A crystal clear approach to pharmaceutical drugs

You won the Science Foundation Ireland Research Image of the Year Award for 2022 — what is in the picture?

It is of crystals of griseofulvin, an anti-fungal drug that is used to treat skin infections like ringworm and athlete’s foot. My research has found two new forms of griseofulvin, and the image is of one of them. I let a solution of the drug dry out at room temperature, and it formed crystals.

Normally when we are looking at crystalline forms we use the microscope, but these crystals were so big you could see them with the naked eye, and they formed the shape of flowers. It was so beautiful that I took a picture with my phone, to have as a screensaver. Then my colleagues saw the image, and they said I had to submit it to the SFI [Science Foundation Ireland] competition. I’m really happy that others like it too.

You mentioned crystals — what is your PhD about?

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I work at SSPC, the SFI Research Centre for Pharmaceuticals, and we look at how pharmaceutical medicines can form different crystal structures. This is important to know when drugs are being manufactured because different crystalline forms of the same drug can behave quite differently in the body.

Think about how different graphite in a pencil is to diamond, but they are both carbon, just different crystalline structures of it. So I am looking at crystals of griseofulvin, because it is an important drug, and we want to see if maybe different crystalline structures of griseofulvin might potentially work better against fungal skin diseases, or could maybe be developed to treat other conditions.

How did you become interested in research?

As a kid growing up in Brazil, I saw on TV shows where scientists were carrying out experiments and I thought they were like magicians. Then when I went to school and learned that this was science and that it could help people. So I studied chemical engineering and did my Master’s degree in science and technology, before coming to Ireland to do my PhD at the University of Limerick.

What do you wish more people knew about pharmaceutical research?

I think people sometimes don’t realise the amount of research that goes into medicines, not only for testing them but on how to manufacture them too. When you go into a pharmacy or a supermarket and you buy a medicine, you trust it to be safe and effective, and to get there involves a lot of science and technology and engineering. Just for that little pill.

What do you like about the research and what do you find challenging?

I like that no two days are ever the same, you are always answering different questions in the lab. The challenging part I think is that when you are doing a PhD it is a long process, for me it is a full-time job and I work a lot of hours, but sometimes that does not feel valued by the system — in academia, we get paid less than someone in industry when doing a PhD, even though we have the same educational background.

And how do you take a break?

I love food, books, watching TV shows and getting out for walks. And of course, I love sunshine, and I think I value it even more in Ireland, when the sun comes out I try to get out to enjoy it if I can. When I get the chance, I also love travelling. I am enjoying visiting places around Ireland. I went to Blarney Castle in Cork recently, it’s very beautiful and the coffee was good too, which is important. And yes, I kissed the Blarney Stone!