

Describe your research/creative scholarship in a few sentences that we can all understand: 

My research includes discovering new chemical reactions to access new bioactive compounds, and studying the mechanism of these reactions.

Questions:

Q: How did you first get interested in doing research or creative work?

A : When I was in the 7th grade, my chemistry teacher cut a chunk of sodium metal and threw it in the sink with a piece of paper. I still remember how wildly the tiny molten metal danced on the surface of water before the piece of paper dramatically caught on fire (due to liberated hydrogen). We burned magnesium, and mixed mercury and sulfur. Maybe this visceral experience with transmutation of matter is what stuck. Later, in college, we isolated natural products from plants and analyzed complex mixtures. It was fun to go out and collect samples, and then come back to the lab to chemically scrutinize those samples.

Q: What does your research look like on a day-to-day basis? What do you spend most of your time doing?

A : Research-wise, I spend a lot of time trying to computationally model the reactions we work on in the lab. Students discover new things all the time, and I lag behind trying to make sense of these discoveries. I also fix instruments and keep them in workable shape.

Q: What do students in your discipline learn by doing research that they wouldn’t learn by just taking classes?

A: I think classes tend to be too dry and disconnected from the excitement of the real world. The lab is like a more controlled "real world." For me, what I learn tends to stick much longer if it is accompanied by an actual experience. Also, in the lab people learn about the routine and responsibility. The awareness of "details" and nuances is something that is broadly applicable.

Q: What do you find to be the most exciting part of doing research or creative work? What makes this line of work meaningful and interesting to you?

A: Physical world is chock full of mysteries. I think chemistry has a very nice theory behind it that allows us to think about and manipulate molecules and their properties in a simple way. There are so many molecules to try and make and see what they do and how they behave.

Q: For many students, doing research or a larger creative project is the first time they have done work that routinely involves setbacks and the need to troubleshoot problems.  Can you tell us about a time that your research didn’t go as expected? Or about any tricks or habits that you’ve developed to help you stay resilient in the face of obstacles?

A:  I think it's hubris to expect chemistry to go a certain way. We put our best foot forward by planning an experiment, and then we observe, analyze and see what happened. Sometimes young researchers just want reactions to go the way they draw them out. The job is to say what happened, think more, read more, and try something else.

Q: How do you spend your time outside of work?

A: I like to run and watch old movies (thanks to Criterion). Just biking and walking is also nice, you see what people are up to.