ADRIEL VILLEGAS-ESTRADA, from Puerto Rico, got the postcard from the Office of Admission at Vassar, the one that says, POUGH-KEEP-SIE? "And I was like, what? What is this? So I checked it out, and it seemed like a great school." He applied, got in, and decided to come to Vassar without knowing very much about the school, except that it had a great rep and a low faculty-to-student ratio. He arrived four days before orientation, never having seen the place, and was blown away. "When we drove through Main Gate, I think I almost cried. It was such a beautiful campus--I was just amazed." He now spends most of his time in the lab in Mudd Chemistry Building--not the most picturesque spot on the Vassar campus. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Did you come to Vassar with the intention of majoring in chemistry?
No. I was thinking English and biochemistry. In high school, I was very involved in literature, both English and Spanish. I was the editor of a few different literary magazines. I definitely liked science, too. I took A.P. chemistry in high school and did well, but it wasn't until I came home for Christmas break freshman year that I realized I wanted to do chemistry. I actually missed being in the lab! I couldn't picture myself not doing chemistry. When you miss something that much, you know you love it.
How did you get involved in Miriam Rossi's research?
I took General Chemistry with Professor Rossi. Toward the end of freshman year, I sat down with her, and I told her I really wanted to do research with her. So we tossed some ideas back and forth, and the next semester, I began working with her. I've been her research assistant every semester since then, and I spent the summer after my junior year in Italy, working with her and her husband, Francesco Caruso, who is also a research chemist, through U.R.S.I. (Undergraduate Research Summer Institute). I also spent two summers as a research intern at Columbia University, working with Joe Panski, who is now on the faculty at Vassar. He is a former student of Dr. Rossi's, and he was doing his post doc at Columbia. We co-authored a paper, so I'm a published author. I get to call myself a chemist now!
Tell me about your research.
Most of my research in the laboratory has to do with the development of anti-tumor compounds using metallocenes. Metallocenes are important because they have high activity profiles and low toxicity levels. These two characteristics are important because cancer drugs need to have a high degree of activity with minimal side effects. However, these compounds are not highly soluble in water. This is where my research comes in. For the past three years, I have been synthesizing compounds that have an increased water solubility and still have high activity profiles and low toxicity levels.
How is the research going?
It's been frustrating. Our initial scheme didn't work, so we've had to rethink it time and time again. Now I'm actually grateful that it didn't work because I've had to learn dozens of lab techniques to tackle the problem. This is the real thing. It doesn’t always work out! I’ve also done a number of other projects that have worked out, using X-ray crystallography to solve the structure of various compounds.
What do you like best about research?
I like getting messy. I like getting down to the bottom of things. Touching things. Finding out about life. Stuff that happens in biology and medicine all comes down to chemistry. These compounds that I research will one day become drugs. We're at the bottom level of the development of future drugs that will help people fight disease. And I really like being at that nitty-gritty level.
What do you do besides chemistry?
I've been involved in student government since sophomore year when I became vice president of Noyes House. This year? I'm the T.A. (Terrace Apartments) president. I really like being on the council and knowing how the student government works, and how various organizations get funded. And then last year, I also became the science representative on the Student Advisory Committee on the Evaluation of Teaching. S.A.C.E.T. is one of the most powerful committees on campus because we have input on faculty promotion and tenure. It's been interesting.
Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?
Hopefully? Teaching chemistry at Vassar.