Kowalczyk, Ethan

Summary of MIDD research assistantship

The goals for the Fall 2024 semester:

• Finish synthesizing a library of 30 pegylated imidazobenzodiazepines as novel drug candidates for the treatment of asthma.
• Characterize all compounds by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), high pressure liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS), aqueous solubility, and membrane permeability.
• Determine receptor binding through the psychoactive drug screening program (PDSP).
• Determine cytotoxicity in human liver and kidney cells.
• Determine adverse central nervous system (CNS) effects using rotarod and openfield studies in mice.
• Determine smooth muscle relaxation through our collaboration with Dr. Charles Emala at Columbia University, New York.
• Determine airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) in methacholine challenged mice.

Personal Statement:

I am sincerely grateful to the Milwaukee Institute for Drug Discovery for supporting my research this semester.  This support enabled me to complete the synthesis and data collection for my first major graduate research project.  With these results in hand, I am pleased to share that I am now in the writing phase for my first, first-author publication.  I will also be presenting my findings at the Spring 2025 national ACS Conference.  Additionally, I appreciate MIDD’s support in my efforts to mentor two new undergraduate researchers in my lab.  It was a rewarding experience to train Ryan and Alec, and I look forward to seeing their progress as we begin a new project next semester.

Undergraduate student: Ryan Burmesch

Since starting to work in the lab with the Arnold Group, I have gained hands-on lab experience and gained critical teamwork skills by working in collaboration with other members of the team. I have had the opportunity to acquire knowledge from experienced team members and start to work independently on my own reactions. I have dealt with reactions that pertain to pharmaceuticals and drug discovery. For example, I have worked on a reaction in which I synthesized a drug through a series of steps including synthesizing the drug, purifying it, and then analyzing the drug to test its purity. The purpose of this reaction was to synthesize a drug that could be a potential candidate for disorders such as asthma that would help reduce the amount of bronchoconstriction that these disorders cause. I have also been trained on numerous pieces of equipment that are used to carry out these reactions such as the RotoVap, 400 MHz NMR, and a column chromatography machine. I plan to continue to work in the Arnold Group lab throughout the rest of my time at UWM. I hope to take the knowledge I gain from this work into medical school and the rest of my research career.

Undergraduate student: Alec Veliz

Throughout my time working with Arnold group, I have had the opportunity to gain experience and knowledge about various chemistry-based projects. This includes gaining the training needed to use a 500 MHz NMR instrument, as well as the continued learning of many other procedures and machines that I will need later in my education and career. I have also gained a higher understanding of the importance of proper organization and safety in the lab. I have gained experience with sonication and concentration of solutions to get a final product, ensuring that the proper methods are used to evaporate the byproducts and ensure that what I am left with is the actual product. This process was often compiled with the use of Chromatography and TLC plates to track the progress of the reaction as it progressed. My time working with Arnold group has helped me tremendously in gaining valuable knowledge and experience that I will be using to help guide me through my education and as I look into graduate programs. In the future, I hope to continue learning new skills and knowledge about drug development and to use the skills I have already gained through my time with Arnold group as I continue in my career.